The college football regular season is slowly winding down as Week 13 approaches. Aside from Thursday night’s ACC OT thriller, Louisville’s 14-point win against NC State was the closest result all weekend. Still, there were some key results and performances worth mentioning. Here’s what went down in the ACC in Week 12:
Who would’ve thought that the Cardinals would have been bowl-bound in year one of the Scott Satterfield era, with two games left? Not many and the quick turnaround in Louisville has been remarkable. Remember, this is basically the same group of players that went 2-10 a year ago under Bobby Petrino. The Cards got that elusive sixth win Saturday night as they beat NC State 34-20 in Raleigh.
Micale Cunningham was outstanding with four touchdowns and 242 yards on 13/20 passing. Javian Hawkins added 67 yards on the ground, making him the first UofL running back since 2010 to have a 1,000-yard season. The Louisville defense played well, too, creating three Wolfpack turnovers. Scott Satterfield will be, and should be, the frontrunner for ACC Coach of the Year. Up next for the Cards is a home matchup vs. the Syracuse Orange.
(Photo by Ben McKeown / AP)
Speaking of the Orange, they got their first conference win with a shellacking of Duke 49-6. Jarveon Howard and Moe Neal each had 115 yards on the ground and a touchdown in the win. Tommy DeVito didn’t have to do much with the ground game being so effective, but he did throw for two touchdowns and no interceptions. It’s been a complete 180 in 2019 for Dino Babers, who went 10-3 last year. Syracuse (4-6) will need to win its final two games, at Louisville and vs. Wake Forest, to get to bowl-eligibility.
(AP Photo/Richard Shiro)
The Tigers had little trouble with the Demon Deacons Saturday afternoon as they moved to 11-0 on the season. Trevor Lawrence went for 272 yards and four touchdowns on 21/27 passing. Travis Etienne had 121 yards rushing, his seventh 100-yard rushing game on the season. The Tigers have a bye week before traveling to South Carolina in the regular-season finale. It’s obvious, but Clemson cannot afford a loss to either South Carolina, or in the ACC Championship game. Their schedule is simply too soft compared to other teams in the top eight. However, ESPN’s FPI is giving Dabo’s Tiger’s an 84% chance to make the College Football Playoff.
Other Results/Performances:
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