J.C. Coleman helped lead Virginia Tech back from a 20-point deficit against Duke. (US Presswire)

ACC scoreboard

Virginia Tech 41, Duke 20: Duke (5-2, 2-1 ACC) appeared on its way to becoming bowl eligible after scoring the first 20 points against a reeling Virginia Tech (4-3, 2-1 ACC). But the Hokies rallied for 41 unanswered points. Hokies RB J.C. Coleman had touchdown runs of 45 and 86 yards, and receiver Marcus Davis had five catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns.

North Carolina 18, Miami 14: Giovani Bernard rushed for 176 yards and two touchdowns as North Carolina (5-2, 2-1 ACC) gave Miami (4-3, 3-1 ACC) its first conference loss. The Tar Heels overcame 15 penalties for 140 yards, including roughing the punter and 12-men-on-the-field penalties to prolong a Hurricanes' scoring drive. Miami lost starting QB Stephen Morris to an ankle injury late in the game.  

Maryland 27, Virginia 20: Maryland (4-2, 2-0 ACC) became the ACC's only undefeated team in conference play after holding on against Virginia (2-5, 0-3 ACC). QB Perry Hills ran for a touchdown and threw for another, and Stefon Diggs had 239 all-purpose yards on eight touches. 

Florida State 51, Boston College 7: Florida State (6-1, 3-1 ACC) became the first ACC team to become bowl eligible by pounding Boston College (1-5, 0-3 ACC). EJ Manuel shredded the Eagles' defense with 439 yards and four touchdowns on 27-of-34 passing. K Dustin Hopkins had six extra points and three field goals to become the ACC’s career scoring leader with 402 points, passing Maryland’s Nick Novak (393). (For more on the game, check out CBSSports.com's Eye on College Football blog)

Play of the week: Maryland freshman Diggs took the game’s opening kickoff several yards deep in the end zone. He brought it out, cut left and then turned up the middle. After breaking a tackle just shy of midfield, Diggs was loose, and no one on Virginia's coverage team would catch him. Officially, he was credited with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, Maryland’s first since 2009.

He said what? Virginia Tech's Davis on Duke's meltdown. 

He said what? Part 2: North Carolina coach Larry Fedora, sounding more like a losing coach than a winner: "I may be one of the most frustrated people in the world. I get frustrated if we don’t score, if we don’t pick up a first down, every time it doesn’t happen. We left a lot of points out there. That’s no one’s fault but ours with the way we shot ourselves in the foot with the penalties.

RapidReports defensive star of the day: DE James Gayle, Virginia Tech. Gayle led the Hokies with 9 tackles and had 2.5 tackles for loss and one sack. He led a Hokies' defense that harassed Duke QB Sean Renfree all day. Duke quarterbacks had been sacked four times in the first six games but went down five times Saturday.

RapidReports offensive star of the day: Coleman, Virginia Tech. The Hokies had lost two straight games and were down 20-0 at home against Duke. VT needed a spark, and coach Frank Beamer turned to Coleman. He responded, with a 45-yard touchdown run to give Tech the lead and an 86-yarder to ice the game. Coleman finished with 183 yards on 13 carries, the ninth-best rushing day since Beamer has been coach.

His seat is getting uncomfortable: Mike London, Virginia. It's not the first Saturday that London has been on the seat. It may not be the last. The Cavaliers have lost five straight for the first time since 2009. He had to pull his quarterback in his second game as a starter and got booed by the home fans for choosing to punt on fourth-and-1 late in the game. Even worse news for London: Maryland was one of the few winnable games left on the schedule. 

A possible spot on the bench for: QB Phillip Sims, Virginia. In just his second start since taking over for Michael Rocco, Sims couldn’t move the Cavaliers' offense. His second pass of the game was intercepted, and Virginia managed just three points in two red-zone trips in the first half. Sims left with 139 yards passing, and Rocco finished the game as the quarterback controversy continues in Charlottesville.

Why you care about these three stat lines:

  1. None of Duke’s running backs had more than five carries. A week after Giovani Bernard torched the Hokies' defense for 262 yards rushing, Duke ran 29 times for 22 yards, a 0.8 average. That total included eight rushes by quarterbacks. Blue Devils RBs Juwan Thompson, Jela Duncan and Josh Snead each got the ball five times.
  2. Virginia Tech had 14 yards on its first 10 offensive plays. That stretch ended with a Logan Thomas interception that Jordon Byas returned for a touchdown. After that, the Hokies had 511 yards on 52 plays, going from 1.4 yards per play to 9.8. At the same time the Hokies put their offense in high gear, the Blue Devils saw theirs go into deep freeze. Duke managed just 198 yards on 56 plays after the early explosion, averaging 3.5 yards per snap after an 8.7 average at the start.
  3. Giovani Bernard has 438 yards rushing the past two weeks. Despite missing two-and-a-half games with injuries, Bernard has 651 yards this season, more than any other running back in the ACC.  

Key number: 17. Under Beamer, Virginia Tech’s biggest comeback win had been from a 17-point deficit before the Hokies dug their way out of a 20-0 hole against Duke on Saturday.

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