Around the ACC: Miami Continues Hot Start

The No. 21 ranked Pitt Panthers remained one of a handful of 3-0 teams — which includes Miami, SMU, UTSA and Louisiana-Lafayette — following their 23-20 victory over No. 24 Louisville Saturday at Heinz Field.

No. 1 ranked Clemson was off yesterday as was Notre Dame, after their matchup against Wake Forest was postponed due to COVID issues.

Here’s a recap of the other ACC teams in action during Week 3 of the college football season.

Virginia Tech 45 – N.C. State 24

Despite missing 23 players and 4 coaches due to injuries and COVID issues, Virginia Tech dominated NC State from start to finish. Hokies third string quarterback Quincy Patterson II, entered the game in the 2nd quarter for injured starter Braxton Burmeister, and threw two touchdown passes and ran for another. VA Tech ran for a total of 315 yards against the Wolf Pack defense, led by Khalil Herbert with 104 yards and a TD. NC State went with backup quarterback Devin Leary in the 2nd half and he threw for 165 yards and a TD.

Miami FL 52 – Florida State 10

The once highly competitive rivalry has turned into an embarrassment for the Florida State program as they were humbled last night on national television by their in-state rival. The Hurricanes scored touchdowns on their first five possessions of the game and handed the Seminoles the worst loss in this series since a 47-0 shutout in 1976.

Miami quarterback D’Eriq King threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns while Cam’Ron Harris and Don Chaney each scored two touchdowns. Florida State was without head coach Mike Norvell, who tested positive for coronavirus earlier in the week.

Boston College 24 – Texas State 21

It wasn’t pretty but Jeff Hafley’s team found a way to beat Texas State, 24-21. Despite being 21 point favorites, Boston College trailed by 14 points and needed a last second 36 yard field goal by Aaron Boumerhi to escape with a win. BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec completed 26 of 38 passes for 210 yards, with one touchdown and an interception, while also scoring the first two touchdowns with his legs. Next up for Boston College is a matchup against Mack Brown and North Carolina.

Virginia 38 – Duke 20

Virginia got to finally play a game this season and after a slow start, the Cavaliers easily beat winless Duke. Trailing 20-17 entering the 4th quarter, Virginia scored three touchdowns and used a blitzing defense to put away Duke. Former Thomas Jefferson star Zane Zandier collected a team-high 15 tackles and Virginia’s defense forced seven turnovers. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Brennan Armstrong, making his first career start, hit freshman Lavel Davis Jr. for a 18 yard TD pass to give Virginia a lead they’d never lose. For the game, Armstrong completed 24 of 45 passes for 269 yards with two passing and a rushing touchdowns.

Syracuse 37 – Georgia Tech 20

Syracuse rebounded from last week’s loss to Pitt and picked up their first ACC win of the season. Quarterback Tommy DeVito threw for two touchdowns passes and freshman running back Sean Tucker ran for 111 yards and two scores. Syracuse was able to overcome the loss of injured All-American safety candidate Andre Cisco to force five Yellow Jacket turnovers.

ACC STANDINGS

NAME / ACC / OVERALL
Miami, Florida    2-0      3-0
PITT                  2-0      3-0
Boston College  1-0       2-0
Clemson             1-0      2-0
Notre Dame       1-0      2-0
North Carolina   1-0      1-0
Virginia               1-0     1-0
Virginia Tech      1-0      1-0
N.C. State           1-1      1-1
Georgia Tech      1-1      1-2
Syracuse             1-2      1-2
Louisville            0-2      1-2
Florida State       0-2      0-2
Wake Forest       0-2      0-2
Duke                   0-3      0-3