Around the ACC Mid-Week

By Joe Johnson
Sep 21, 2005 

Boston College
Will Blackmon has a touchdown catch in two straight games. Boston College is only allowing 39 yards rushing per game to lead the ACC and rank third nationally.
Boston College plays its first ACC game on the road at Clemson on Saturday. The Eagles won the last game the teams played in 1983, which was a 31-16 victory in Chestnut Hill. Last season Boston College shook off three losses and won each time afterwards.

Clemson
Kicker Jad Dean leads the ACC in scoring with 11.7 points per game so far this season. Turnovers have been hard to come by for Clemson this season as the Tigers only have one takeaway in their first three games. The last time Clemson hosted Boston College in 1983, the game ended in a 17-17 tie.

Duke
Backup running back Justin Boyle rushed for a career-high 113 yards and a pair of touchdowns against VMI as Duke won its first game of the season. The Blue Devils, who travel to Virginia, are seeking their first back-to-back wins since 2003.

Florida State
Freshman wide receiver Greg Carr has a pair to two-touchdown games in his first two games with the Seminoles. Linebacker A.J. Nicholson recorded 19 tackles and returned an interception for a touchdown against Boston College.

Georgia Tech
The Yellow Jackets are off to their best start since 2001 when they last started 3 -0. Georgia Tech leads the nation with 10 interceptions. Tailback P.J. Daniels has four straight 100-yard games and is 18th nationally with an average of 109.3 rushing yards per game. The Yellow Jackets, who travel to Virginia Tech, are playing their second road game against a ranked opponent.

Maryland
Quarterback Sam Hollenbach leads the ACC in passing with 796 yards and five touchdowns. Maryland has started the season at 1-2 for the third time in the last four seasons. The Terrapins have won 39 of the previous 53 games against Wake Forest. Maryland has won six straight against Wake Forest. The Terrapins are
3-1 in ACC openers under Ralph Friedgen.

Miami
Running back Tyrone Moss is second the ACC and 12th nationally with a 120.5 rushing average for the Hurricanes. Miami is 21-5 in its last 26 games against ranked opponents after beating Clemson in triple overtime. Miami has not beaten Colorado in the Buffalos' last two trips to the Orange Bowl.

N.C. State
The Wolfpack snapped a four-game losing streak at home when it beat Eastern Kentucky 54-10 last Saturday. Freshman running back Toney Baker ran for two touchdowns and caught another in the first quarter against the Colonels. N.C. State has not allowed an opponent to gain more than 300 yards on offense in six straight games. N.C. State and North Carolina have the fourth-longest rivalry in the ACC with a string of 95 straight games.

North Carolina
Quarterback Matt Baker leads the ACC in total offense with 286.0 yards per game.
Wide receiver Jesse Holley has caught at least four passes in his last four games.
The Tar Heels are playing the fourth-toughest schedule according to the Sagarin Computer Rankings. The Tar Heels have won seven of the last 10 games played at N.C. State.

Virginia
Wide receiver Deyon Williams caught a career-high seven passes for 61 yards in Virginia's thrilling win over Syracuse. Quarterback Marques Hagans rushed for a career-high 110 yards, including a 26-yard gain in the Cavaliers' game-winning drive. Virginia has beaten Duke five straight years. The Cavaliers are 3-1 in home openers under Al Groh.

Virginia Tech
With its 45-0 win over Ohio, Virginia Tech extended its winning streak to 20 straight against non-conference opponents at home. The Hokies posted consecutive shutouts for the first time since 2001. Quarterback Marcus Vick has been extremely efficient with an ACC-leading six touchdown passes among his 56 passing attempts. The Hokies will play Georgia Tech for only the third time and the teams meet as ranked opponents for the first time.

Wake Forest
Running back Chris Barclay tied the school record with four rushing touchdowns in Wake Forest's 44-34 win over East Carolina. Wake Forest had its second-best day ever rushing the ball against East Carolina as it finished with 407 yards on the ground. Wake Forest is 1-3 in ACC openers under Jim Grobe.