2007 Around the ACC: Week 7

After another week of play, there are still three teams in the ACC without a
conference loss, and the race for each division is starting to clear up. The
Hokies are co-leaders with UVa in the Coastal Division, and Tech’s off week is coming at a
very good time.

In the Atlantic Division, Boston College is perfect at 3-0. Wake Forest is
3-1, with their only loss to Boston College, so the Eagles on the tiebreaker
there. Maryland is 1-1. In the Coastal, Virginia and Virginia Tech are 3-0.
Everyone else has lost at least two ACC games. The Eagles, Cavaliers and Hokies
control their own destinies.

Current Standings

Boston College (7-0, 3-0)

Following their 27-14 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday, Boston College
moved up to #3 in the Coaches’ Poll and Harris Poll, and #2 in the A.P. Poll.
The Eagles are undefeated entering their bye week.

Notre Dame gave BC some trouble at times. With the exception of one 52 yard
run, the Eagles didn’t run the ball as well against the Irish as other teams
have. Matt Ryan threw for 291 yards, but it took him 49 attempts. He also threw
an interception that was returned for a touchdown.

The Eagles are the team to beat in the Atlantic Division. Only Wake Forest
and Maryland are within one game of them in the loss column, and BC has the
tiebreaker over the Deacons.

• Offensive MVP: Andre Callender. 16 carries, 70 yards, 2 touchdowns. 10
  catches, 91 yards, 1 touchdown
• Defensive MVP: Alex Albright. 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 quarterback hurry

Up Next: Bye

Clemson (4-2, 2-2)

Bye

Up Next: Central Michigan in Clemson

Duke (1-6, 0-4)

Duke had been playing everyone close, until they ran into Virginia Tech. The
Blue Devils were crushed 43-14 by the Hokies, with Tech’s backups playing the
fourth quarter. Thad Lewis did not have his best game, and the Blue Devil
secondary was torched for 346 yards through the air, including 258 from backup
VT quarterback Sean Glennon.

Things are looking rough for Duke, and they may not win again this season.

• Offensive MVP: Re’Quan Boyette. 9 carries, 42 yards.
• Defensive MVP: Michael Tauiliili. 13 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 0.5 sacks, 1 forced
  fumble, 1 fumble recovery

Up Next: Bye

Florida State (4-2, 1-2)

Florida State got off to a good start in the first half against Wake Forest,
but that didn’t hold up in the second half. The Seminoles were smacked in the
mouth by Wake in the second half in their 24-21 loss. The Demon Deacons were up
24-14 before FSU finally managed a second half score in garbage time.

The ‘Noles seemed like they were making progress with Xavier Lee at
quarterback, and he threw for 210 yards in the first half against Wake. However,
he was ineffective in the second half and was replaced for a time by Drew
Weatherford, who managed not to complete a single pass.

The Florida State defense has plenty of good players, but no Andre Wadsworths
or any other All-American. They allowed 395 yards of total offense to Wake.

• Offensive MVP: Greg Carr. 8 catches, 108 yards, 1 touchdown
• Defensive MVP: Geno Hayes. 7 tackles, 4 TFL

Up Next: Miami in Tallahassee

Georgia Tech (4-3, 2-3)

Georgia Tech dominated Miami in everything but the final score on Saturday,
winning 17-14 on a Travis Bell field goal with 7:34 remaining in the game. The
Yellow Jackets finished with 378 total yards to 223 for Miami.

Tashard Choice appears to be over his injury. The All-ACC running back ran
for 204 yards on the Hurricanes, and as a team Georgia Tech rushed for 264.
Defensively, GT was dominant. Kyle Wright passed for just 56 yards, and Miami’s
offense was stymied all day.

• Offensive MVP: Tashard Choice. 37 carries, 204 yards, 1 catch, 13 yards
• Defensive MVP: Darryl Richard. 5 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble

Up Next: Army in Atlanta

Maryland (4-2, 1-1)

Bye

Up Next: Virginia in College Park

Miami (4-3, 1-2)

After losing to Georgia Tech 17-14 on Saturday, the once-mighty Hurricanes
have lost two in a row. They look like basically the same team as last season,
only worse defensively.

