ACC Buzz: Scores plus the best, worst of Week 6

NC State stuns No. 3 Florida State late, No. 15 Clemson pulls away from Georgia Tech and Notre Dame crushes 'Canes.

By Sean Bielawski

Oct 6, 2012 at 5:05 pm ET • 7 min read

NC State wide receiver Bryan Underwood scores the game-winning touchdown in the closing seconds against No. 3 Florida State on Saturday night. (AP)

ACC scoreboard

Army 34, Boston College 31: Army QB Trent Steelman rushed for a 29-yard touchdown with 45 seconds remaining to give the Black Knights (1-4) their first win of the season. Steelman rushed for three touchdowns and was one of three Army players to rush for 100 yards, as the Black Knights rushed for 516 yards. Steelman had 141 yards, RB Raymond Maples 181 and Larry Dixon added 128. Boston College (1-4, 0-2 ACC) RB Andre Williams had a 99-yard touchdown run and 191 rushing yards with two touchdowns.

North Carolina 48, Virginia Tech 34: North Carolina (4-2, 1-1 ACC) had zero yards in its first three offensive drives but ended with 533 as it pulled away from Virginia Tech (3-3, 1-1 ACC). North Carolina RB Giovani Bernard ran for 262 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries. The Tar Heels had 339 rushing yards, and WR Sean Tapley had a receiving touchdown and a kickoff return for a touchdown. Virginia Tech QB Logan Thomas was 26 of 49 for 355 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He also rushed for a score. This was the first time in 14 games Virginia Tech has lost a true ACC road game in the state of North Carolina since joining the ACC.

Duke 42, Virginia 17: Duke (5-1, 2-0 ACC) moved to within a win of becoming eligible for its first bowl since 1994 with a lopsided win over Virginia (2-4, 0-2 ACC). Backup QB Anthony Boone filled in for injured starter Sean Renfree and passed for 212 yards and four touchdowns -- the most scores by a Blue Devils’ QB in his first start since Dave Brown in 1989. WR Conner Vernon became the ACC’s career receptions leader with his first catch of the day, number 233 of his career. He finished with seven catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns.

No. 15 Clemson 47, Georgia Tech 31: Clemson QB Tajh Boyd hit WR DeAndre Hopkins for a 35-yard touchdown pass and a 38-31 lead with 10:29 left and give the Tigers (5-1, 2-1 ACC) the lead for good over Georgia Tech (2-4, 1-3 ACC). Boyd had 397 passing yards and two touchdowns with 63 rushing yards and a score. Hopkins continued his strong season with seven catches for 173 yards and two touchdowns. Yellow Jackets QB Tevin Washington threw for 144 yards and a touchdown and ran for 104 yards and two scores. Georgia Tech has lost three in a row. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com’s Eye on College Football blog.)

Maryland 19, Wake Forest 14: A 63-yard pass from Perry Hills to Stefon Diggs set up a go-ahead touchdown run by Justus Pickett as Maryland (3-2, 1-0 ACC) beat an undermanned Wake Forest (3-3, 1-3 ACC) in College Park. Wake was without six players who were suspended Friday night after unspecified violations of team rules, including CB Merill Noel, G Frank Souza and RB Deandre Martin. Diggs had five catches for 105 yards for Maryland.

No. 9 Notre Dame 41, Miami 3: Notre Dame (5-0) rolled up 586 yards and comfortably beat Miami (4-2, 3-0 ACC) in the first regular-season matchup between the schools since 1990. The Fighting Irish had two players rush for more than 100 yards as RB George Atkinson III ran for 123 yards and a touchdown, and RB Cierre Wood had 117 yards and two scores. Miami QB Stephen Morris threw for 201 yards but received little help from his receivers, who dropped multiple passes. The Hurricanes never could get anything going offensively and finished with 12 first downs compared to 34 for Notre Dame, the most ever allowed by Miami. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com’s Eye on College Football blog.)

