Week 4 was a successful week for ACC football, as the league went undefeated in non-conference play. Here are a few lessons that we learned about the conference after this weekend’s exciting action on the gridiron.
5. Duke is still in the mix for a bowl game
After the Devils suffered back-to-back losses to Wake Forest and Northwestern, it looked like their bowl hopes were dead.
Yet, much like a familiar scene in the Monty Python and Holy Grail, Duke emphatically stated that it’s not dead by defeating Notre Dame. Although the Devil D gave up its share of yardage, it still managed to get the job done by forcing three Irish turnovers. On the other side of the ball, the Duke offense turned its best performance of the year, racking up 498 yards and averaging 6.73 yards per play. Quarterback Daniel Jones was especially impressive, completing 24 of 32 passes for 290 yards and three touchdowns.
With that type of firepower, the Devils are definitely a candidate to qualify for a bowl game. Sure, it’s not a given considering that the ACC Coastal is one of the deepest divisions in college football. But, the odds look much better this week than they did a week ago.
4. Virginia isn’t dead.
Make no mistake about it: the Cavaliers won’t make it to a bowl game this season. However, the ‘Hoos did show that they’re going to be a tough opponent this year with the way they rallied back to defeat Central Michigan.
Let’s be honest: with the way things have gone the past few seasons, it would have been easy for Virginia to say, “here we go again”, after blowing a 28-0 lead on Saturday. Yet, instead of going into the tank, the Cavs responded with three touchdowns in five minutes, and never allowed the Chippewas to get into position to win the game. Ask Mike Gundy and Oklahoma State how easy it is to do that.
Again, I don’t think UVA is going to return to a bowl game this year. But, after watching how well they played at times against Central Michigan, it’s safe to say that they’ll pull an upset or two in ACC play. Who would have thought that after losing to Richmond in week 1?
3. Neither is North Carolina.
After the season opening loss to Georgia, many college football experts dismissed the Tar Heels as a candidate to win the ACC Coastal.
Saturday’s victory over Pittsburgh showed that writing off UNC was a mistake. Although the Tar Heels never actually took the lead in this game until the final two seconds of the contest, this “W” tells us a lot about this Tar Heel team. Despite trailing by double digits on three different occasions, North Carolina continued to fight back, scoring two touchdowns in the final five minutes of the game to earn the victory. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky was outstanding on the final drive, completing 10 of 15 passes for 83 yards, including a perfect pass in the closing seconds to Bug Howard for the game-winning score.
The fact that the Tar Heels never quit in this contest tells us all that we need to know about the character of this team. Regardless of the situation, it’s going to fight hard for the full 60 minutes. This “never give up, never surrender“-type of attitude means that absolutely no lead is safe against UNC.
Don’t count them out just yet.
2. Wake Forest will earn its first bowl bid since 2011.
With its 33-28 victory over Indiana, it’s safe to say that Demon Deacons will play in the postseason for the first time in five seasons.
That’s not to say that Wake’s victory was perfect. It wasn’t. The Demon Deacon D allowed 611 yards of total offense and an average of over 10.6 yards per pass attempt. Not surprisingly, Hoosiers outgained Wake Forest by 259 yards.
Yet, just as it has done all season long, the Deacons did what it took to win the game. Wake Forest’s defense intercepted five passes, highlighted by a pick six by Jessie Bates that gave the team a 14-7 lead. While the offense didn’t set the world on fire (352 yards, 4.46 yards per play), it did capitalize when it had great field position, and kept the Indiana offense off the field by holding the ball for nearly 35 minutes.
Simply put: this team might not make the most plays on a given Saturday afternoon, but it does come up with just enough to win the game, regardless of whether it’s Duke, Indiana, or Tulane. That might not be enough to beat the likes of Clemson, Louisville, or Florida State, but it does mean that they’ll finish with a winning record for the first time since 2008.
1. Clemson’s defense is just as good as it was last year
Despite losing Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd – who finished 1-2 in the nation last year in tackles for a loss – this year’s Clemson defense is just as good as it was last season.
Thursday night’s game proved that point perfectly. The Tigers completely shutdown Paul Johnson’s triple option offense, limiting it to just 124 yards. For just the fourth time in Johnson’s tenure, the Jackets failed to rush for at least 100 yards, ending up with just 95 yards on 38 carries. It also held Tech – which came into the contest converting 54% of its third down opportunities – to just 2 of 12 on third down.
For the season, Clemson’s defense ranks fourth nationally in tackles for a loss, fourth in third down conversion percentage, and sixth in interceptions. More impressively, it’s second in the nation in yards per play, allowing just 3.41 yards per attempt.
Given that defense wins championships, the Tigers have to like where they are headed into this weekend’s showdown with Louisville.
