Notre Dame TE Troy Niklas catches a touchdown in the first half at Boston College. (US Presswire)

ACC scoreboard

Virginia 41, Miami 40: QB Michael Rocco hit TE Jake McGee for a 10-yard TD with six seconds left to give Virginia (4-6, 2-4 ACC) a win over Miami (5-5, 4-3 ACC). Rocco was 29 of 37 for 300 yards and four touchdowns. Rocco set a school record with 18 consecutive completions. Miami RB Duke Johnson returned a kickoff for a touchdown, threw for a touchdown and rushed for 150 yards. The Hurricanes can still win the Coastal Division with a win at Duke on Nov. 24.

Georgia Tech 68, North Carolina 50: QB Vad Lee rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns and passed for another as Georgia Tech (5-5, 4-3 ACC) and North Carolina (6-4, 3-3 ACC) played the highest-scoring game in ACC history. The Yellow Jackets and Tar Heels combined for 1,076 yards. North Carolina RB Giovani Bernard scored twice and went over 1,000 rushing yards this season.

No. 10 Clemson 45, Maryland 10: Clemson (9-1, 6-1 ACC) led 28-0 early in the second quarter and cruised past injury-riddled Maryland (4-6, 2-4 ACC). The Tigers won the total yardage battle 436-180, and Clemson QB Tajh Boyd threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns. Maryland linebacker turned QB Shawn Petty was 6 of 12 for 41 yards and a touchdown. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)

NC State 37, Wake Forest 6: NC State (6-4, 3-3 ACC) sacked Tanner Price five times and beat Wake Forest (5-5, 3-5 ACC) to become bowl eligible. Freshman RB Shadrach Thornton ran for 110 yards for the Wolfpack, and QB Mike Glennon passed for 258 yards and two touchdowns. The NC State defense harassed Price, who was 18 of 33 for 113 yards and an interception.

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No. 4 Notre Dame 21, Boston College 6: QB Everett Golson passed for two touchdowns and rushed for another as Notre Dame (10-0) won at Boston College (2-8, 1-5 ACC). RB Theo Riddick rushed for 104 yards for the Irish. Boston College recovered two Notre Dame fumbles to help the Eagles remain close, but the offense was unable to find the end zone. The Irish held Boston College to 57 yards rushing and held QB Chase Rettig to 247 yards and an interception on 27-of-43 passing. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)

Thursday

No. 8 Florida State 28, Virginia Tech 22: QB EJ Manuel hit WR Rashad Greene for a 39-yard touchdown with 40 seconds remaining to give Florida State (9-1, 6-1 ACC) a road win over Virginia Tech (4-6, 2-4 ACC). Manuel completed 25 of 42 passes for 326 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. The Hokies held the Seminoles to minus-15 rushing yards. Virginia Tech WR Corey Fuller had seven receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com’s Eye on College Football blog)

Play of the week: Virginia faced a second-and-goal from the 10-yard line, down five and needing a touchdown with just 11 seconds to play. Rocco took the snap in the shotgun, calmly stood in the pocket and delivered a pass to McGee in the back of the end zone. The 6-foot-5 McGee went up, made the catch and got his left foot inbounds for the game-winning score.

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(Courtesy of the ACC Digital Network)

Runner-up: The Seminoles were in danger of letting another second-half lead slip away on the road when Manuel hit Greene with under a minute left to give Florida State a crucial conference win. The victory means the Seminoles will win the Atlantic Division with a victory at Maryland next week.

(Courtesy of the ACC Digital Network)

He said what? This from Andrew Carter of The News & Observer in Raleigh:

RapidReports defensive star of the week: DE Cornellius “Tank” Carradine, Florida State. Carradine looked like the best player on the field Thursday night, leading the Seminoles with 11 tackles and a sack. He was all over the field, making plays in the backfield and also chasing plays down. Carradine leads the ACC with nine sacks, one more than teammate DE Bjoern Werner.

RapidReports offensive star of the week: RB Johnson, Miami. Johnson had 370 all-purpose yards in a losing effort at Virginia on Saturday. He rushed for 150 yards on 16 carries and returned four kickoffs for a combined 216 yards. Johnson also threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to WR Allen Hurns for Miami’s first score and returned a kickoff 95 yards for Miami’s second score.

His seat is getting uncomfortable: Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer. Beamer’s job isn’t in jeopardy, and it shouldn’t be. But with every loss, there will be more pressure on Beamer to shake up his staff in the offseason, particularly on offense. Beamer is loyal to his assistants, and the last thing he wants to do is start firing coaches. But the way this season has gone he might not have any choice.

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A possible spot on the bench for: QB Phillip Sims, Virginia. Sims did not play poorly as he split time with Rocco. Sims was 11 of 14 for 88 yards and ran for a touchdown, but Rocco rallied Virginia from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Miami. The quarterback rotation is tough to figure out in Charlottesville, but on Saturday, Rocco looked like the one that gives Virginia the best chance to win.

Why you care about these three stat lines:

  1. Virginia Tech limited Florida State to minus-15 rushing yards. Outside the final drive, the Hokies played excellent defense Thursday. The Seminoles came into the game averaging 234.6 rushing yards per game, and their previous season-low was 125 yards at NC State. Virginia Tech’s front seven continued its stellar play in the second half of the season.
  2. Virginia had just one turnover. The Cavaliers are minus-12 in turnover margin this season, but they were even with Miami on Saturday. The last two weeks, Virginia has not beaten itself, and it has two wins to show for it.
  3. Wake Forest WR Michael Campanaro had five catches for 14 yards. NC State’s secondary has not lived up to expectations this season, but the Wolfpack did a nice job bottling up Campanaro. NC State’s pass rush certainly had something to do with the defense’s effectiveness against the pass, getting five sacks.

Key number: 118. Georgia Tech and North Carolina combined for 118 points, setting an ACC record for most points in a game. The previous record was 110 when Virginia beat Tulane 63-47 in 1968.

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from ACC bloggers Shawn Krest and Sean Bielawski, follow @CBSSportsACC.

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