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ACC Notebook: Georgia Tech stuns Florida State

The Sports Xchange

October 26, 2015 at 8:52 am.

Oct 24, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive lineman Patrick Gamble (91) blocks the kick of Florida State Seminoles place kicker Roberto Aguayo (19) in the fourth quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Georgia Tech defeated Florida State 22-16. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Oct 24, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive lineman Patrick Gamble (91) blocks the kick of Florida State Seminoles place kicker Roberto Aguayo (19) in the fourth quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Georgia Tech defeated Florida State 22-16. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The biggest upset to date in the Atlantic Coast Conference came when the last-place team in the Coastal Division defeated one of the front runners in the Atlantic Division.

Maybe these divisions aren’t so out of balance after all.

Georgia Tech’s last-play dramatics to knock off Florida State figure to be a big blow for the ACC, which could be in a real pinch in getting a team into the College Football Playoff unless Clemson runs the table.

Florida State, which dropped the 22-16 decision to Georgia Tech, hadn’t lost an ACC game since 2012, so that was the most startling development of the week.

There were other heroics going on in the Coastal Division. Pittsburgh pulled out a victory with a field goal on the last play of the game for the second week in a row, this time defeating slumping Syracuse.

Duke went four overtimes and won with a two-point conversion at Virginia.

So three Coastal Division teams — Duke, North Carolina and Pittsburgh — are without a conference loss. North Carolina visits Pittsburgh on Thursday night, so some of the sorting out should begin.

BOSTON COLLEGE (3-5, 0-5)

Game: Louisville 17, Boston College 14. Boston College managed only 79 yards of total offense, with its quarterbacks sacked eight times. The Eagles somehow still had shot after a late fumble by Louisville, but that threat expired on a fourth-down play with less than two minutes to play.

Takeaway: The Eagles are a mess from an offensive standpoint and that’s negating many of the good deeds turned in by the defense.

One of the two touchdowns against Louisville was scored by Elijah Robinson on a return of a blocked punt.

Neither quarterback has been effective for any length of time for the Eagles, with QB Jeff Smith and QB Troy Flutie encountering equal amounts of trouble again in the Louisville game.

The one thing that is out of kilter is the team’s rushing yards, because the minus-14 total against Louisville came in large part because of sacks.

If there’s a ray of hope for the Eagles it might come from the fact that the bottom portion of the Atlantic Division has some struggling teams. It’s still possible that Boston College could catch or pass Wake Forest, Syracuse and North Carolina State, particularly with games remaining against the latter two of that list.

Next: vs. Virginia Tech, Oct. 31

CLEMSON (7-0, 4-0)

Game: Clemson 58, Miami 0. The Tigers rolled out to a 42-0 lead on the road for the surprisingly easy victory. QB Deshaun Watson had one touchdown run and one touchdown pass in limited playing time as Clemson delivered the most lopsided victory ever inflicted on a Miami team.

Takeaway: Clemson regained some of the offensive efficiency that had slipped by scoring on five of its first six possessions against Miami.

This was such a thorough demolition that Clemson barely received much credit from some observers because so much attention was attached to Miami’s demise.

But the Tigers had quite a bit to do with this. After all, Miami’s two previous games included a close loss at Florida State and a victory against Virginia Tech.

Clemson’s offensive numbers from an individual standpoint are more impressive when considering the starters weren’t needed for a large chunk of the game. RB Wayne Gallman gained 118 rushing yards on 22 carries, so he received a pretty full workload.

Clemson’s defense was up to the task by intercepting three passes and holding the Hurricanes to 146 yards of total offense.

The Tigers are sure to encounter a different type of road atmosphere when they venture to N.C. State, which can be a difficult venue for many opponents.

Next: at N.C. State, Oct. 31

DUKE (6-1, 3-0)

Game: Duke 45, Virginia Tech 43, 4OT. Duke QB Thomas Sirk threw for the tying touchdown on the Blue Devils’ first play of the fourth overtime and then he ran in the winning two-point conversion. Duke trailed by a touchdown twice in overtime but responded each time and won for the second time in a row at Lane Stadium.

Takeaway: The Blue Devils were cool under pressure in overtime and it paid off with a sterling road victory at Virginia Tech, which had upended Duke by a point last season.

Sirk threw for 270 yards, completing 19 of 39 passes without an interception. He also rushed for 109 yards, continuing to give the Blue Devils a versatile offense.

Duke’s notion for struggling with offense in the second halves of games was evident again. The Blue Devils scored only three points in the final 25 minutes of regulation.

