Here is a game-by-game recap of each team in the ACC conference to catch you up from last weekend’s action, including Key Players, Injuries, and Players to Watch.
Duke at Miami
Game Recap: We saw yet another spectacular game-ending play out of the ACC conference last week as Miami absolutely stunned Duke with a backyard football-style kickoff return that resulted in a game-winning touchdown as Miami topped the Blue Devils 30-27. Granted, in hindsight we have seen that Duke was robbed on the play as the officials blew a number of calls—but it was still fun to watch!
Key Players: The Duke offense was led by the combination of Thomas Sirk and Max McCaffrey for the 2nd straight week. Sirk finished with 258 yards and a touchdown through the air while he rushed a team-leading 13 times for 51 yards and another touchdown on the ground. Sirk connected with McCaffrey 9 times for 90 times. This was a season-high in receptions for McCaffrey and his second straight week as the team’s leading receiver.
Miami’s offense was rather lackluster as they only accounted for 2 total touchdowns. Backup quarterback Malik Rosier started in place of Brad Kaaya and played relatively well, throwing for 2 touchdowns and 279 yards as he completed nearly 70% of his passes. Both Stacy Coley and Herb Waters had solid receiving numbers as each found the end zone. Rashawn Scott was all but ignored, catching only 2 balls for 35 yards as he is still dealing with a shoulder injury
Key Injuries: Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya remains questionable going into the Virginia game this week. Rashawn Scott played last week, but he was not very effective as he still is suffering from a shoulder injury.
Players to Watch: Duke faces off against North Carolina this week. The Tar Heels are giving up over 200 rushing yards per game, so we would look for the Duke rushing game to get going. It is tough to trust anyone in that backfield however, so Thomas Sirk will be the safest play. Max McCaffrey remains on our radar as well, however we expect his price to be bumped after he has strung together 2 solid outings in a row.
Miami takes on Virginia this week. With Kaaya still questionable, we will have a close eye on this game to determine who may or may not be playable. Virginia allowed some big plays through the air to Georgia Tech last week, which is saying something as the Yellow Jackets are not at all known for their passing prowess. Stacy Coley at receiver will be on our radar, while either quarterback may be an option depending on pricing.
Clemson at NC State
Game Recap: Clemson rode to a 56-40 victory on the shoulders of Deshaun Watson’s 6 touchdowns. This was the highest scoring game of the week for the ACC conference, featuring over 1000 yards of total offense and 12 touchdowns. The Clemson defense uncharacteristically allowed 41 points to NC State as the Wolfpack averaged 5 yards per carry for 3 touchdowns on the ground
Key Players: Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson had his best performance of the year as he completed over 75% of his 30 pass attempts for 383 yards and 5 touchdowns. Watson then proceeded to add 54 rushing yards and another touchdown on the ground to his already monstrous point total on the day. While this is only Watson’s 2nd game passing over 300 yards this season, he has now accounted for at least 2 touchdowns each week with 50+ rushing yards in 4 of their 8 games. Watson spread the ball out to his receivers as 8 different players caught a pass with all 5 of his passing touchdowns going to a different receiver. Running back Wayne Gallman was very busy in this game as well, rushing a career-high 31 times for 172 yards and a touchdown. Gallman also caught a season-high 3 balls for 19 yards, marking 3 straight weeks with at least 2 receptions.
NC State was definitely able to move the ball against one of the top defenses in the country. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett passed for 254 yards and 3 touchdowns, hitting his tight end David Grinnage 7 times for a team-leading 82 yards and a touchdown. While Matt Dayes only played 1 half of football, he still managed to lead the team with 72 rushing yards on the heels of a 41-yard long run. Jaylen Samuels rushed for 65 yards in relief, however most of those were actually negative plays as his long rush was 66 yards for a touchdown.
Key Injuries: NC State’s running back Matt Dayes suffered a toe injury that sidelined him for the second half of this game. Dayes is questionable going into their next game against Boston College. ***UPDATE*** Matt Dayes has been ruled out for the remainder of the season. Look for a committee approach to replace him.
Players to Watch: The Clemson offense is in full stride as they have surpassed 500 yards of total offense in 4 straight games, hitting their season high of 623 this past week. Deshaun Watson should be primed for another big game as they take on Florida State this week. While it is a tough matchup, this proves to be the most important game of the year as Clemson can solidify its ACC dominance with a victory. Look for Watson, Gallman, and all receivers to be in consideration depending on pricing.
