ACC Football Week Review: The Conference's Homefield Disadvantage

One play made the difference for Virginia Tech, North Carolina State and some other ACC teams this week

Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm argues with an official / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Home field advantage? Not in the ACC. Not so far anyway.

Home teams have a losing record in ACC contests, with the road team owning a 16-14 record in conference games.  In Saturday’s eight games involving ACC teams, five were won by the road team, and the road team had a 3-3 record in conference games that day. Four of the six road teams covered the spread, and North Carolina State, which was a 9.5-point underdog against Cal, beat the Bears in Berkeley.

How do you explain it? We can’t but with Boston College hosting Louisville, Wake Forest playing at Stanford and SMU traveling to Duke this week, the home-field disadvantage might continue.

The One Play That Changed the Game

Of course a single play never decides a game, but in each of the eight games involving ACC teams this weekend, one play seemed to provide the telling moment.

4:26 fourth quarter -- Virginia Tech vs. Boston College

Virginia Tech led 28-0 at halftime, but Boston College had roared back with 21 straight points and had a ton of momentum when it faced a fourth-and-a-foot situation at the Eagles’ 49-yard line with 4:26 left in the fourth quarter.  BC sent Kye Robichaux up the middle, but he was stopped for no gain by the Hokies’ Jaden Keller. Virginia Tech took over, scored a touchdown three plays later and the Boston College surge was over in the Hokies 42-21 win.

1:37 fourth quarter – North Carolina State vs. Cal

Cal trailed 24-23 when it faced a fourth-and-4 at the North Carolina State 10-yard line with 1:37 left in the game. In came freshman Cal kicker Derek Morris, kicking in his first collegiate game after replacing Ryan Coe as the Bears’ place-kicker. Morris was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts when he stepped up for the go-ahead chip shot from 28 yards out. But did not hit the ball cleanly and flutter wide right.  Cal lost 24-23, its fourth straight defeat by a combined margin of nine points.

1:23 fourth quarter – Florida State vs. Duke

Despite committing four turnovers, Florida State had rallied from a 17-3 deficit to climb within seven points at 23-16 when it had a first down at the Duke 38-yard line with 1:23 left in the game.  But FSU quarterback Brock Glenn was sacked by Duke’s Vincent AnthonyJr.  and Wesley Williams for a 9-yard loss. PSU was penalized five more yards for a false start on the next play and the Seminoles could not convert after facing a second-and-24, preserving Duke’s 23-16 victory.

10:43 fourth quarter – Louisville vs. Miami

Louisville trailed Miami 45-38 when it got a first down at the Miami 45-yard line with 10:43 left in the game. On that first-down play, Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough was called for intentional grounding – a 22-yard loss plus loss of down.  Facing a second-and-32, the Cardinals were forced to punt three plays later, and Miami scored an insurance touchdown on its ensuing possession with a time-consuming 80-yard drive. Miami won 52-45.

4:16 second quarter – Clemson vs. Virginia

Clemson was tied with Virginia 10-10 and couldn’t get much going offensively before the Tigers had a first down at the Cavaliers’ 37-yard line with 4:16 remaining before halftime.  On that play Clemson wide receiver Antonio Williams took a handoff and threw a 34-yard completion to Troy Stellato, putting the ball at the 3-yard line. The touchdown on the next play put Clemson ahead for the first time and triggered the 48-31 Clemson victory.

5:41 second quarter – Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame

Georgia Tech, playing without starting quarterback Haynes King, was tied with the Irish 7-7 when it faced a third-and-2 from its own 37-yard line with 5:41 left in the second quarter. The Yellow Jackets needed to maintain control of the possession and the clock, but running back Eric Singleton Jr. was stopped for no gain on that third-down run. Georgia Tech punted, and Notre Dame scored on that possession to a 14-7 lead in a game the Irish won 31-13.

14:41 first quarter – SMU vs. Stanford

On the first offensive snap of the game, SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to Moochie Dixon, setting the Mustangs on their way to a 40-10 vicgory.

1:31 fourth quarter – Wake Forest vs. UConn

Connecticut trailed 23-20 when it faced a fourth-and-3 from its own 38-yard line with 1:31 remaining in the game. A false-start penalty made it fourth-and-8, and UConn quarterback threw an incompletion on the next play, giving Wake a 23-20 triumph.

ACC Player of the Year Standings

--1. Quarterback Cam Ward, Miami – His 24 TD passes lead the nation, and his TD-to-interception margin of plus-19 (5 interceptions) also leads nation.

--2. Quarterback Cade Klubnik, Clemson – He has the second-best TD-to-interception margin in the country at plus-17 (20 TDs, 3 picks).

--3. Quarterback Eli Holstein, Pitt – Pitt had a bye this week, but it’ll e interesting to see how he does against Syracuse.

--4. Quarterback Kyle McCord, Syracuse – His 19 TD passes are one off the national lead, and he has led the Orange to a surprising 5-1 start.

 --5. Running back Desmond Reid, Pitt – Second nationally in all-purpose yards at 182.6

Note: Virginia Tech defensive end Antwaun Powell-Ryland (11 sacks tied for the national lead) and Hokies running back Bhayshul Tuten (sixth nationally in rushing yards (871), sixth nationally in yards per carry (7.0) and fourth nationally in touchdowns with 14), but the Hokies are just 4-3, so they can’t rank among our top five ACC players of the year -- yet.

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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 (7-0) – Hurricanes are up to No. 5 in the AP poll and are second in the country in scoring (48.3).

--2. Pittsburgh (6-0) – Panthers play a pivotal home game against Syracuse on Thursday

--3. Clemson (6-1) – The Tigers are probably the ACC’s best team right now, but we can’t put them ahead of unbeaten teams.

--4. SMU (6-1) – That one loss, to BYU by three points, doesn’t look bad now that BYU is unbeaten and ranked No. 12.

--5. Syracuse (5-1) – The Orange holds down the final spot – until Thursday’s game at Pitt.

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