College Football PASS/FAIL Report: ACC Week 3

ACC

PASS: North Carolina, Wake Forest, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Miami, NC State

North Carolina avoided all the talk of upsets this week, and rolled up on a strong Illinois team 48-14. Everyone, including me, went against the line makers this week, and picked Illinois. UNC showed they could be a very good club heading into ACC play.

Wake Forest didn’t win pretty at Army, but they got a road win, and they seem like they can at least win the games they should. That’s a start.

Syracuse gets a pass, but only because they played a pesky Central Michigan club, and survived in OT despite having injuries all over the roster. The Orangemen are now 3-0, and look so much better than a year ago.

Virginia Tech can feel encouraged about their win with Purdue, as the Hokies pulled away late despite not having Michael Brewer at QB again this week. Tech is finding ways to win now, which is necessary.

Miami gets a tentative pass at best this week after beating Nebraska 36-33. They picked off Tommy Armstrong 3 times, including in the end zone in OT, but they also blew a 23 point lead to end up in OT in the first place. The Canes got a big win, but they almost look like they don’t always believe.

NC State played focused football, and avoided a trap game on the road with Old Dominion this week. The Wolfpack looks strong at this point of the season, and with the rest of the league not playing top caliber football right now, could they be the dark horse to take this thing?

FAIL: Duke, Virginia, Miami, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh

The Blue Devils left the offense in the locker room, and could have put Northwestern away, but they failed in every way, and even Thomas Sirk forgot how to play QB at times. The Duke speed game never bothered Northwestern.

Virginia largely struggled to win against William and Mary at home, and now the Cavaliers look lost right now. The loss to Notre Dame may affect them for weeks.

Miami beat Nebraska, but they did everything possible to try to lose this game, as they blew a 30-10 lead to win 36-33. The Hurricanes defense gave up too early, and despite being 3-0 now, they have some glaring deficiencies.

Georgia Tech found themselves down 30-7 before they made the game interesting at all, losing to Notre Dame 30-22. The option is great when you are winning, but when you are behind and need to score fast, it doesn’t quite work, and Justin Thomas’ passing was terrible at best yesterday.

Pitt is a mess, and I largely feel badly for Pat Narduzzi as he tries to right a ship that has had no rudder for years at the helm, and who is missing their star player. Pitt’s close loss to Iowa last night highlights what could be the plight of the Panthers moving forward.