NC State travels to Boston College this week in what will be a difficult matchup, especially as their star running back Matt Dayes may still be banged up. We are not looking for much out of them in this spot.
Syracuse at Florida State
Game Recap: Florida State took care of business without a couple of their key players as the Seminoles improve to 7-1 on their 56-17 victory over Syracuse. This was one of Florida State’s best offensive performances of the year as they put up 575 yards of total offense that fueled 45 points—their highest score of the year against an FBD opponent.
Key Players: Florida State was without both quarterback Everett Golson and running back Dalvin Cook, but that proved to be no issue as backups did as good if not better in their place. Quarterback Sean Maguire was very solid as he threw for 348 yards and 3 touchdowns. Maguire looked great in all aspects, including the downfield passing game as he hit receiver Travis Rudolph on a 75-yard touchdown followed by a 45-yard touchdown both in the first quarter. Rudolph capped the day with his third touchdown from Maguire in the third for a huge total of 91 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns on 5 receptions. Running back Jacques Patrick shouldered his share of the work as well as he carried 24 times for 162 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Seminoles were ripe for fantasy relevance here, with many of these options being very cheap to pick from last week.
Syracuse has close to zero fantasy relevance aside from a couple of rushing touchdowns and 46 rushing yards from quarterback Eric Dungey.
Key Injuries: Florida State running back Dalvin Cook has been nursing an ankle injury in recent weeks, having missed the game last week. He remains questionable going into this week with Clemson next on the schedule. Quarterback Everett Golson also remains questionable as he is recovering from a concussion.
Players to Watch: We have a few injury situations to keep an eye on for Florida State with both Golson and Cook questionable to play this week. Maquire and Patrick proved to be more than capable, but that was against a shoddy Syracuse defense. Florida State now must deal with Clemson’s #5-ranked defense, so this entire offense gets a big downgrade, especially if both Cook and Golson remain out.
Eric Dungey remains dangerous on the ground, giving him some marginal fantasy value on a go-forward basis. However, the remaining schedule for the Orange is not at all optimistic as they must face a murderer’s row of defenses in Louisville, Clemson, NC State, and Boston College to close the season.
North Carolina at Pittsburgh
Game Recap: Both Pittsburgh and North Carolina were undefeated in the ACC coming into this game, but it was the Tar Heels that would remain perfect as the big plays led them past Pittsburgh to the 26-19 victory. North Carolina has now won 7 straight as they move to 4-0 in the ACC for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Key Players: We saw yet another week with Tyler Boyd kept out of the end as he finished with numbers very similar to last week—10 receptions for 89 yards. Qadree Ollison had limited opportunities as he carried only 10 times for 54 yards and a touchdown. Ollison has now has scored at least 1 touchdown in 7 of their 8 games, with a 5-game streak currently alive.
North Carolina was once again led by quarterback Marquise Williams as he hit his receivers on a couple of big passes for their only 2 touchdowns of the day. For fantasy purposes however, Williams’ stat line was not worth his price as he finished with 270 passing yards, 2 passing touchdowns, and 52 rushing yards. Ryan Switzer was the beneficiary of one of those touchdowns as he hauled in the 71 yard strike on his way to 126 total yards on 5 receptions—a huge day given his salary.
Key Injuries: None
Players to Watch: North Carolina welcomes Duke this week in a heated in-state rivalry match as each is battling for position in the Coastal division. Duke’s defense has been solid all year—Marquise Williams should be a tournament only option here unless his price is drastically reduced.
This Pittsburgh team finds themselves in a tough matchup against Notre Dame this week. Shaky quarterback play continues to force doubt in our minds about Tyler Boyd, but he should have plenty of opportunities for high volume involvement as the Panthers will most certainly be playing catch-up.
Virginia Tech at Boston College
Game Recap: We didn’t see much offense in this game as Virginia Tech topped Boston College 26-10. It is the usual story in a game with Boston College involved, as they limited Virginia Tech to only 1 offensive touchdown, forcing 4 field goals instead as Virginia Tech only managed 275 yards of total offense. Boston College played to character as well, struggling to move the ball on offense all day as their quarterback completed only 40% of his passes while the team averaged a mere 2.1 yards per carry on the ground.
