ACC Football Review: Pitt QB Eli Holstein -- Escape Artist

Miami and Cam Ward keep rolling; Florida State keeps getting rolled

Pittsburgh quarterback Eli Holstein / Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Most Impressive Houdini Escape

Pittsburgh QB Eli Holstein

For the second week in a row, Pittsburgh redshirt freshman quarterback Eli Holstein turned what seemed destined to be a mediocre performance in a loss to spectacular comeback showing in a win.

Last week, was 8-for-21 for 102 yards, no touchdowns and one interception as Cincinnati took a 27-6 lead late in the third quarter.  Holstein then completed 12 of his final 14 passes for 200 yards and three touchdowns while adding 22 yards on the ground for a 28-27 victory.

He authored an even more impressive turnaround at the end of this weekend’s game against archrival West Virginia. 

The Mountaineers scored a touchdown to take a 34-24 lead with 4:54 left in the game. To that point Pitt had 4 yards of total offense in the second half and gave no indication things would improve.

However, on the next two Pitt possessions, Holstein ran for 63 yards and completed 4 of 5 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown as the Panthers scored touchdowns on both possessions to steal a 38-34 victory.

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Most Impressive first quarter of the season (three games)

Miami and QB Cam Ward

The 3-0 Hurricanes haven’t played the toughest schedule so far, but they are fifth in the nation in scoring (53.0 points per game) and third in average margin of victory (43.0 points).

Miami quarterback Cam Ward threw five touchdown passes in the win over Ball State and his 11 TD passes for the season lead the country.  He is fourth in the nation in passer rating at 209.26, with 11 TD passes and one interception.

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Least Impressive first quarter of the season (three games)

Florida State

The Seminoles are 0-3 for just the second time since 1976, but it’s the second time in four years they are 0-3 under Mike Norvell. More damning is that none of the losses were against a team that is ranked this week and none came in a true road game.  The Seminoles lost to Georgia Tech on a neutral field in Ireland, and they lost to Boston College and Memphis at home.

Florida State, which was ranked 10th in the preseason polls, is the only one of the 17 ACC schools that has not won a game yet, and there are questions whether the Seminoles will have a winning season.

Several times in the past 10 years a preseason top-10 team finished with a losing record.  Baylor started ranked No. 10 in 2022 and finished 6-7. North Carolina was 10th in the 2021 preseason and wound up 6-7.  If we go back to 2016, you’ll find a Notre Dame team that began No. 10 and finished with a 4-8 record.

Despite their troubles, the Seminoles are 3.5-point favorites in Saturday's home game against 3-0 Cal.

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Biggest quarterback questions

North Carolina and North Carolina State

(We could throw Florida State in there too, but we’ve said enough about the Seminoles.)

North Carolina seemed to have settled on Conner Harrell as its quarterback after losing Max Johnson to a season-ending injury in the opener.  But after Harrell got nothing done on the Tar Heels' first two possessions against North Carolina Central, Mack Brown replaced him with fifth-year senior Jacolby Criswell, who spent last season with Arkansas.

Criswell was not great, but he led the Tar Heels to 38 points in a 45-10 victory.  He finished 14-for-23 for 161 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, while Harrell was 2-for-6 for 22 yards.

So who will play next week against James Madison? Brown said after the game that both quarterbacks will play.

Down the road at North Carolina State, Dave Doeren has some things to think about. The Wolf Pack trailed Louisiana Tech 7-6, when quarterback Grayson McCall left Saturday’s game with an injury. He was replaced by freshman CJ Bailey, and despite throwing an interception on his second pass Bailey had a strong second half in North Carolina State’s 30-20 win.

Presumably McCall will be the Wolf Pack starter against Clemson next week if he is healthy enough, but immediately after the game Doeren was unwilling to assess McCall’s availability for next week.

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Homefield disadvantage

Cal

Cal was penalized 12 times for 113 yards in its 31-10 win over San Diego State, but the Golden Bears players committed only 10 of those penalties.

Cal was assessed two 15-yard penalties for 30 yards in losses because Cal fans – presumably the Cal students who are seated directly behind the visiting bench – threw objects onto the field. The crowd had been warned twice before it was flagged on two separate occasions.

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ACC Player of the Year Standings

(Only players from unbeaten teams considered at this point)

--1. Quarterback Cam Ward, Miami – 11 TD passes, 1 interception in 3 games.

--2. Quarterback Kyle McCord, Syracuse – 8 TD passes, 1 interception in 2 games.

--3. Quarterback Eli Holstein, Pittsburgh – 9 TD passes, 2 interceptions and late-game heroism.

--4. Quarterback Tyler Shough, Louisville – 6 TD passes, 0 interceptions, albeit against lesser competition.

--5. Cornerback Nohl Williams, Cal – Nation-leading 4 interceptions and a kick return for a touchdown.

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Top Five ACC Teams

(We rank based on which teams have had the best results, not which teams we believe are the best teams)

--1. Miami (3-0) – Hurricanes move up to No. 8 in AP poll

--2. Syracuse (2-0) – Orange face Stanford and Holy Cross the next two weeks, so they should be 4-0.

--3. Pittsburgh (3-0) – Cut out the first three quarters and this team is a national title contender.

--4. North Carolina (3-0) – Tar Heels are shaky at quarterback but they keep winning.

--5. Louisville (2-0) – Cardinals face their first test this week against Georgia Tech.

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