Around the ACC: Week 3 (Football)

Story posted September 18, 2020 in CommRadio, Sports by Adam Sheetz

The ACC opened its season last weekend, and while many things have changed, one constant remained, and that is that everyone is still chasing Clemson. Clemson looked dominant against Wake Forest on Saturday night, as the Tigers defeated the Demon Deacons 37-13. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence had a phenomenal game with 351 yards and three touchdowns in the win. The Tigers gave up some scores late in the blowout, but, without a doubt, they are still the top team in the ACC.

A team trying to chase the Tigers is new member Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish played their first conference game ever and were able to sneak out a 27-13 win over the Duke Blue Devils. Notre Dame’s offense looked a little out of sync, but the defense was very good in the win, as it forced two turnovers and held Duke to 73 rushing yards in the win. Notre Dame is supposed to be the team that can dethrone Clemson in the ACC, but the offense will have to step it up if the Fighting Irish plan on competing for the ACC title.

Clemson and Notre Dame will play their one non-conference game this week, as Clemson hosts The Citadel and Notre Dame hosts South Florida. That means this week should be one to look at the rest of the ACC and see if any of the other teams can catch the powerhouses at the top.

North Carolina was a team that a lot of people talked about in the preseason, and the Tar Heels started their season on the right foot with a 31-6 win over Syracuse. They have their non-conference game this week as well, hosting Charlotte, so the Tar Heels will be looking to clean some things up in order to get ready for nine straight conference games.

All eyes are on Miami and Louisville this weekend, as they play each other in the game of the week in the ACC. It is the first top-25 game of the season in the ACC. This contest could be an indicator of whether or not a fourth team can jump into the ACC title race. Miami brought in transfer quarterback D’Eriq King from Houston to make the offense dangerous, and he will have his first real test against Louisville in prime time with all eyes on him.

This week will reveal a lot about which teams can compete the top of the conference, but after Week 1, the ACC still seems like a two-team race on a collision course for Nov. 7 when Notre Dame and Clemson face for the first time.

 

Adam Sheetz is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ads360@psu.edu.

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Adam Sheetz

Junior / Broadcast Journalism

Adam Sheetz is a third year student from Reedsville, Pennsylvania majoring in broadcast journalism. He has been a broadcaster for WCHX 105.5 FM in Mifflin County covering high school sports. He has also been a member of CommRadio since his first semester at Penn State, being involved in both the Arts and Sports departments. Adam has extensive experience in a play-by-play setting within CommRadio, covering football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer and volleyball for the station. He has done written content for CommRadio ranging from Penn State football articles all the way to discussing Disney Channel movies. To contact Adam, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).