Around The ACC Mid-Week

By Joe Johnson
Nov 3, 2005 

Boston College
Brian Toal is getting it done on both sides of the ball for the Eagles. In a rare display of versatility, Toal leads Boston College in scoring (36 points) with six touchdowns and he also is among the team leaders in tackling with 47 stops, including six for loss. Toal also has been a big help keeping drives alive for BC as he has nine carries that resulted in first downs.

Clemson
Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst continues his climb up the ACC statistical ladder. The senior has eight 300-yard passing games in his career and has tossed multiple touchdowns in 13 games. Overall, Whitehurst is sixth on the ACC career passing list (9,019 yards) and is eighth in total offense (9,122). This season, Whitehurst has been clutch for the Tigers, especially on third down. He has completed almost 62 percent (39 of 63) of his third-down passes and that includes 20 first downs and three touchdowns.

Duke
If Duke could get more big plays like those running back Ronnie Drummer has peeled off, then the Blue Devils might have won more than one game so far. Drummond has averaged 8.3 yards per carry and he has 11 plays of at least 20 yards.

Florida State
Florida State quarterbacks have had a knack for leading the ACC in total offense and Drew Weatherford is following is some pretty good foot steps. Weatherford has averaged 267.9 yards to lead the ACC in total offense and 267.8 yards to lead in passing. He has 14 TD passes to lead the league and his 2,142 passing yards are third in ACC history by a freshman.

Georgia Tech
Defense has been the name of the game for the Yellow Jackets. With Eric Henderson recording two sacks against Clemson, he ran his career total to 22 and upped his tackles for loss to 55. All the pressure Henderson brings has helped Georgia Tech's secondary to be second in the nation with 15 interceptions.

Maryland
Linebacker D'Qwell Jackson, who leads the ACC and nation in tackling with 14 per game, is one of 12 semifinalists for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which is given to the outstanding defensive player of the year by the Maxwell Football Club. Jackson also is in the hunt for the Butkus Award and the Lott Trophy.

Miami
After a slow first half against North Carolina, running back Tyrone Moss came back with a huge second half. Moss leads the ACC in rushing with 129.5 yards per game. Against the Tar Heels, Moss ran for a career-high 195 yards and four touchdowns.

N.C. State
Freshman running back Andre Brown made a splash for the Wolfpack in his most extensive playing time this season. Brown ran for a career-high 248 yards and two touchdowns as he helped the Wolfpack rally by Southern Miss 21-17. With Brown's effort, N.C. State ran for a season-high 297 yards and increased their season average by almost 30 yards to go from 90.3 to 119.9.

North Carolina
The next three games for the Tar Heels are key. All are at home. The Tar Heels have been able to do some pretty good things on defense at home and they will need to come up with another gem against the beefy Eagles. UNC has forced seven turnovers in games at home this season and turnover margin is one of the overlooked statistics when trying to figure out why teams win or lose.

Virginia
The Cavaliers are in the home stretch, literally. The Cavaliers open a stretch of three home games with Temple to wind the season down. Virginia is coming off a bye week and are 6-2 coming off a bye since 2001. Temple is facing its fourth ACC opponent this season. Virginia kicker Connor Hughes has hit 81.9 percent (59 of 72) career field goals and is tied for 11th on the ACC career scoring list.

Virginia Tech
When the Hokies host Miami on Saturday night, it will mark the third time in ACC history that top-five team have played. Virginia Tech and Miami have matched up as top-five teams once before when they were in the Big East. Both times Virginia Tech has been the higher ranked teams. In 2000 when the teams met, No. 3 Miami beat No. 2 Virginia Tech.

Wake Forest
Punter Ryan Plakemeier has gotten a lot of chances to kick this season and it has paid off. Plackemeier leads the nation in net punting and is second in punting average. Those numbers are good enough to be one of 10 semifinalists for the Ray Guy Award, which is given to the best college punter each year. Throughout his career, Plackemeier has been a solid punter for the Demon Deacons and holds the NCAA record for career average at 44.98. This season he has averaged 46.6 yards on 57 punts, including nine of at least 60 yards. Plackemeier has had 18 punts inside the 20.