Football

Week 11 In ACC Football

Saturday, Nov. 9, Time, TV, Sirius, XM, App/Web
Florida State at Boston College, Noon, ACCN, 134, 193, 955
Series: Florida State leads series, 12-5; Last meeting: Florida State, 22-21 (2018)
ACCN: Wes Durham (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), Eric Wood (sideline)
 
Georgia Tech at Virginia, 12:30 p.m., RSN, 105, 194, 956
Series: Georgia Tech leads series, 21-19-1; Last meeting: Georgia Tech, 30-27, ot (2018)
RSN: Tom Werme (play-by-play), James Bates (analyst), Kelsey Wingert (sideline)
 
Louisville at Miami, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2, 105, 194, 956
Series: Miami leads series, 9-3-1; Last meeting: Louisville, 31-13 (2014)
ESPN2: Mark Jones (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoracek (analyst), Olivia Dekker (sideline)
 
Wake Forest at Virginia Tech, 3:30 p.m., ACCN, 134, 193, 955
Series: VT leads series, 23-12-1; Last meeting: Wake Forest, 6-3, 2ot (2014)
ACCN: Chris Cotter (play-by-play), Mark Herzlich (analyst), Kelsey Riggs (sideline)
 
Clemson at NC State, 7:30 p.m., ABC, 134, 193, 955
Series: Clemson leads series, 58-28-1; Last meeting: Clemson, 41-7 (2018)
ABC: Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Maria Taylor (sideline)
 
Notre Dame at Duke, 7:30 p.m., ACCN, 105, 194, 956
Series: Notre Dame leads series, 3-2; Last meeting: Duke, 38-35 (2016)
ACCN: Dave O'Brien (play-by-play), Tim Hasselbeck (analyst), Katie George (sideline)

With just four weeks of the regular season remaining, Clemson (9-0 overall, 6-0 ACC) leads the Atlantic Division by one game (in the loss column) over Wake Forest (7-1, 3-1), while three teams – Virginia (6-3, 4-2), Pitt (6-3, 3-2) and Virginia Tech (5-3, 2-2) – are tied in the loss column in the Coastal Division. 

No. 4/3 Clemson visits NC State at 7:30 p.m. in a nationally televised contest on ABC. Clemson has won the last seven matchups against the Wolfpack in the annual “Textile Bowl,” including the last three games played in Raleigh. Looking to keep pace with the Tigers, Wake Forest travels to Virginia Tech for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on ACCN. The Hokies and Cavaliers are the only two teams in the Coastal Division that can win out and capture the division title. Virginia travels to Atlanta for a 12:30 p.m. start on RSN.  North Carolina and Pitt are off this weekend in advance of their Thursday night matchup next week. 

Notre Dame visits Duke for a 7:30 p.m. prime time kickoff on ACCN. The teams last met at South Bend early in the 2016 season, with Duke claiming a 38-35 win on then-freshman A.J. Reed’s field goal in the closing minutes. The Blue Devils are the fourth of five ACC opponents on this year’s Notre Dame schedule. 

In ESPN's Football Power Index, 13 of the ACC’s 14 teams are ranked in the top 80 of FPI, which ties for the most of any conference. FPI is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season.

There are 13 conference games remaining that involve at least one Coastal Division team, and entering week 11, there are 8,192 possible end-of-season standings scenarios. Following this week’s games, there will be 1,024 possible scenarios.

The ACC has posted 28 wins against teams with a .500 record-or-better, the most of any conference.

The ACC boasts two of the top 10 offenses in the country in No. 3 Clemson and No. 7 Wake Forest. Four ACC teams rank among the top 20 defenses in the country, including No. 4 Clemson, No. 10 Pitt, No. 14 Miami and No. 17 Virginia. The Tigers are the only team in the country in the top five in both total offense and total defense.

In the NCAA strength of schedule ranking, Louisville has played the nation's second-most difficult schedule based on past opposition. Louisville's opponents are a combined 44-18 (.710). It is the most difficult schedule to date of any Power 5 team. North Carolina and Florida State rank eighth. 

North Carolina has played eight games decided by one possession, which is the most in the country. Miami has played seven decided by eight points or fewer, Pitt has played six, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech have played five and Florida State has played four. North Carolina's five losses have come against teams that are a combined 34-8.

