Football parity that dominates the ACC _ except in Clemson
Football parity that dominates the ACC _ except in Clemson
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Clemson's trainer, Dabo Swinney, breathed a sigh of relief when his Tigers remained undefeated, barely, in a victory to come from behind on Syracuse.
The winning score in a 27-23 win a little over a week ago was scored with less than a minute to play: in Death Valley, no less, in front of more than 80,000 rabid fans. And he faced a team that has won only one road game at the Atlantic Coast Conference in three seasons with Dino Babers.
This season is emerging as an even greater parity in the ACC.
Only three teams are classified: Clemson No. 4 (6-0), Miami No. 16 (5-1) and North Carolina State (5-0) No. 20 - after Virginia Tech (3-2, 2-0). )) was rejected of the classification for the second time after a defeat at home before the No. 5 of Notre Dame.
Only two teams, Louisville (2-4, 0-3) in the Atlantic Division and North Carolina (1-3, 1-1) on the Coast, have lost overall records.
It seems that everything is set for a race to the title game of the conference, full of tension, especially with Duke, Boston College and Syracuse who have shown some early season spunk and Clemson (6-0, 3-0) playing with inexperienced field marshals.
The Tigers still have to play in the state of North Carolina, the state of Florida, Duke and Boston College in their search for another place in the college football Playoff.
"Only in the last two years we had 21 bowl teams, so, I mean, that's pretty amazing," Swinney said. "There are many teams that are winning ... and that means for me that anyone can beat anyone on any day in this league."
Led by senior quarterback Ryan Finley (330.4 yards per game), Wolfpack has a 5-0 record for the first time since 2002, and only the sixth time in nearly a century. The state of North Carolina increased its winning streak to seven games in a row after it barely kept out of Boston College 28-23 at home on Saturday. And the Eagles (4-2, 1-1) lacked star runner AJ Dillon, the ACC's main running back who was out with an ankle injury.
Miami (5-1, 2-0) has won five in a row after losing its first game of the season against LSU, while Florida State (3-3, 1-3) struggled with first-year coach Willie Taggart . Still, against the Hurricanes' second-place defense, FSU built a 27-7 lead at the end of the third quarter on Saturday on the road, then had a fourth-quarter touchdown voided by penalty and lost 28-27.
"This parity in this league, I told our team, 'Welcome to the next seven games you will play,'" said Duke coach David Cutcliffe after his Blue Devils left their first ACC game at Virginia Tech. "All the ACC games will be the same, it will require you to play the best you can."
Louisville, who has not recovered from the departure of Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson, and Wake Forest (3-3, 0-2) have struggled in the conference game, but other teams have recovered to help level the playing field.
"I think it will be open, I'm not sure there's a big difference between anyone, maybe with an exception," said Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente. "It should be interesting to see how it develops, maybe some of the teams that people do not think about first are going to have very good years."
Some of those computers and why they may be threats:
SYRACUSE
After the close decision against Clemson, the Orange (4-2, 1-2), who have won only four games in each of the last three seasons, were on the cusp of being classified for the first time since 2001. But the Saturday they lost a late lead in Pittsburgh and lost in overtime.
What makes Syracuse a dangerous team is senior quarterback Eric Dungey, who created an amazing attack on second-placed Clemson a year ago. He is responsible for 17 points per game (seven terrestrial and 10 passes), which leads the ACC.
"I'm not sure there's another combination of runners and passers in college football who can do some of the things that Eric can do with his arms and legs," Babers said.
The Orange, who are tied for the national lead with Clemson and Miami with 3.33 sacks per game, have BC, No. 5 Notre Dame and N.C. State ahead.
BOSTON COLLEGE
The Eagles qualified (23) for the first time since 2008 after defeating Wake Forest to open the ACC game. With the pace of Dillon (6.15 yards per carry) and QB Anthony Brown (20th nationally in yards with 14.12), BC scored 40 or more points in his first three games for the first time in school history. BC is also tied for third place nationally with 16 kills (10 interceptions, six fumble recoveries) and has 18 sacks. His loss at Purdue (2-2) does not look so bad now.
"We had a couple of difficult defeats, it's difficult to assess where we are," said BC coach Steve Addazio. "But I like the football team we have now, I think we are improving."
Two years ago, BC ended a 12-game losing streak in the conference.
DUKE
The Blue Devils won their first four games and appeared in the Top 25 of AP (No. 22) for the first time in nearly three years. The Duke ranking was impressive considering his injuries. The three-year quarterback, Daniel Jones, suffered a collarbone injury in Week 2.
"I think all these teams are very even and everything comes down to making plays that day," Jones said. "I think you see that with all these teams in a showdown, it's not necessarily a matter of talent all the time, it's about who's running, who's taking advantage of the opportunities, I think that's what you have to think about the ACC and on the road here. "
VIRGINIA
The double threat quarterback, Bryce Perkins, threw 11 TD, scored three times and is responsible for 16.8 points per game, tied for 22nd nationally. Senior RB Jordan Ellis has run for 478 yards and has an average of 5.69 yards per carry, and Olamide Zaccheaus has 33 receptions for 501 yards and six touchdowns. The Cavaliers (3-2, 1-1) can declare their case for having improved on Saturday night at home against Miami.
PITT
The Panthers (3-3, 2-1) have an impressive tandem of Qadree Ollison and Darrin Hall, who combined 299 yards and three touchdowns against Syracuse. Pitt, who surprised the runner-up in Miami last season, plays at Notre Dame this week.
"Pitt is a dangerous team," Dungey said. "His record does not reflect what team they are."
GEORGIA TECH
With QB TaQuon Marshall operating the option attack, the Yellow Jackets (3-3, 1-2) surpassed the 400-yard mark by running three times and leading the nation with 373 yards per game. They, like Virginia, still have games against the Hurricanes and Virginia Tech.
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AP sports writers Joedy McCreary in North Carolina and Hank Kurz in Virginia and freelance writer Ken Powtak in Boston contributed.
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25
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