That was all forgotten by the overtime sessions, when clutch play tended to be the norm. Consider that WR Anthony Nash and TE Erich Schneider, who both would have been considered role players at best just a few weeks ago, made touchdown catches in overtime and that’s an indication of the widespread contributions that the Blue Devils are receiving.

Duke overcame a pair of missed field goals by normally reliable K Ross Martin. He hadn’t missed a kick all year until a couple of misses in the fourth quarter, including a potential winning kick in regulation that high the upright from 46 yards out. Martin was good on a pair of field goals in overtime.

Duke will enter its next game against Miami as one of two undefeated teams in league play in the Coastal Division because one of the others — North Carolina or Pittsburgh — will lose in Thursday night’s game.

Next: vs. Miami, Oct. 31

FLORIDA STATE (6-1, 4-1)

Game: Georgia Tech 22, Florida State 16. K Roberto Aguayo’s 56-yard field goal attempt was deflected on the game’s final play, with DB Lance Austin of Georgia Tech scooping the ball and returning it 78 yards for a touchdown to break a tie. Florida State’s offense bogged down, failing to score in the second half off the team’s first ACC loss since 2012 at North Carolina State.

Takeaway: The Seminoles had an award-winning kicker lined up for the potentially winning field goal so they had to like their chances. Instead, the play went awry in the worst possible way for Florida State, which probably was knocked out of national championship contention.

This Florida State team had been tagged with some flaws, but winning against a Georgia Tech team that was attempting to snap a five-game losing streak didn’t seem all that difficult on the surface for the Seminoles.

Florida State had only 17 first downs in the game, with only 25:09 in time of possession. The Seminoles settled for three Aguayo field goals in the first half.

RB Dalvin Cook had a solid game, but he was held in check and it was far from spectacular for Florida State’s biggest play maker. He rushed for 82 yards on 17 carries and gained another 50 yards on four receptions.

Next: vs. Syracuse, Oct. 31

GEORGIA TECH (3-5, 1-4)

Game: Georgia Tech 22, Florida State 16. DB Lance Austin returned a deflected field goal 78 yards on the final play of the game for the home upset. The Yellow Jackets held Florida State scoreless in the second half, winning for the first time in ACC play this season despite picking up only 15 first downs.

Takeaway: Georgia Tech didn’t have many clutch plays to fall back on this season after a series of losses in ACC play. Those setbacks were largely defined by poor play in the second halves of games.

This time the Yellow Jackets were steady after halftime and then came up with one of the biggest plays of the college football season. DL Patrick Gamble knocked Florida State K Roberto Aguayo’s kick off line and Austin took care of the rest despite an initial plea from the sideline from coach Paul Johnson to have him down the ball so the game would go into overtime.

Fans stormed the field to celebrate the upset of a Top 10 team. It also marked the end of a five-game losing streak.

Georgia Tech had its rushing attack revived to some degree, churning out 261 yards on the ground. That made up for only 67 yards through the air, but it helped the Yellow Jackets limit Florida State to barely more than 25 minutes of time of possession.

The outcome avenged a loss for Georgia Tech from last year’s ACC championship game. It also gives the Yellow Jackets more hope that they could recover to reach a bowl game, but they still have lots of work to do.

Next: at Virginia, Oct. 31

LOUISVILLE (3-4, 2-2)

Game: Louisville 17, Boston College 14. Louisville’s defense registered eight sacks, holding Boston College to 79 yards of total offense. QB Lamar Jackson scored on a 4-yard run in the first quarter, before each team scored a non-offensive touchdown in the second quarter of the defensive slugfest.

Takeaway: The Cardinals are being lumped with some of the middle-of-the-pack teams in the ACC if for no other reason than Louisville’s offense is often sluggish.

But the thing about the Cardinals is that they’re able to take care of business from a defensive perspective against the lower-tier teams in the ACC. They’ll have another chance to do so in their next game when they face Wake Forest.

It will be the third ACC road game for the Cardinals, so they’ll have reached that point in the schedule. A victory against Wake Forest would pull the Cardinals to a .500 mark for the first time this season.

Louisville has been particularly strong in defending against the run. With Wake Forest having trouble moving the ball on the ground, this could be a good set-up for the Cardinals.

Louisville held Boston College to minus-14 rushing yards, largely on the strength of eight sacks.

On the flip side, Louisville will be looking to break out offensively against a Wake Forest defense that hasn’t been too stout the past two games. The Cardinals, though, didn’t produce a touchdown with their offense after the first quarter against Boston College.