NC State 17, No. 3 Florida State 16: QB Mike Glennon threw a touchdown pass to WR Bryan Underwood with 16 seconds remaining to give NC State (4-2, 1-1 ACC) its first lead of the game in an upset of Florida State (5-1, 2-1 ACC). Glennon threw for 41 yards in the first half, and the Wolfpack trailed 16-0. But NC State held the Seminoles scoreless after halftime, and Glennon finished 30 of 55 for 259 yards. Florida State QB EJ Manuel was 17 of 29 for 218 yards with a touchdown and an interception. (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog.)

Play of the week: NC State faced a fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line with 19 seconds left, trailing Florida State 16-10. Glennon dropped back to pass and hit Underwood who was wide open over the middle for a touchdown. The score gave the Wolfpack the win and more than likely knocked the Seminoles out of the national championship hunt.

Runner-up: Boston College RB Williams took a handoff in the second quarter, busted through the line and went up the right sideline for a 99-yard touchdown run. It was the longest run in ACC history, eclipsing a 98-yard run by Maryland's Steve Atkins in 1978. The run tied the game at 14 and seemed to give the Eagles momentum. Boston College built its lead to 24-14 in the second quarter.

He said what? Virginia QB Phillip Sims (21 of 42, 268 yards, 2 INTs) on his first start, according to Norm Wood of the Daily Press:

Sims on his effort:"In my opinion, it wasn't very good, to be quite honest.I didn't put my teammates in enough positions to make plays" #UVA
— Norm Wood (@normwood) October 7, 2012

RapidReports defensive star of the day: S Walt Canty, Duke. Canty had 14 tackles and a career-high three tackles for loss as the Blue Devils shut out Virginia in the second half Saturday. Canty helped the defense hold the Cavaliers to just 2 rushing yards in the second half after allowing 184 in the first. One of Canty’s stops behind the line came against Virginia RB Kevin Parks on a fourth-down play in the second half with Duke leading 21-17. The Blue Devils took over and scored on their next possession.

RapidReports offensive star of the day: Bernard, North Carolina. Bernard’s 262 rushing yards are the most allowed by Virginia Tech under coach Frank Beamer, who has been at the school since 1987. Bernard averaged 11.4 yards per carry. He was bottled up in the first quarter with six carries for 18 yards. But he had 17 carries for 244 yards and two touchdowns the rest of the game.

His seat is getting uncomfortable: Frank Spaziani, Boston College. This is the lowest point of Spaziani’s tenure as coach in Chestnut Hill. The Eagles lost to an Army team that was winless coming into the game and lost 23-3 to FCS opponent Stony Brook last week. Boston College has to travel to Florida State on Saturday. With a new athletic director about to be hired, it would take a remarkable turnaround for Spaziani to save his job.

A possible spot on the bench for: Virginia Tech’s front seven. The Hokies had one sack Saturday at North Carolina and have eight sacks in their first six games. Last year, Virginia Tech finished with 41 sacks, which tied for sixth nationally. This year, despite returning every starter in their front seven, the Hokies have not been able to generate a consistent pass rush.

Why you care about these three stat lines:

Virginia Tech’s running backs combined for 16 carries and 33 yards. Virginia Tech has been searching for a go-to running back, but one has not emerged. Michael Holmes finished with eight carries for 19 yards and a lost fumble. J.C. Coleman had six carries for 5 yards and Martin Scales ran twice for 8 yards.
Boston College allowed 516 rushing yards. The Eagles have allowed at least 208 rushing yards to each of its four FBS opponents this year. In those games, opponents are averaging 306.5 yards rushing per game against Boston College. That's a far cry from where this Eagles' defense was just two years ago when it led the nation in rushing defense (82.6 yards per game).
Maryland held Wake Forest to 241 total yards. Granted, the Demon Deacons were short-handed, especially without injured WR Michael Campanaro. But the Terrapins have held four of their five opponents to 241 yards or fewer. The lone exception was West Virginia, and even then, Maryland held the Mountaineers' high-powered attack to 363 yards. The Terrapins are playing well under first-year defensive coordinator Brian Stewart.

Key number: 237. North Carolina WR Tapley returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter against the Hokies. It snapped Virginia Tech’s streak of 237 consecutive games without allowing a kickoff return for a touchdown, the longest active streak in the NCAA. The last time it happened was Nov. 13, 1993 against Syracuse.