ACC: UNC rides Sexton to victory

There are unlikely heroes, and then there is North Carolina’s Cameron Sexton.

Once a highly touted recruit who became an afterthought stuck behind UNC’s quarterback of the present (T.J. Yates) and quarterback of the future (Mike Paulus), Sexton led the Tar Heels to a dramatic 28-24 victory over Miami on Saturday.

As was the plan all along, Sexton entered the game in relief of Paulus on UNC’s third offensive series. Not according to the plan, Sexton played so well that he never exited.

The fourth-year junior, who had thrown four touchdown passes and eight interceptions in his career and had not attempted a pass in a game since the 2007 season opener, completed 11 of 19 throws for 243 yards and two touchdowns against the Hurricanes. Sexton threw no interceptions and led UNC (3-1, 1-1), which trailed 14-0 after getting outgained 127-24 in the first quarter, to a pair of touchdowns in the final nine minutes.

“You can’t have any type of conversation without talking about how Cameron Sexton played,” said UNC coach Butch Davis, who improved to 2-0 against his former team. “He played very well and composed.”

Sexton rifled a 74-yard touchdown pass to Hakeem Nicks to cut Miami’s lead to 24-21, then hooked up with Brooks Foster for a 14-yard score with just 46 seconds remaining to give the Tar Heels their first lead of the day.

Miami (2-2, 0-1) nearly stole back the game, reaching UNC’s 20-yard line in the closing seconds. But Robert Marve’s pass to a fully extended Kayne Farquharson in the end zone went off the end of Farquharson’s fingers and into the hands of safety Trimane Goddard for a game-ending interception.

Goddard finished with two interceptions and a game-high eight tackles, but the day belonged to Sexton. With Yates sidelined at least five more weeks because of a broken bone in his left ankle, UNC’s starting job at quarterback might be all Sexton’s, too.

Scoreboard

Duke 31, Virginia 3
Maryland 20, Clemson 17
North Carolina 28, Miami 24
Boston College 42, Rhode Island 0
Florida State 39, Colorado 21
Navy 24, Wake Forest 17
South Florida 41, N.C. State 10
Virginia Tech 35, Nebraska 30

Offensive player of the week: Antone Smith, RB, Florida State

A week after getting just eight carries against Wake Forest, Smith was the focal point of the Seminoles’ offense in a win over Colorado. The 5-foot-9, 190-pound senior had 25 carries for 154 yards and three touchdowns, including a 60-yard scoring sprint late in the second quarter that broke a 7-7 tie.

The Seminoles (3-1, 0-1) rushed for a 259 yards in Bobby Bowden’s 500th game as a college coach, a positive sign for an offense that threw five interceptions the week before against the Demon Deacons.

“It feels good,” Smith said. “I think this gives everybody on our team, as well as the coaches, the confidence that we are able to run the ball each and every game. There isn’t any pressure to be one-dimensional.”

Defensive player of the week: Michael Tauiliili, LB, Duke

Tauiliili played a big part in helping the Blue Devils snap their 25-game losing streak against ACC competition. The 5-foot-11, 235-pound senior made a career-high 16 tackles and had a hand in three of the six turnovers Virginia committed. Tauiliili intercepted a pass, recovered a fumble and forced a fumble as Duke (3-1, 1-0) scored 28 unanswered points in the second half.

Freshman of the week: Montel Harris, RB, Boston College

As expected, a freshman is starring at tailback for Boston College. Unexpectedly, it’s Harris instead of Josh Haden. Harris, who earned playing time while Haden sat out with an ankle injury, rushed for more than 100 yards for the second week in a row. He carried 18 times for 143 yards and three touchdowns against Rhode Island as the Eagles (3-1, 0-1) racked up 289 yards rushing as a team.

Team of the week: Maryland

The Terrapins overcame a 17-6 halftime deficit to win their conference opener against league favorite Clemson. Maryland, which entered the game as a double-digit underdog, won its fourth consecutive game against a ranked opponent and picked up its second win in a row at Death Valley.

But how did the Terps do it? After all, the Tigers outgained Maryland 372-295, stuffed ACC rushing leader Da’Rel Scott (23 carries for 39 yards) and got 224 yards on 31 carries from tailbacks James Davis and C.J. Spiller.

The Terrapins forced three turnovers while committing none, allowed no sacks and limited Davis and Spiller to just 31 rushing yards in the second half. Plus, Maryland wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey changed the game in the third quarter with a 76-yard run that set up his team’s first touchdown.