Most Games Decided by One Possession in 2019
Miami    7
North Carolina    8
Pitt    6
Eastern Michigan    6

Led by Pitt, seven ACC teams rank among the top 25 nationally in sacks per game. The Panthers lead the nation with 40 sacks in eight games (4.44/gm) and are followed by No. 5 Miami and Virginia (3.78), No. 8 NC State (3.71), No. 15 Clemson (3.22), No. 20 Virginia Tech (3.13) and No. 24 Florida State (2.89).

Clemson and Wake Forest are both ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll and the Amway Coaches Poll. Clemson is fourth in the AP poll and third in the Coaches poll. Wake Forest is No. 22 in the AP poll and No. 20 in the Coaches poll. Pitt and Virginia are receiving votes in at least one of the polls. 

Clemson has won 24 consecutive games. That is the second-longest streak in ACC history and the longest active streak in the country. The league record is 29 straight by Florida State from 2012-14. 

ACC Win Streaks (all games)
29 - Florida State, 2012-14
24 - Clemson, 2018-present
17 - Florida State, 1999-2000
17 - Clemson, 2014-15

Clemson has won a nation's best 27 consecutive regular season games. The last time the Tigers lost a regular season game was at Syracuse on Oct. 13, 2017. Clemson has won 58 of its last 60 regular season games.

Clemson registered its 750th all-time victory with a 45-14 win over Florida State on Oct. 12. Clemson, which now has 753 wins, leads all ACC teams and ranks 15th among all FBS schools.  Virginia Tech is 16th with 748. Georgia Tech (19th, 737) and Syracuse (22nd, 722) also rank among the top 25 in wins.

Eleven ACC head coaches have won at least 50 career games, including five with more than 100 victories.  The five 100-win coaches are UNC's Mack Brown (248), Clemson's Dabo Swinney (125), Wake Forest's Dave Clawson (125), Virginia's Bronco Mendenhall (121) and Duke's David Cutcliffe (115). No other conference has as many coaches with 100 career wins.  

Two of the five active coaches to win a national title reside in the ACC. Dabo Swinney led Clemson to national titles in 2016 and 2018. UNC's Mack Brown won a national title at Texas in 2005.

Wake Forest place-kicker Nick Sciba has converted 26 consecutive field goals (last 11 of 2018; all 15 in 2019). The ACC record is 27 by Marc Primanti of NC State (last seven of 1995; all 20 in 1996). The NCAA record of 30 is held by Chuck Nelson of Washington from 1981-82.

Clemson running back Travis Etienne has 48 career rushing touchdowns, which ranks fourth in ACC history. Pitt's James Conner (2013-14, 2016) holds the ACC career mark with 52. Etienne also has 51 career touchdowns (48 rushing, 3 receiving), which is tied for third in league history.

ACC Career Rushing Touchdowns
    1.    James Conner, UP    2013-14,16    52
    2.    Lamar Jackson, UL    2015-17    50
    3.    Ted Brown, NCSU     1975-78    49
    4.    Travis Etienne, CU    2017-present    48
    5.    James Davis, CU    2005-08    47

ACC Career Touchdowns
    1.    James Conner, UP    2013-14,16    56
    2.    Wali Lundy, UVA    2002-05    52
    3.    Ted Brown, NCSU    1975-78    51
        C.J. Spiller, CU    2006-09    51
        Travis Etiennie, CU    2017-present    51

ACC Career Scoring (excluding place-kickers)
    1.    James Conner, UP    2013-14,16    338
    2.    Ted Brown, NCSU    1975-78    312
    3.    Wali Lundy, UVA    2002-05    312
    4.    C.J. Spiller, CU    2006-09    310
    5.    Leon Johnson, UNC    1993-96    306
        Travis Etienne, CU    2017-present    306

Virginia kick returner Joe Reed (2016-present) is close to becoming the second player in ACC history with 3,000 kickoff return yards.  Reed has 2,989 kickoff return yards and currently ranks second behind ACC record-holder T.J. Graham of NC State (2008-12), who had 3,195 kickoff return yards.  Syracuse's Sean Riley ranks seventh with 2,412 kickoff return yards.