Key Players: We didn’t see many key players here. Virginia Tech’s freshman running back Travon McMillian was able to continue his streak of solid yardage games with 105 yards, however it was by will of sheer volume as he carried the ball 33 times, equating to an abysmal 3.3 yards per carry against the nation’s top rushing defense. Isiah Ford was also kept in check as he c aught only 3 balls for 51 yards and was kept out of the end zone, with WR Cam Phillips scoring their only touchdown of the day in addition to his team-leading 6 receptions for 87 yards.
Key Injuries: None
Players to Watch: Virginia Tech will take the week of before coming back next Thursday night to face off against Georgia Tech. We will keep an eye on running back Travon McMillian to provide some value on the small slate that week, while receiver Isiah Ford and tight end Bucky Hodges are other potential targets
The Boston College offense is to be avoided regardless of matchup.
Louisville at Wake Forest
Game Recap: The Louisville defense stepped up big time to force 6 turnovers as they edged out Wake Forest in the 20-19 victory. The offenses were rather sluggish outside of a few big plays, especially in the second half with only 3 total points scored as Louisville could not convert more than a field goal from their 5 second half turnovers.
Key Players: For Louisville, we saw Lamar Jackson get the start as 3 quarterbacks made appearances throughout the game. Jackson finished with mediocre stats as he passed for 207 yards and 2 touchdowns with another in which he was very ineffective rushing the ball (13 carries for 2 yards). Jackson did however show a very strong connection here with junior wide receiver Jamari Staples as he hit Staples 10 times for 133 yards and a couple of touchdowns. Staples has been improving each week he has played since returning from a knee injury, amassing 20 receptions for 307 yards in 4 games.
The Wake Forest offense was abysmal yet again. Outside of a couple of highlight reel deep balls for a combined 136 yards, their offense only could muster another 130 yards in total as they turned the ball over 6 times on the day, 5 of which came in the second half. They continue to alternate quarterbacks while tight end Cam Serigne was shut down for yet another game.
Key Injuries: Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson is still nursing an ankle injury he tweaked a few weeks ago, however he continues to play through it and is probable for this week.
Players to Watch: Louisville gets a very favorable matchup against Syracuse this week. If this game makes the slate, we will most definitely have Jamari Staples on our radar as a tournament option.
Wake Forest gets the week off before taking on Notre Dame next Saturday. Cam Serigne has struggled as of late, but will most certainly be minimum price on all slates—so if looking for a tournament punt at tight end, Serigne has shown he can put up big numbers.
Georgia Tech at Virginia
Game Recap: Georgia Tech suffered another tough loss as Virginia holds off the Yellow Jackets for a 27-21 victory.
Key Players: Virginia didn’t have huge fantasy scorers here as the touchdowns were spread out to all different players. Running back Taquan Mizzell led the team in rushing and receptions with 14 carries for 75 yards in addition to 5 receptions for 33 yards, however he failed to find the end zone for the 4th time this season. WR1 Canaan Severin hauled in 4 catches for 55 yards, including a go-ahead 30-yard touchdown in the final minutes of the game.
The Georgia Tech rushing game struggled to move the ball as they only accounted for 144 total rushing yards. Outside of a big 49-yard run touchdown run at the beginning of the game, the Yellow Jackets averaged less than 3 yards per carry on the day. Clinton Lynch was the guy to have here as he had all 3 touchdowns for Georgia Tech, 1 on the ground and 2 through the air behind 132 yards of total offense. This was most certainly an outlier performance as Lynch only had 3 touchdowns prior to this and had failed to gain double digit carries all season. Justin Thomas underperformed his potential here as he passed for 250 yards and a touchdown, but only managed to rush for 18 total yards on 10 carries.
Key Injuries: NC State’s running back Matt Dayes suffered a toe injury that sidelined him for the second half of this game. Dayes is questionable going into their next game against Boston College.
Players to Watch: Virginia will visit Miami this week, with running back Taquan Mizzell as the player here worth any serious consideration depending on his price.
Georgia Tech has a bye week, coming back to face Virginia Tech in their next contest. This offense is too unpredictable for us to put any stock in a fantasy recommendation.