Don’t look now, but Maryland — the same team that lost to Middle Tennessee State — finds itself in the Atlantic Division driver seat. The Terrapins (4-1, 1-0) play at Virginia (1-3, 0-1) next week and have an open date after that to help them prepare for their home game against Wake Forest.

Disappointment of the week: Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons won the ACC championship in 2006, went 9-4 last season and carried a six-game winning streak into the weekend. But perhaps the biggest evidence of their rise came Saturday against Navy. The Demon Deacons, who have flourished by taking advantage of favored opponents who play carelessly and overlook them, were the ones making mistakes against a team they should have beaten.

“We just came out flat,” Wake Forest wide receiver Chip Brinkman said. “They wanted it more than us. You could just see it on the first series we had on offense, and then they marched right down on our defense. We just didn’t play our game today.”

That’s an understatement. Wake Forest (3-1), which forced seven turnovers against Florida State and entered this week leading the nation in turnover margin, turned over the ball six times against Navy. The Demon Deacons committed turnovers on five of their six first-half possessions, falling behind 17-0 at halftime.

Quarterback Riley Skinner, who hadn’t thrown an interception all season, tossed a career-high four picks against the Midshipmen. Tailbacks Josh Adams and Brandon Pendergrass also continued to struggle, combining for just 24 yards on 18 carries.

Kick to remember

Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski made a nice move during his team’s blowout win over Rhode Island when he sent in sophomore walk-on Greg Abilheira, who hails from Bristol, R.I., to kick an extra point. Abilheira’s father is hospitalized after having a tumor removed, and Jagodzinski wanted to give Abilheira a chance to score a point for his father.

Abilheira made the kick, scoring BC’s 42nd — and final — point of the day.

“I was just really happy seeing the kid coming off the field,” Jagodzinski said. “That’s good for Greg — it really was. I think if you can do things like that in coaching, that matters. He’ll never forget that. And he can take that to his dad. His dad will never forget that. Hopefully his dad will do better and recover.”

Eagles stay grounded

Boston College ran just 49 offensive snaps in its rain-soaked game, and just nine of those plays were pass attempts. The Eagles got off to another slow start with senior Chris Crane at quarterback, failing to score on their first two possessions before redshirt freshman Dominique Davis entered the contest.

Crane finished just 1 of 4 for 6 yards, while Davis completed 2 of 5 passes for 21 yards. Davis also added a 24-yard touchdown run, but he will remain the backup.

“Chris Crane is still the starter,” Jagodzinski said. “I was happy to get Dominique Davis snaps, but that’s the way we’ll probably go for the rest of the year. We’ll play Chris to start and get Dominique in. That’s our plan.”

Big numbers on the big stage

Virginia Tech’s best offensive game of the season came in an unlikely environment — at Nebraska in front of a Memorial Stadium-record crowd of 85,831. The Hokies (4-1, 2-0), who entered the game 112th nationally in total offense, piled up a season-high 377 yards against the Cornhuskers.

Sophomore quarterback Tyrod Taylor engineered six consecutive scoring drives in the second and third quarters — four field goals by Dustin Keys sandwiched in between a pair of touchdowns — as Virginia Tech scored more than 24 points for the first time all season. Taylor passed for 171 yards — 28 yards fewer than in his previous three games combined — and added 87 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Extra points

With mediocrity abounding throughout the ACC, one might think that home-field advantage would play a big role in determining the outcome of games. That hasn’t been the case so far. The road team has won five of the first eight conference games, and Clemson, Miami and Wake Forest all lost as home favorites this week.

Virginia, which played Duke without tailback Cedric Peerman (knee), has been outscored 128-20 in three games against Football Bowl Subdivision competition this season.

Duke’s 28-point winning margin over Virginia was its largest in any game since 1998, its largest at home since 1994 and its largest in ACC play since 1990.

Virginia Tech’s win over Nebraska was costly. The Hokies lost their starting rover, sophomore Davon Morgan, for the season after he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

North Carolina senior wide receiver Brandon Tate failed to score a touchdown for the first time all season, but he still achieved something noteworthy against Miami. Tate broke the NCAA record for combined kick return yardage in a career, finishing the game with 3,549 career return yards. The former record was 3,455 yards, set by California’s Deltha O’Neal from 1996-99.

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