Here is a game-by-game recap of each team in the ACC conference to catch you up from last weekend’s action, including Key Players, Injuries, and Players to Watch.
Clemson at Louisville
Game Recap: The Clemson defense really stepped up in a close 20-17 victory over Louisville on Thursday night. Clemson held Louisville to only 1 offensive touchdown with 253 passing yards and a paltry 19 total rushing yards. Louisville Kyle Bolin really struggled, throwing 2 interceptions and getting sacked 5 times for -37 yards. Deshaun Watson on the other hand had a much more palatable game, completing 21 of 30 passes for 199 yards and 2 touchdowns while rushing for another 54 yards.
Key Players: The Louisville offense struggled as a whole, with no wide receivers really standing out on the day. Freshmen tight end Micky Crum continues to be very involved in the passing game with his 4 receptions on the day. Brandon Radcliff struggled mightily, averaging only 2.4 yards per carry.
For Clemson, Deshaun Watson played well enough to get the win but certainly underperformed against the tough Louisville defense. Artavis Scott yet again led the Tigers in receptions with 8, but for only 40 total yards and 0 touchdowns which really dampened his fantasy output on the day. Wayne Gallman continues to dominate the touches at running back with a very productive 139 yards on 24 carries.
Key Injuries: None
Players to Watch: The Clemson offensive weapons (Watson, Scott, Gallman) are all in play next week in what will be one of their biggest games of the season against Notre Dame. WR1 Artavis Scott should bounce back with a few more yards if he continues to maintain that level of targets. Louisville faces up against a cream puff in Samford, so if this game is on the slate look for some values, particularly tight end Micky Crum.
Florida State at Boston College
Game Recap: We thought this one might be a low scoring affair and boy were we right as Florida State shut out Boston College 14-0 on Friday night. There really were no big fantasy stats in this game due to the very slow tempo and low scoring.
Key Players: Dalvin Cook’s 100-yard streak was broken this week as he faced one of the best rushing defenses in the country. Cook ended the night with only 15 carries for 54 yards and no touchdowns. Everett Golson managed the game well, but put up an abysmal fantasy performance throwing for only 119 yards and 1 touchdown. Golson spread the ball around well, giving 3 different receivers 4 receptions each.
Boston College was absolutely shut down, held to only 139 total rushing yards while Darius Wade could only muster 47 passing yards and an interception. Wade led the team in rushes with 10, but accrued only 38 yards on those 10 attempts. Jon Hilliman was a non-factor, rushing 8 times for only 7 yards.
Key Injuries: None
Players to Watch: The main thing we all should have learned from this game is to really evaluate opponents facing these two teams this year, as the defenses really stepped up in this game. Boston College is going to give all running backs fits, while Florida State will really limit an opposing offense’s upside as a whole.
Georgia Tech at Notre Dame
Game Recap: Georgia Tech fell to Notre Dame 22-30 in a game that was not nearly as close as the score may lead you to believe, as the Yellow Jackets were outscored 30-7 until a couple of quick touchdowns in the final minute of the game. The Notre Dame front 7 really outplayed Georgia Tech’s offensive line the entire game, creating pressure and pandemonium that really limited Justin Thomas and his posse of running backs.
Key Players: Justin Thomas really struggled both through the air and on the ground, completing only 8 of his 24 passes for 121 yards and rushing for 27 yards on 11 attempts. Patrick Skov led the team in carries with 18, rushing for 66 yards and a touchdown. Five other backs were involved, with Broderick Snoddy leading the team in yardage with 77. Skov was also the beneficiary of those 2 last minute touchdowns, catching both balls for 39 yards and the 2 scores to pad his stat line on the day.
Key Injuries: None
Players to Watch: Georgia Tech faces a Duke defense that limited talented running back Justin Jackson to only 3.4 yards per carry last week, allowing 201 yards on the day on a whopping 54 total carries. We expect Georgia Tech to be more effective at rushing against Duke than Northwestern was in what should be a relatively competitive game. Justin Thomas and Patrick Skov will be your primary players to watch, as we are seeing Skov consistently lead the team in carries.
Northwestern at Duke
Game Recap: The Blue Devils fell to Northwestern 19-10 in a game that, at one point, included 11 straight punts. Both teams seemed to struggle on offense, while Duke actually outgained Northwestern in total yards 327 to 271. The only offensive touchdown in this game for Duke was a Thomas Sirk 5-yard run in the first quarter.
