Around the ACC

With no BC game on tap today, take a look at what's going on throughout the rest of the ACC.

span style="font-weight:bold;">FEAR THE TURTLE
Things got off to a good start today with an unheralded Maryland Team taking it to the #23 California Bears 35-27. As you can see in the photo above, Cal QB Kevin Riley had his hands full as he was pressured by Maryland defensive tackle Dean Muhtadi, linebacker Rich Coata, and the rest of the Terp front seven all day.

Duke v. Navy
Meanwhile, in Durham, NC, the Duke Blue Devils held their own against an upstart Navy team 41-31. Although they trailed the Midshipmen 24-20 at half, Duke rallied for three touchdowns in the second half to earn a quality victory against a solid opponent. For a program that marks its progress in baby steps, I'm sure the folks in Durham are happy with this win.

Clemson v. NC State
The Tom O'Brien experiment continues to be a miserable failure for the NC State Wolfpack as Clemson easily handled NC State and Dana Bible's offense in a 27-9 route at Death Valley. Although NC State jumped out to a 6-0 lead on a 33 yard interception return for a TD (and a missed extra point - sound familiar?), Tommy Bowden's squad held NC State without an offensive touchdown and rallied to blow out the beleaguered TOB led squad.

VA Tech v. GA Tech
A week after escaping Chestnut Hill with a 3 point victory, Georgia Tech fell at Viginia Tech by the same margin with a final of 20-17. Georgia Tech's front seven played well again this week, but Tyrod Taylor was simply too much. Also, although GT QB Josh Nesbitt played well again today (rushing for 151 yds and throwing for 109), he fumbled three times, losing two.

FSU v. Chattanooga
This game shouldn't have been close, and, fortunately for Bobby Bowden and the Noles, it wasn't. FSU jumped out to a 30-7 lead at half and never looked back, winning 46-7 on a steamy afternoon in Tallahassee. FSU Sophomore QB Christian Ponder (starting ahead of Drew Weatherford) had plenty of time to work and threw three first half TD passes to put this game out of reach early.