Next: at Wake Forest, Oct. 30

MIAMI (4-3, 1-2)

Game: Clemson 58, Miami 0. Clemson led 42-0 at halftime in a mind-boggling home performance for Miami. The Hurricanes suffered the most lopsided loss in the 90-year history of its football program.

Takeaway: The Hurricanes were ambushed by a Clemson team that’s undefeated. But that’s no excuse for the Hurricanes to looks so incompetent in the first half.

The fallout was immediate with calls for coach Al Golden to be fired. It’s another black mark on a once-proud program.

Miami doesn’t have the talent across the board to match up with top teams, and that’s something that observers will have to accept for the time being. But that also means the coaching staff and players need to find ways to be competitive against top-notch competition.

The loss at Florida State came as part of an encouraging showing. But the home setback to Clemson was in another category and it exposed the shortcomings that have festered in the Miami program.

To make matters more complicated, QB Brad Kaaya left with an apparent concussion that certainly makes his status for upcoming games in question. The Hurricanes had shown quite a bit of spark offensively this season, albeit with some troubles in the red zone.

But with Kaaya out of the game, there wasn’t much happening from the offensive side and that’s a problem for a team that’s prone to be giving up points.

Next: at Duke, Oct. 31

NORTH CAROLINA (6-1, 3-0)

Game: North Carolina 26, Virginia 13. RB Elijah Hood rushed for a pair of 3-yard touchdowns and gained 101 yards on the ground as the Tar Heels pushed their winning streak to six games with the home victory. North Carolina’s defense collected five second-half turnovers, including intercepting four passes.

Takeaway: The Tar Heels are suddenly good enough on defense to win conference games even when other areas aren’t clicking.

That was the case against Virginia. For the second game in a row, the Tar Heels didn’t allow a point in the second half. That’s the kind of defense that has put North Carolina in good shape in the Coastal Division.

There were disturbing components of the latest victory, perhaps the 13 penalties for 135 yards the most notable. North Carolina’s largest penalty total in any of its first six games was six flags.

Coach Larry Fedora said he wouldn’t fuss about some of the mistakes too much because he sees that those are correctable and they came in a victory.

Plus, there’s not much time with a quick turnaround for Thursday night’s game at Pittsburgh, which is also undefeated in conference play.

North Carolina’s defense was so opportunistic against Virginia that CB Malik Simmons, a second, made his first two career interceptions. The past couple of years, the North Carolina defense was clearly a detriment and now it has become something the Tar Heels are counting on.

Next: at Pittsburgh, Oct. 29

N.C. STATE (5-2, 1-2)

Game: N.C. State 35, Wake Forest 17. RB Matt Dayes scored two first-quarter touchdowns as the Wolfpack built a 28-0 lead in the opener quarter in the road romp. Dayes finished with 205 rushing yards on 16 carries and QB Jacoby Brissett threw two touchdown passes.

Takeaway: The Wolfpack might have had the right temperature in the drubbing of Wake Forest.

By building such a huge lead (28-0 in the first quarter), N.C. State could pull back on some of its game plan. Certainly, the idea was to save the best parts for the next game.

It comes against undefeated Clemson. It will be the only home game in the month of October for N.C. State.

The Wolfpack did show that it has returned to a more high-paced offensive approach. Given that N.C. State had a week off to prepare for the Wake Forest game, it figured that there would be some adjustments.

Now it seems like that more of those could be on display for the Clemson game. The good thing for the Wolfpack was that it looked like Brissett might be back in a groove after a couple of difficult outings and the offensive line is the healthy as it has been since the start of the season.

Next: vs. Clemson, Oct. 31

PITTSBURGH (6-1, 4-0)

Game: Pittsburgh 23, Syracuse 20. K Chris Blewitt kicked the game-winning field goal on the last play for the second week in a row as his kick from 24 yards out sent the Panthers to the road victory. RB Qadree Ollison gained 98 yards on the ground, scoring two touchdowns for the Panthers.

Takeaway: The Panthers have shown a knack for playing in close games and fortunately for them they’ve found a way to win the last couple of those.

At Syracuse, the formula involved some trickery as a successful fake punt on the game’s last possession allowed Pittsburgh to keep possession to set up the winning field goal.

The Panthers didn’t exactly execute with a lot of flair against Syracuse, but there was enough solid play on the defensive side to hold things together while the offense mustered just enough.

Still, the Panthers seem to be gaining some comfort with QB Nate Peterman’s steady hand. He completed 19 of 25 throws without an interception at Syracuse.

