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.
Miami at Cincinnati
Game Recap: The Miami offense really struggled to put up points in the second half as Cincinnati made some big plays on defense to secure the 34-23 win over the Hurricanes on Thursday night. This loss ended Miami’s 10-game winning streak over the bearcats and puts the first blemish on their schedule in 2015. The offense actually played fairly well, they just could not convert on key scoring opportunities throughout this game, including a couple of missed field goals and some nearly missed throws downfield and in the end zone throughout the second half.
Key Players: Brad Kaaya was taking some shots downfield in this game as he completed a handful of 40+ yard passes, but his stat line ended in only 255 yards passing and 0 touchdowns on the day. Joseph Yearby was very effective as he rushed 17 times for 113 yards and a touchdown, while Mark Walton was involved to the tune of 12 carries, but for only 34 yards and a touchdown. 10 different players caught passes in this game, so as you can imagine there were no standouts at the receiver position.
Key Injuries: WR Stacy Coley continues to deal with a hamstring injury that has him questionable to play against Florida State.
Players to Watch: Joseph Yearby has now scored a touchdown in every game this season, exceeding 100 yards in each of his last 3 games. Mark Walton remains a goal line threat, but Yearby continues to produce. Brad Kaaya is also playing well, but he has not really exploded yet all year—and with their upcoming schedule full of ACC defenses, we are not expecting much from him. Miami is on a bye this week but returns against a very tough Clemson defense in week 7.
Notre Dame at Clemson
Game Recap: Clemson staved off a late push by the Fighting Irish on their way to a 24-22 victory as they remain unbeaten on the season. The Clemson defense played 3 very impressive quarters of football holding Notre Dame to only 3 points through the first 45 minutes of this game. DeShone Kizer then decided to show up in the 4th quarter as he led the Irish back with 3 touchdowns before Notre Dame failed to convert the 2-pt conversion for the tie with seconds left in the game. The Notre Dame offense actually outgained Clemson by nearly 150 yards, but 4 turnovers by Notre Dame really limited their scoring opportunities just enough to let Clemson sneak out with the win.
Key Players: Deshaun Watson could not get much going through the air as he failed to exceed 100 yards passing with 1 interception, but he did throw for a couple touchdowns in addition to carrying the ball 16 times for 93 yards and another touchdown on the ground. Wayne Gallman received a solid workload as he carried 22 times for 98 yards but could not find the end zone. Artavis Scott led the team with 5 receptions for 43 yards, including an early touchdown that he was gifted due to horrible tackling by Notre Dame. The Clemson defense was relatively solid as they forced 4 turnovers on the day, but they did show some lack of poise allowing 19 points in the 4th quarter as they almost gave the game away in what was almost one of the most epic meltdowns we have seen on this large of a stage.
Key Injuries: None
Players to Watch: Clemson faces off against a very susceptible Georgia Tech defense this week. The Yellow Jackets are allowing over 300 rushing yards and 41.4 points per game this season, so look for both Watson and Gallman to be great upside plays depending on their prices. Artavis Scott also remains to be the #1 target in the passing game, but he may not be needed if Clemson can control the game on the ground.
Florida State at Wake Forest
Game Recap: Florida State’s Dalvin Cook set this game off with a 94-yard explosion on the first play of the Seminole’s second possession as Florida State never looked back on their way to a 24-16 victory. After Cook went down later with an injury, we saw Florida State’s offense struggle as they only managed 10 points in the second half and let Wake Forest get back into the within 1 score late in the game. Wake Forest quarterback Kendall Hinton played well as he had a solid connection with his receivers and managed to move the ball relatively well considering the talent he was facing in this Seminoles defense.
Key Players: Dalvin Cook only carried the ball twice but managed to lead the team in rushing due to his 94-yard touchdown run in the 1st quarter. Everett Golson completed 20 of 31 pass attempts for 202 yards and a touchdown. Golson spread the ball around as Jesus Wilson led the team in receiving with 77 yards off 5 receptions, with Travis Rudolph not far behind hauling in 6 for 69 yards.