ACC Career Kickoff Return Yards
    1.    T.J. Graham, NCSU    2008-12    3,195
    2.    Joe Reed, UVA    2016-present    2,989
    3.    Torrey Smith, MD    2008-10    2,983
    7.    Sean Riley, SU    2016-present    2,377

BC running back AJ Dillon needs 17 yards to become just the eighth ACC player to reach 4,000 career rushing yards. If he reaches the 4k milestone, he would join Dalvin Cook and Lamar Jackson as the only players to do so in three seasons.

ACC Career Rushing Yards 
    1.    Ted Brown, NCSU    1975-78    4,602
    2.    Dalvin Cook, FSU    2014-16    4,464
    13.    AJ Dillon, BC    2017-present    3,983
    23.    Travis Etienne, CU    2017-present    3,526

Dillon is on pace to set the ACC record for rushing yards per game.  He is currently averaging 120.7 rushing yards per game, which is just ahead of the record set by FSU's Dalvin Cook set from 2014-16 (117.5 ypg).  Dillon is also climbing the ACC career rushing chart, currently ranking 13th in league history.

ACC Career Rushing Yards Per Game 
    1.    AJ Dillon, BC    2017-present    124.5
    2.    Dalvin Cook, FSU    2014-16    117.5
    3.    Lamar Jackson, UL    2015-17    108.7

Three ACC running backs – Boston College's AJ Dillon, Clemson's Travis Etienne and Florida State's Cam Akers – have been named semifinalists for the Maxwell Award, which is presented to the Collegiate Player of the Year. Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons and FSU nose guard Marvin Wilson were named Chuck Bednarik Award semifinalists. 

Miami defensive end Gregory Rousseau was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation National Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Hurricanes' 27-10 win over Florida State.  Rousseau had eight tackles, including five for losses, and four quarterback sacks in the win.  He led a Hurricane defensive unit that held the Seminoles to just 31 rushing yards. Rousseau is the fourth Miami player to earn Walter Camp National Player of the Week honors since 2004, and the first since defensive back Jaquan Jackson (Nov. 12, 2017).

Eleven different quarterbacks with ties to the ACC have made at least one start in the NFL this season. NC State leads all schools with four starters – Jacoby Brissett (Colts), Philip Rivers (Chargers), Russell Wilson (Seahawks) and Ryan Finley (Bengals).  Other starters from the ACC include Boston College's Matt Ryan (Falcons), Clemson's Deshaun Watson (Texans), Duke's Daniel Jones (NY Giants), Florida State's Jameis Winston (Buccaneers), Louisville's Lamar Jackson (Ravens) and North Carolina's Mitch Trubisky (Bears).

North Carolina freshman quarterback Sam Howell has thrown 26 touchdown passes this season, which is the third-highest freshman total in ACC history.

ACC Freshman Single-Season Touchdown Passes
    1.    Jameis Winston, FSU, 2013    40
    2.    Trevor Lawrence, CU, 2018    30
    3.    Brad Kaaya, UM, 2016    26
        Sam Howell, NC, 2019    26
    5.    Philip Rivers, NCSU, 2000    25 

Quarterbacks Jamie Newman of Wake Forest and Bryce Perkins of Virginia have been named to the Davey O'Brien and Manning Award weekly honor roll for their performance last weekend.  Newman accounted for five touchdowns (three passing, two rushing) and over 300 yards of total offense (287 passing, 30 rushing) in a 44-10 victory over NC State. Perkins amassed nearly 500 yards of offense, completing 30 of 39 pass attempts for 378 yards and three TDs, while rushing for 112 yards and two scores in a win over North Carolina.

UVA's Jordan Mack Named Campbell Trophy Finalist
Virginia linebacker Jordan Mack has been named a finalist for the 2019 William V. Campbell Trophy® Presented by Mazda, announced by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame (NFF). Celebrating its 30th year in 2019, the award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. An ACC player has won three of the last five Campbell Trophies and each of the last two.

Clemson's Simmons named Butkus Award Semifinalist
Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons has been named one of 12 semifinalists for the 35th annual Butkus Award®, which honors the nation’s best college linebacker.

Syracuse's Hofrichter Named Senior Class Award Finalist
Syracuse punter Sterling Hofrichter has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate football. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I FBS senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. 