Three of Pittsburgh’s four ACC victories have come in road games, so that part of the schedule might trend favorably for the Panthers down the stretch. It’s a quick turnaround for Pittsburgh with a home game Thursday night against North Carolina in a matchup of teams with unblemished ACC records.

Next: vs. North Carolina, Oct. 29

SYRACUSE (3-4, 1-2)

Game: Pittsburgh 23, Syracuse 20. K Chris Blewitt’s 24-yard field goal on the game’s final play allowed the nationally ranked Panthers to escape with a road victory. Pittsburgh used a fake punt on the game’s last drive to set up the winning points.

Takeaway: The Orange’s losing streak has reached four games, losing in excruciating fashion in the past two games with a triple-overtime loss at Virginia coming before the setback to long-time rival Pittsburgh.

Syracuse was set up pretty well after winning the first three games of the season. Other than the matchup with LSU, the middle segment of the schedule appeared to be something that the Orange could handle, but instead the downward slide continues

Still remaining are games against nationally ranked Florida State and Clemson.

QB Eric Dungey displayed both sides of the spectrum for the Orange. He has the ability to make plays and that’s something that the offense desperately needs. But he’s also a college freshman and he’s prone to mistakes and this is a Syracuse team that doesn’t have a lot of room for error.

As if it’s not going sour enough for the Orange, the team heads back to the state of Florida for the second time in a four-game stretch. This time, it’s to take on Florida State, which will be itching after suffering its first loss of the season. Syracuse’s previous trip this season to the Sunshine State resulted in a non-league loss to South Florida.

Next: at Florida State, Oct. 31

VIRGINIA (2-5, 1-2)

Game: North Carolina 26, Virginia 13. North Carolina RB Elijah Hood ran for two 3-yard touchdowns and Virginia committed five second-half turnovers. The road loss included only 127 yards of offense in the second half.

Takeaway: The Cavaliers aren’t capable of beating teams when the mistakes pile up so rapidly.

When QB Matt Johns threw four second-half interceptions and lost a fourth-quarter fumble at North Carolina, it might have been amazing that the Cavaliers were at least down only 26-13.

But there are no moral victories for the Cavaliers, who showed signs of perking up their rushing attack and held one of the country’s most explosive offenses largely in check.

Johns was steady in the first half, but he was off-target in the second half. His first interception set up a go-ahead field goal for North Carolina.

The Cavaliers are intent on making sure RB Taquan Mizzell becomes as involved as much as possible in the offensive game plan. He had 30 touches in the North Carolina game, racking up 117 rushing yards on 24 carries and picking up 57 yards on six receptions.

As if there isn’t enough frustration for the Cavaliers, their next game will be a different kind of challenge in going against Georgia Tech’s triple-option offense after facing North Carolina’s wide-open attack.

Next: vs. Georgia Tech, Oct. 31

VIRGINIA TECH (3-5, 1-3)

Game: Duke 45, Virginia Tech 43, 4OT. Twice Virginia Tech scored overtime touchdowns only to have Duke respond, with the Blue Devils winning the longest game in ACC history when QB Thomas Sirk scrambled for a two-point conversion. QB Michael Brewer of Virginia Tech threw three touchdown passes, including two in regulation (one with 2:07 left).

Takeaway: The Hokies have lost three home games and coach Frank Beamer’s team is off to the worst start through eight games in more than two decades.

Even before the troublesome extra sessions, Virginia Tech’s defense didn’t do much to help matters during regulation. Duke’s offense had gone through spells of sluggishness early in the season, but the Blue Devils picked apart the Hokies for third-down conversions during stretches of the game.

The Hokies can be encouraged that QB Michael Brewer made it through the game with his first action for a full game this season. He suffered a broken collarbone in the opener against Ohio State and had returned to action for some duty in the loss at Miami.

Brewer’s presence gives the Virginia Tech a better element in the passing attack. It also seemed to give Duke the motivation to apply extra pressure on him and his limited mobility seemed to be an issue at times.

Oddly, Virginia Tech produced a 95-yard drive that ate up close to 10 minutes in the second half for the longest drive in 29 years under Beamer.

Virginia Tech took 100 snaps, with 47 of those ending up as passing plays.

Next: at Boston College, Oct. 31

WAKE FOREST (2-5, 1-3)

Game: N.C. State 35, Wake Forest 17. The Demon Deacons fell into a 28-0 hole in the first quarter and couldn’t recover in the home loss. Wake Forest QB Kendall Hinton ran for two touchdowns in a reserve role.

