Week two has come and gone and man what a rough week for the ACC. It was hard to find stats that were even noteworthy. I think the story of Duke QB Thaddeus Lewis being benched is more interesting than the stats ACC put up this week (keep up your Duke Spirit!). This week was supposed to be a little tougher on most ACC teams, however, I didn’t really expect to see such a drop off from week one in terms of yards and TDs. Either way, there are a few names that should be mentioned as being the best of the worst. Here are some performances that garnered some helmet sticker attention.

Quarterback

Clemson QB Kyle Parker (pictured right, thanks Icon SMI) really had a coming out game in the second half of last Thursday’s game against Georgia Tech. While I was watching that game, I thought to myself that Clemson was going to be in for a very long season. Maybe Head Coach Dabo Swinney is a better motivator than I thought as Parker ended up short in the win column, but solid in the stats as he threw 31 times for 261 yards and 3 TDs. NC State QB Russell Wilson also decided to show up this season. He had arguably one of the best games out of all NCAA, let alone the ACC. He threw for 21 times for 228 yards and a superb 4 TDs. Looks like NC State might live up to their hype after all. Lastly, FSU QB Christian Ponder again broke his own career high in yards gained as he threw 35 times for 324 yards. He failed to score a TD this week, but his yards I thought were enough to mention. The biggest disappointment this past week has to be that of Duke QB Thaddeus Lewis as he was benched in the second half as he was only able to gain 60 yards on 16 passing attempts. He did has a score, but against an Army team that Duke should have been able to score at will on makes him the bust of the week.

Runningback

For the most part, the RB position was the biggest disappointment for me this week. The ACC was being heralded as being the best running conference in all of NCAA football. I have yet to see it. NC State saw some improved production out of their running game with Tony Baker rushing 12 times for 74 yards and 2 TDs, but that was at the expense of their starter Jamelle Eugene as he got injured in the first half of the game. Probably considered the best RB in the ACC right now based on the stats the he is putting up is Virginia Tech’s Ryan Williams as he rushed only 16 times for 164 yards and 3 TDs which led all of the ACC. Just to show how rough of a week it was, the 3^rd rated RB in the ACC was Boston College’s Montell Harris as he had an average 19 carries for 68 yards and 1 TD. CJ Spiller didn’t even manage to see the end zone rushing this week! The RB that stood out to me as having the roughest week was Duke’s Re’Quan Boyette as he rushed 21 times for only 48 yards which makes his average 2.2 yards per carry. Hopefully he keeps up his Duke Spirit too.

Wide Receiver

The WR position fared a little bit better this week, however. Boston College’s Rich Gunnell continues to see solid production as he hauled in 6 balls for 114 yards and 2 TDs. I would expect to see those type of numbers each week as he is the favorite target of both QB’s in Boston. Clemson saw Jacoby Ford utilize his speed to burn the Georgia Tech secondary as he caught 5 receptions for 109 yards and a score. With QB Kyle Parker starting to settle down, I would expect consistent numbers out of Ford now. Demaryius Thomas continues to prove that not catching a whole ton of balls doesn’t mean you can’t be productive. He caught only 3 passes but for 93 yards and a score. Best TE of the week was North Carolina’s Zack Pianalto as he caught 7 passes for 87 yards and a score and FSU’s Caz Piurowski followed up his great week 1 with a nice week 2 as he caught only 2 balls but for 78 yards. The biggest disappointment is North Carolina’s Greg Little as he is not living up to any of the hype he had coming into this season as he only managed 48 yards on 8 receptions.

This is going to be probably the toughest single week for the entire ACC across the board. Granted, there are a couple cheesecake Div II schools in there but, I am expecting some very, very tough games for all but 3 ACC schools this week. That could either mean some knockdown, drag-out fights or could mean some clobbering of the ACC.

Most Fantasy Impact in a negative way:

Florida State vs. BYU – So did anyone see the fact the FSU almost had the most shocking loss of the Bobby Bowden era as they trailed 9-7 with a minute left in the game? Yikes! How are they expecting to even take the field against a much improved Brigham Young, let alone stay competitive? If BYU lets them linger around for some reason, watch for FSU to really try their hardest in this game, but I just don’t see it happening. Predictions: Ponder will be 20 for 42 for 190 yards 1 TD and 2 INT. Jermaine Thomas will have 19 carries for 45 yards. Rod Owens will have 4 passes for 55 yards.

Virginia Tech vs. Nebraska – I have a feeling this game is going to resemble their week one game against Alabama. It’s going to be a defensive game for 3 ½ quarters and whichever defense gets tired first loses the game. I am not expecting a whole lot of highlights from this game. Predictions: Tyrod Tayler will be 11 for 19 for 105 yards and 10 rushes for 60 yards with 1 TD. Ryan Williams will have 23 rushes for 90 yards and 1 score

Georgia Tech vs. Miami – Miami had a fantastic game week one against FSU. The question is that since they were able to contain Florida State’s running game, will they be able to do the same against Georgia Tech? They sure hope they have figured something out or else they are going to get burned again for another 500 plus rushing yards like last year. I think they have done their homework with the additional week off and will have a much better showing on their home turf this year. Predictions: Jacorry Harris will be 25 for 32 for 299 yards and 3 TDs. Graig Cooper will rush 16 times for 60 yards. Travis Benjamin will haul in 5 receptions for 98 yards and 2 TDs. Josh Nesbitt will be 12 for 20 times for 150 yards and 1 TD and rush 11 times for 70 yards and 1 TD. Dwyer will rush 20 times for 80 yards and 1 TD. Demaryius Thomas will catch 7 balls for 110 yards and 1 TD.

Most Fantasy Impact in a positive way:

Maryland vs Middle Tennessee State – This could be the game that we see Chris Turner show up. I expect Maryland to try and get their running game going this week and they will have a solid outing. Predictions: Turner will be 20 for 32 for 210 yards and 2 TDs. Da’Rell Scott will rush 26 times for 135 yards and 2 TDs.

Gardner Webb vs. NC State – NC State proved last week that they can live up to their hype as they put up very solid numbers last week. I expect them to build off of that and get a really good look at some of their backup RBs this week while Jamelle Eugene sits out. Predictions:  Russell Wilson will be 25 for 30 for 288 yards and 3 TDs. Tony Baker will rush 17 times for 90 yards and 1 TD.

Related posts:

1. ACC Bookends: Week 3
2. ACC Bookends
3. ACC Bookends
4. ACC Bookends: Ride the FSU and Miami Roller Coaster
5. ACC Bookends for Week 1

Tags: ACC, Duke Spirit