As expected, Kendall Hinton and tight end Cam Serigne were the 2 main players for Wake Forest on the day. Hinton significantly improved his passing this week as he had a 64% completion rate for 215 yards and a touchdown through the air. His favorite target through the air was tight end Cam Serigne who finished with a career-high 10 receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown.
Key Injuries: Dalvin Cook pulled up after catching a pass in the 1st quarter with a left hamstring injury and did not return to the game. Coach Jimbo Fisher said Cook is day-to-day. He is questionable to play against Miami this week. Backup RB Mario Pender is out indefinitely with a collapsed lung.
Players to Watch: If Dalvin Cook misses action, we could look to Johnathan Vickers to fill in as he was the only running back involved after Cook’s injury in this game. Everett Golson receives an uptick in value as well if Cook is out, as Florida State will definitely have to rely more heavily on their passing game. They take on Miami at home this week.
Cam Serigne is a guy we have loved all year, but he never really had that eye-popping performance until now. Look for his price to rise significantly on all sites, but he still will remain a favorite play of ours most weeks. Kendall Hinton is showing improvement, but still remains only a tournament play. As Wake Forest visits Boston College this week, we fear that this offense will be unplayable in that very tough matchup.
North Carolina at Georgia Tech
Game Recap: After Georgia Tech scored on their first 3 drives of the game, pulling to a 21-0 lead, North Carolina stormed back putting up 24 points in the second half to top the reeling Yellow Jackets 38-31. The story of this game was Tar Heel quarterback Marquise Williams, as he led the team in passing, rushing, and receiving.
Key Players: Marquise Williams really put the team on his back in this game as he passed for 134 yards, rushed for 148 yards, and led the team in receiving with his 37-yard touchdown reception off a trick play to take their first lead of the game in the 4th quarter. Williams has 3 touchdowns on the day, with his other 2 coming on the ground. RB Elijah Hood carried 12 times for 60 yards and a couple of touchdowns as well.
Georgia Tech really got going strong in the first half as Justin Thomas rushed for a couple of touchdowns, but it all seemed to go downhill from there as the rushing game just could not keep drives alive to continue putting up points. Justin Thomas finished the day with a season high 168 passing yards and 56 rushing yards plus 2 touchdowns on the ground. Patrick Skov again led the core in carries with 15 for 56 yards but no touchdowns.
Key Injuries: None
Players to Watch: North Carolina is on a bye next week, but returns in week 7 to face Wake Forest. With what we saw this week, Marquise Williams will almost certainly be on our radar depending on his price and the game O/U.
Georgia Tech visits Clemson this week. Clemson is allowing just over 2 touchdowns per game this season, so we expect the Yellow Jackets to struggle and will likely be fading them all.
Pittsburgh at Virginia Tech
Game Recap: The Pittsburgh rushing attack was re-energized this week in their 17-13 win over Virginia Tech. After managing only 55 yards in the previous week, Pittsburgh rolled to 166 total rushing yards against a solid Virginia Tech defense, led by Qadree Ollison who averaged 6.4 yards per carry. Virginia Tech really struggled to move the ball as they were held to only 100 total yards and 3 turnovers on offense.
Key Players: Pittsburgh running back Qadree Ollison made the most of his 19 carries as he put up 166 yards and a touchdown on the day. These are the kind of numbers we are used to seeing out of this Pittsburgh backfield, an encouraging sign for weeks to come. Tyler Boyd was really limited on the day as Virginia Tech has a solid secondary—he was held to 5 receptions for 48 yards.
The entire Virginia Tech offense just stunk, with quarterback Brenden Motley leading the charge as he completed less than 50% of his passes for only 91 yards, 1 touchdown, and 3 interceptions. The Hokies backfield was abysmal as 4 running backs combined for only 25 yards on 15 carries, while Motley carried it 17 times -14 yards as he was sacked a whopping 7 times on the day. The Hokies receiving core suffered from Motley’s struggles, as nobody caught more than 3 balls nor exceeded 50 yards on the day.
Key Injuries: Pittsburgh’s Darrin Hall (RB) missed this last game with a leg injury and is questionable to play against Virginia. We think Qadree Ollison has a lock on the job, but just keep an eye on whether Hall is back or not, as Ollison’s value could take a slight bump down if so.