Part of that is due to injuries. Their top run stopper, defensive tackle
Antonio Dixon, is out with a knee injury. Josh Holmes was supposed to replace
him, but he was held out of the lineup for an unspecified reason. Defensive
tackle Dwayne Hendricks also left the game in the first half and did not return.
Linebackers Glenn Cook, Romeo Davis and Colin McCarthy are also out with
injuries. To add insult to injury, no pun intended, wide receiver Lance
Leggett is also out with a foot injury.

Kyle Wright continues to play poorly, completing just 7-of-18 passes for 56
yards and a touchdown. Only three Miami players caught passes against Georgia
Tech.

Things don’t get any easier. The ‘Canes travel to Tallahassee to take on
Florida State this weekend.

• Offensive MVP: Graig Cooper. 12 carries, 66 yards.
• Defensive MVP: Tavares Gooden. 13 tackles.

Up Next: Florida State in Tallahassee

North Carolina (2-5, 1-2)

North Carolina had a huge game against South Carolina at home, but their
fourth quarter rally fell short. The Tar Heels lost to the Gamecocks 21-15.
Despite the loss, the young UNC team stood toe to toe with one of the better
teams in the SEC.

Quarterback T.J. Yates, a r-freshman, threw three interceptions. He’s
talented, but he’s still a freshman. However he did throw for 285 yards, and his
stats are some of the flashier numbers in the ACC.

Carolina is steadily getting better, but it won’t be enough to get them in a
bowl this year.

• Offensive MVP: Hakeem Nicks. 8 catches for 114 yards
• Defensive MVP: Durell Mapp. 14 tackles, 1.5 TFL, 1 forced fumble, 1 pass
  defended

Up Next: Bye

NC State ( 1-5, 0-3)

Bye

Up Next: East Carolina in Greenville

Virginia (6-1, 3-0)

Being a Virginia football fan these days is not for the faint of heart. UVA
used another late field goal to knock off previously undefeated UConn 17-16 in
Charlottesville on Saturday. The Hoos didn’t play especially well, but they got
the win, and they are now bowl eligible. They have already won one more game
than all of last year.

UVA managed to win the game without leading rusher Cedric Peerman. They won
despite three turnovers. Their defense managed to turn away the UConn offense
for most of the afternoon, despite being put in some bad situations by the
offense and special teams.

• Offensive MVP: Jameel Sewell. 14-of-24 for 149 yards, 1 touchdown, 2
  interceptions. 16 carries, 66 yards
• Defensive MVP: Jon Copper. 8 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 pass defended

Up Next: Maryland in College Park

Virginia Tech (6-1, 3-0)

Virginia Tech now sits atop the Coastal Division standings, along with UVA,
following their 43-14 victory over Duke on Saturday in Durham. The Hokies have a
bye week, and then face a critical and tough five game stretch to end the
season.

Tyrod Taylor injured his ankle in the second quarter against Duke, and former
starter Sean Glennon stepped in and had a huge game. The running game didn’t
really get going, but Duane Brown and Ed Wang played very well at offensive
tackle. Wang’s play should give Tech fans a little more confidence heading into
the key stretch of the season.

Defensively, the Hokies played very well against Duke. Brett Warren stepped in
for Vince Hall and didn’t miss a beat, leading the team with 11 tackles and 3
tackles for loss. Tech is now 6th in the nation in sacks,
and 10th in tackles for loss.

• Offensive MVP: Sean Glennon. 16-of-21 for 258 yards, 2 touchdowns
• Defensive MVP: Brett Warren. 11 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 1 interception

Up Next: Bye

Wake Forest (4-2, 3-1)

Wake Forest trailed Florida State at halftime but rallied to beat the
Seminoles 24-21 in Winston-Salem on Thursday night. The Wake defense made the
FSU offense look silly in the second half, while the Demon Deacon offense racked
up 395 yards.

Riley Skinner had a very good game, and Wake Forest used a very nice one-two
punch at tailback with Josh Adams and Micah Andrews. Adams appears to be the
back of the future for the Demon Deacons.

Defensively, you have to give credit to the Wake Forest coaching staff for
the type of players they have recruited. They appeared to matchup up
athletically to Florida State. The Seminoles did not have a speed advantage on
Wake, which is a big change from the past.

• Offensive MVP: Josh Adams. 18 carries, 140 yards, 1 touchdown. 6 catches,
  29 yards, 1 touchdown
• Defensive MVP: Alphonso Smith. 7 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 interception, 3 passes
  defended

Up Next: Navy in Annapolis