Key Players: Thomas Sirk struggled to find his wide receivers in this game, completing 24 of his 39 attempts for 150 yards. Of Sirk’s 24 completions, 13 of them went to his running backs out of the backfield. Running back Shaquille Powell led the team in rushing yards with 71 on his 9 carries, good for a respectable 7.9 yards per carry. Powell also was the team-leader in receptions, hauling in 7 for 39 yards. Shaun Wilson carried 10 times for 45 yards and caught 6 passes for 39 yards. The wide receivers and tight ends really were shut down by Northwestern’s secondary.
Key Injuries: None
Players to Watch: Duke takes on Georgia Tech this Saturday, so we expect Thomas Sirk to be kept on his toes as Duke struggles to keep up. Shaquille Powell and Shaun Wilson are still splitting carries, with Thomas Sirk eating into their respective workloads. Either could be a GPP option due to the passing upside, but we wouldn’t touch them in cash games.
Nebraska at Miami
Game Recap: Miami dominated the first 51 minutes of this game as they led Nebraska 33-10—then, things got ugly. The Miami defense imploded, allowing Nebraska to storm back with three 75+ yard touchdown drives to force overtime. Miami running back Joseph Yearby shined in this game as he ran for 125 yards and a touchdown on 7 carries.
Key Players: Brad Kaaya made some great plays in this game as he passed 379 yards and a couple touchdowns, with 9 of those passes going to Rashawn Scott for 151 yards. Joseph Yearby also shined in this game as he ran for 125 yards and a touchdown on 7 carries. We did see 10 carries go to backup Mark Walton, but he was not very effective rushing for only 23 yards. Walton’s stats would have been much better if not for a couple of touchdown runs in the second half being called back due to holding penalties.
Key Injuries: None
Players to Watch: Miami must deal with the high-flying Cincinnati Bearcats offense next week, so we expect the Miami offense to be on high alert as it keeps pace. Cincinnati has allowed an average of 177 rushing yards per game, so look for Joseph Yearby to have some room to run in this contest. Brad Kaaya and Rashawn Scott will also be in play.
Pittsburgh at Iowa
Game Recap: Pittsburgh fell 24-27 due to a last second field goal from Iowa. Coach Pat Narduzzi threw us a few curve balls by starting Nathan Peterman at quarterback and Darrin Hall at running back in this game.
Key Players: Tyler Boyd proved that that he will still produce at an elite level regardless of who is throwing him the ball as he finished the day with 10 receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown. Boyd was really the anchor of this offense with his 10 receptions, 1 of which was an 8-yard touchdown to tie the game with 52 seconds remaining. The Pittsburgh rushing game really struggled, rushing 27 times for only 55 yards—that is an average of 2 yards per carry.
Key Injuries: None
Players to Watch: With the curve balls we are seeing from coach Pat Narduzzi, the only player we are comfortable targeting in this offense is Tyler Boyd. Boyd remains an elite wide receiver option, but will be in store for a challenge next week against the 20th ranked Virginia Tech passing defense.
Illinois at North Carolina
Game Recap: North Carolina was running on all cylinders in its 48-14 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini. Marquise Williams was heavily involved in this victory as he passed for 203 yards and 3 touchdowns while rushing for another 105 yards, including a 41-yard sprint that set up a big touchdown throw to Quinshad Davis before halftime in the 2nd quarter.
Key Players: Marquise Williams was the clear stand-out player here as he put up monster fantasy numbers. Williams spread the ball around to his receivers, with Quinshad Davis, Ryan Switzer, and Austin Proehl each getting a touchdown and around 40-60 yards. Switzer actually had a chance for a big stat line on the day, but he dropped what would have been a 60+ yard touchdown bomb early in the game. RB1 Elijah Hood looked very good as well, averaging 8.1 yards per carry for 129 yards and a touchdown.
Key Injuries: None
Players to Watch: We may not see North Carolina on a slate this week as they take on Delaware, but the Tar Heels visit Georgia Tech in a Week 5 contest that should prove to be very intriguing from a fantasy perspective. Marquise Williams will certainly be in play each and every week, while Elijah Hood seems to have solidified his firm hold on the RB1 spot.
Virginia Tech at Purdue
Game Recap: The Virginia Tech defense dominated this game on their way to a 51-24 victory over Purdue. Of the 5 touchdowns scored by the Hokies, 2 of them came from the defensive side of the ball as they held Purdue to only 7 points in the second half.
Key Players: Quarterback Brenden Motley is really doing a nice job stepping in as the starter this year. He put up good numbers in this game, passing for 220 yards and 2 touchdowns along with another touchdown on the ground. The Bucky Hodges of old finally showed up in this game as he found the end zone twice. While his yardage total of 11 on 3 receptions is far from impressive, the red zone usage is certainly a big boost to our confidence in him. WR1 Isaiah Ford had a great game through the air as well with a team leading 6 receptions for 128 yards.