Players to Watch: Running back Qadree Ollison definitely impressed us in this game, so we will look for him to continue in his next game against Virginia, a defense that is allowing around 160 rushing yards and over 35 points per game. The Pittsburgh defense really took a step forward in this game, showing that they are up there with the best of them as their national ranking improved to 4th in yards per game this season.
Virginia Tech’s outlook is not great, as they face another top ranked defense in NC State on Friday night this week. We are not optimistic about this one as NC State will be hogging the ball with their powerful rushing attack.
Louisville at NC State
Game Recap: The Louisville run offense and run defense were both strong as they out-performed what was the 16th ranked NC State rushing offense for the 20-13 victory. Louisville amassed 203 total yards on the ground while they held NC State to a measly 45 net rushing yards on the day. The Louisville defense thrived in stopping the powerful NC State ground game, and they were certainly helped as the Wolfpack coughed up a couple costly fumbles, including one inside Louisville’s 10 yard line along with one at midfield that led to a Louisville field goal.
Key Players: Lamar Jackson was the star of the show for Louisville as he carried the ball 19 times for 121 yards and a touchdown, including a 68-yard run for Louisville’s first touchdown of the game. Jackson was not very effective passing the ball as he struggled to complete 10 of his 27 attempts for only 103 yards and 1 touchdown. Starting running back Brandon Radcliff did struggle to move the ball on his 12 carries, amassing only 37 yards on the outing. The Louisville defense really showed up in this game as they held NC State to only 45 net yards on the ground.
NC State really struggled as Louisville absolutely game-planned their rushing game. Matt Dayes carried 19 times but only managed 68 yards and a touchdown. He did add 3 receptions for 22 yards, so statistically the day was not a killer for fantasy purposes given his price. Jacoby Brissett tried to make some plays but was also shut down by the Cardinal defense as he completed only 16 of his 28 attempts for 183 yards and a touchdown in addition to taking away from his stat line with -26 rushing yards on the day.
Key Injuries: None
Players to Watch: Lamar Jackson continues to dominate on the ground, but his passing inefficiency makes him a very risky play on any slate. He would have had a statistically insignificant day had he not busted loose for that 68 yard touchdown run early on, so he will only be playable with a cheap price in a good matchup, which he does not have next week against Florida State.
NC State faces off against a struggling Virginia Tech team next week. The Hokies have shown their ability to be blasted by the rushing game, so Matt Dayes could again be in play if his price stays down. Jacoby Brissett should be avoided as Virginia Tech still has a stout secondary.
Boston College at Duke
Game Recap: Everyone expected this one to be rather low scoring, but these teams really took that to heart as Duke snuck by Boston College with only 3 field goals in their 9-7. The game started with five 3-and-outs before Duke finally put together a decent drive ending in their first field goal. Duke kicked 2 more field goals in the first half and never scored another point as they were dominated by the Boston College defense. Boston College however could not move the ball either as their only highlight was a 66-yard touchdown pass at the end of the third quarter.
Key Players: There were no players of statistical significance in this game. Thomas Sirk struggled completing only 50% of his passes for 195 yards and 5 rushing yards from his 9 attempts. Wide receiver TJ Rahming led the Blue Devils with 5 receptions for 75 yards. Shaquille Powell led at running back again, but only managed 18 yards on his 14 carries against the best run defense in college football.
For Boston College, Tyler Rouse led the team in carries with 13 but for only 45 yards.
Key Injuries: RB Jon Hilliman is out for the season while RB Miles Willis is out with a shoulder injury and questionable for their next game.
Players to Watch: Duke faces Army next week, so we can expect a bounce back by this offense as Army is allowing around 26 points per game this season—over 3 times as many as Boston College’s #1 defense. Thomas Sirk and Shaquille Powell will be on the radar as both likely will be priced down.
With the injuries at running back, we should see Tyler Rouse get most carries while Marcus Outlow will also be in the mix. We do not expect either to be relevant as Boston College has a tough stretch against top defenses for their next few games.