Around The ACC
Boston College (BCeagles.com): Boston College finished with a school record 691 yards of offense in the win over Syracuse. The previous record for a single-game was 656 versus Penn State in 1982. BC’s 58 points against the Orange were the most in school history in an ACC game. The previous record was 52 in the win against NC State in 2009.
Clemson (ClemsonTigers.com): Despite playing an FCS opponent on Saturday, Clemson remains the only team in the country with seven Power Five wins this season, followed by Alabama, Penn State and Oregon with six each.
Duke (GoDuke.com): QB Quentin Harris has tallied at least one rushing score in five of Duke’s eight games.
Florida State (Seminoles.com): Odell Haggins, who coached the Seminoles to a 2-0 record as the interim coach in 2017, was named the interim coach Sunday after Willie Taggart was dismissed as head coach.
Georgia Tech (RamblinWreck.com): Juanyeh Thomas put together one of the best performances of his career with a career-high eight tackles, two tackles for loss and an acrobatic interception against Pitt. His eight tackles broke his previous career high of six and matched the most stops by a Georgia Tech defensive back this season. 
Louisville (GoCards.com): Louisville has intercepted a pass in four straight games for the first time since 2016. The Cards have six interceptions in the last four games as a team. UofL has forced nine turnovers in the last four games. UofL has forced multiple turnovers in the last four games for the first time since 2016.
Miami (HurricaneSports.com): In the win over the Seminoles, redshirt freshman defensive end Gregory Rousseau put together a dominant performance with a career-high five tackles for loss and became the first Hurricane since at least 2000 to record four sacks in a game. Rousseau, who now has 12 sacks on the year, already ranks fourth in Miami history in single season sacks, and set a career mark with eight tackles in the win. He was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation National Defensive Player of the Week.
North Carolina (GoHeels.com):  In the loss to Virginia, QB Sam Howell threw multiple touchdowns for the ninth straight game to begin his career. That is the longest active streak in FBS moving past Ohio State’s Justin Fields, who was off. Howell averaged a season-high 23.5 yards on his 15 completions vs. the Wahoos.
NC State (GoPack.com): Wolfpack WR Devin Carter set career-bests with six catches for 140 yards against Boston College. It marked his first game over 100 yards receiving.
Pitt (PittsburghPanthers.com): Pitt won its third consecutive ACC road game with a 20-10 victory at Georgia Tech. With the win, the Panthers became bowl eligible for the 16th time since 2000.
Syracuse (Cuse.com): Against BC, QB Tommy DeVito completed 25 of 36 pass attempts for 289 yards and three touchdowns to extend his streak of consecutive passes without an interception to 131.
Virginia (VirginiaSports.com): QB Bryce Perkins had a record-setting night in UVA’s 38-31 win at North Carolina. Perkins completed 30 of 39 passes (.769) with no interceptions for 378 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed the ball 24 times for 112 yards and two rushing touchdowns. His 490 yards of total offense is the most in UVA history, the most in the ACC this season. 
Virginia Tech (HokieSports.com):  Safety Divine Deablo Scored on a 98-yard fumble return TD, the first of his career. It was the longest fumble return for the Virginia Tech defense on record since 1987 and the longest ever against the Irish.
Wake Forest (GoDeacs.com): QB Jamie Newman accounted for five touchdowns against NC State (three passing, two rushing). In the first quarter, he threw a 5-yard scoring pass to TE Jack Freudenthal and ran for TDs of 20 and 2 yards.  He became the third FBS QB to rush for multiple TDs and throw a TD pass in a single quarter of a game this year, joining Ohio State’s Justin Fields and Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts. Newman tied the school record by throwing a touchdown pass in 11 consecutive games.

ACC Football Championship Game Tickets Now on Sale
Tickets for the 2019 ACC Football Championship Game are now on sale via Ticketmaster. Tickets can also be purchased on the ACC’s official website, theACC.com, and at the Bank of America Stadium Ticket Office.  Prices start at $45 for upper level seating and $55 for lower level seating. This year all tickets for the game will follow the Bank of America mobile ticket process. Fans must access their digital tickets through their mobile phones in order to enter the stadium. 

The 15th annual ACC Football Championship Game is set for a prime time kickoff and will be nationally televised at 7:30 p.m. on ABC. ACC Football Championship Games played at Bank of America Stadium have had an average attendance of more than 70,000 with four sellouts.

Ten different ACC teams have competed in the game, including a different Coastal Division team each of the previous six years.