Key Injuries: None
Players to Watch: We will continue to have our eyes on Isaiah Ford as a cheaper option at WR1. Bucky Hodges should see a price bump due to his 2 touchdowns; however we are concerned about his yardage totals. Regardless, he is a red zone threat whose yards should equalize as the season moves on. Brenden Motley also has to be on the radar as a cheaper option as he has been playing fairly well.
Central Michigan at Syracuse
Game Recap: A 4-yard touchdown run in overtime by Jordan Fredericks vaulted Syracuse to 3-0 on the season for the first time since 1991 in their 30-27 win over Central Michigan.
Key Players: The starting quarterback Eric Dungey was hit hard in the second quarter and knocked out of the game. Neither backup performed very well in relief. There were really no other standout offensive players in this game, something we have come to expect from Syracuse. The defense performed well against the rush, allowing a net of only 90 yards on the ground. They were torched through the air allowing 430 passing yards on the day; however much of this yardage came from pure volume as Cooper Rush threw the ball 51 times.
Key Injuries: Starting quarterback Eric Dungey went down hard with an apparent head injury. He should be good to go next week, but he was not a viable play regardless.
Players to Watch: We do not recommend anyone on this offense. The defense has performed well against the run so far this year, ranked 6th overall in rushing yards per game. However, Leonard Fournette and the LSU tigers come to town this Saturday, so we expect that ranking to take a dramatic dip.
Wake Forest at Army
Game Recap: Wake Forest was lucky to sneak through the 17-14 victory over Army on Saturday. Quarterback John Wolford went down with an ankle injury in the first quarter, giving way to freshman backup Kendall Hinton to replace him. Hinton struggled through the air completing only 15 of his 27 attempts for 159 yards and 2 interceptions. However, he made up for it with his legs rushing 17 times for a team-high 101 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Key Players: Kendall Hinton would not have been rostered by anyone, but he impressed with his rushing ability in this game. Tight end Cam Serigne hauled in 5 receptions for 50 yards.
Key Injuries: Quarterback John Wolford suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter and returned on the next possession after a brief examination. He was obviously hampered by the injury, so Wolford was soon benched for the rest of the game. X-Rays were negative, but a team spokesman confirmed he is day-to-day as of right now.
Players to Watch: If John Wolford misses time, Kendall Hinton would become an interesting punt play at quarterback due his rushing ability. However if Hinton does start, we could see Cam Serigne’s upside limited due to Hinton’s struggles in the passing game.
William & Mary at Virginia
Game Recap: Virginia held on for a tight win over William & Mary on performance dominated by big plays, including a 94-yard punt return by Maurice Canady along with an 80-yard explosion from a short pass to RB1 Taquan Mizzell.
Key Players: Quarterback Matt Johns had another respectable game from a fantasy perspective as he passed for 263 yards and 3 touchdowns with 2 interceptions. These aren’t spectacular numbers, but just about right for his price. There was not much to be had with the rushing game, but Taquan Mizzell made up for it through the air as he led the team with 5 receptions and 123 yards, including an 80 yard touchdown run. WR1 Canaan Severin was held to only 3 receptions for 53 yards, but did score on a 26-yard touchdown catch.
Key Injuries: None
Players to Watch: Watch for the pricing on both Taquan Mizzell and Canaan Severin as Virginia takes on Boise State this coming week—each could be underpriced, particularly Severin.
NC State at Old Dominion
Game Recap: NC State dominated Old Dominion as they ran for over 200 yards on the day.
Key Players: Jacoby Brissett did not impress from a fantasy perspective yet again, scoring only 1 passing and 1 rushing touchdown with low yardage totals. While Matt Dayes received the start for the first series, he split carries throughout the game with former RB1 Shadrach Thornton in Thornton’s first game back from suspension this year. Each back scored a touchdown, while their yardage totals and productivity were fairly even with Dayes slightly edging Thornton 108 to 92 in yards.
I would be remised if I did not mention that the Wolfpack rushing defense held the nation’s leading rusher Ray Lawry to only 15 yards on 11 carries, limiting the Monarchs to -3 rushing yards on the day as a whole. This was an absolutely outstanding performance on the defensive side of the ball, placing NC State tied for 4th in rushing defense thru 3 games this season.
Key Injuries: None
Players to Watch: NC State shouldn’t be on a slate this coming week, but faces off against Louisville in Week 5. This is a contest in which we might actually see something from Jacoby Brissett since it should be a close one. Seeing that Thornton and Dayes appear to be splitting carries, we will have to avoid them going forward unless either is priced way down. Running backs facing this NC State defense (i.e. Brandon Radcliff, Wayne Gallman, Dalvin Cook) will most certainly be notched down in the projections if the Wolfpack defensive front continues their ground game dominance.