Takeaway: The Demon Deacons might be overwhelmed at times by talent from opposing teams and that was clearly evident in consecutive setbacks.

Those came against in-state rivals so it was extra disturbing for the Demon Deacons, who haven’t had the athleticism to keep either North Carolina or N.C. State in check.

Until the past couple of weeks, coach Dave Clawson had expressed some level of pride that the Demon Deacons had avoided lopsided losses this season. That was considered a sign of improvement from a year ago when there were many games that weren’t competitive.

After these last two games, that ugly trend could be re-emerging.

The Demon Deacons went with QB John Wolford at the start of the N.C. State game, then brought in QB Kendall Hinton. Both quarterbacks have been dealing with injuries, so there have been issues with the lack of continuity.

Wolford took some hits during his time on the field. Hinton was good enough to run for a team-high 75 yards on 13 carries.

Next: vs. Louisville, Oct. 30

NOTES, QUOTES

–There are coaches on hot seats every year, and the line is surely forming in the ACC.

Most notable on the list is Miami’s Al Golden, who has had to deal with the program coming off sanctions but has yet to gain much traction. The 58-0 loss to visiting Clemson marked the biggest margin of defeat in the Miami program’s history.

The Hurricanes are in a 1-2 hole in the ACC, though both of the losses have come to nationally ranked teams.

Virginia’s Mike London is headed for another non-winning season and this was largely considered a make-or-break season for him.

“There’s no small victories,” London said after his defense was strong in a 26-13 loss at North Carolina. “It’s all about the wins.”

Syracuse’s Scott Shaffer, who’s in his third season, could be feeling the heat if for no other reason than there’s a new athletics director in place and Shaffer was merely considered a safe holdover from Doug Marrone’s staff when he was promoted to head coach. The Orange has a four-game losing streak with the most difficult part of the schedule still to come.

–Four ACC teams failed to score in the second halves of their games during the weekend. Two others didn’t have a touchdown from their offenses in the second halves.

It’s difficult to determine if the ACC defenses are figuring things out or if the offenses are so mundane that the defenses just look good.

It’s making for some good numbers for defensive units.

North Carolina, which has a porous defense the previous two seasons, has posted second-half shutouts in two consecutive games.

Boston College, which held the label as the top defense in the national statistically for a few weeks, actually turned out to be the second-best defense in the game with Louisville. The Cardinals limited Boston College to 79 yards of total offense. A pair of Boston College quarterbacks combined for completions on 9 of 22 passes.

–Long games have been part of the ACC’s makeup the past couple of weeks.

Virginia withstood Syracuse for a three-overtime victory Oct. 17.

That was outdone a week later by Duke’s four-overtime conquest of Virginia Tech. That game qualified as the longest in ACC history.

“I think we grew together as a team in this great victory,” Duke coach David Cutcliffe said.

Duke and Virginia Tech played the entire game without a turnover.

Two other ACC games Saturday appeared headed for overtime until special teams play altered the direction of those contests.

Most notably was Georgia Tech’s wild last play, with a deflected field goal that was returned for a touchdown to stun Florida State. The Seminoles were looking for a 56-yard field goal to win the game and instead ended up on the wrong side.

There was also Pittsburgh’s escape at Syracuse. The game was tied when Pittsburgh when into punt formation for what could have been a play that pinned the Orange deep in its own territory. Instead, a fake punt worked for the Panthers and they ended up with the winning field goal instead of going into overtime.

QUOTE TO NOTE: “In football, anything can happen. As a coach, you have to go through that and we have to learn from that.” — Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher on the last-play loss at Georgia Tech when a deflected field goal attempt was returned for a touchdown. It was the first ACC loss for the Seminoles since 2012 at North Carolina State.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

FIVE BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS FROM WEEK 8 IN THE ACC:

1. Florida State isn’t invincible in the ACC, nor is Georgia Tech all that bad after all.

2. Clemson is rolling in such a matter that things could be going almost too good for the Tigers, who are the only remaining undefeated team in the ACC.

3. Miami fans who want Al Golden out as coach sure secured some ammunition for that idea after the beatdown administered by Clemson.

4. Pittsburgh had a game-winning field goal on the last play of a game for the second week in a row, while Syracuse’s defense gave up the decisive points in a loss on the final play for the second consecutive game.

5. Duke hasn’t defeated an FBS team with a winning record, but the Blue Devils keep winning even when it took four overtimes at Virginia Tech.