ACC: Virginia shocks Maryland

Miami lost a game in which its tailback threw a touchdown pass, its left tackle caught a touchdown pass (on a different play) and its punter ran for a key first down. Boston College’s starting quarterback, who totaled 461 passing yards through four games, threw for 428 yards in a single contest. And a Georgia Tech glorified blocker — er, wide receiver — caught 230 yards worth of passes.

Yes, it was a wild week in the ACC.

But those occurrences seem downright predictable once you stop to consider the biggest surprise of them all: Virginia’s 31-0 victory over Maryland.

The Cavaliers had been outscored by a combined 128-20 in three games against Football Bowl Subdivision competition. They were last in the nation in scoring (9.0 points per game), second to last nationally in total offense and had not thrown a single touchdown pass all season. Plus, Virginia was coming off a 31-3 loss at Duke that snapped the Blue Devils’ 25-game losing streak in ACC play.

Maryland, meanwhile, entered the contest having won four consecutive games, including a pair of wins over ranked opponents. And considering that their only loss this season came in a “trap game” at Middle Tennessee State, the Terrapins weren’t going to repeat that mistake, right?

Um, no. The Terrapins stood around and watched as the Cavaliers out-hustled them and outplayed them. The team with little hope of a winning season wanted to win more than the team that needed a victory to fuel its conference title hopes.

In a week full of surprises, that was the biggest shock of all.

Scoreboard

Boston College 38, N.C. State 31
Georgia Tech 27, Duke 0
Florida State 41, Miami 39
Virginia 31, Maryland 0
North Carolina 38, Connecticut 12
Virginia Tech 27, Western Kentucky 13

Offensive player of the week: Chris Crane, QB, Boston College

Tom O’Brien always thought Crane would be a big-time player. He just wishes Crane would have waited one more week to do it. N.C. State’s head coach, who recruited Crane during his tenure at Boston College, watched Crane dominate the Wolfpack by air and land at Carter-Finley Stadium. Crane completed 34 of 51 passes for 428 yards and two touchdowns, and he added 42 yards and three touchdowns on 11 rushing attempts.

All in all, not bad for a guy who had been booed and benched in each of Boston College’s previous two games.

“We knew he had that kind of ability,” said O’Brien, who dropped to 0-2 against his former team. “He hadn’t shown it yet, and we were hoping he would continue to play the way he has. But he came out on fire.”

Crane was so hot — he threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter — that BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski abandoned his pregame plan to give redshirt freshman Dominique Davis about 20 snaps at quarterback. Davis, who saw significant action in the Eagles’ wins over Central Florida and Rhode Island, couldn’t get on the field against N.C. State.

“It was great seeing Chris Crane have some success,” Jagodzinski said. “He was under the gun a lot, not from within but from a lot of people without. He did a great job.”

Defensive player of the week: Bruce Carter, LB, North Carolina

Carter helped UNC snap its nine-game losing streak against ranked opponents, blocking three punts against Connecticut. Carter, who also made seven tackles (two for loss) and broke up a pass, blocked a punt in the second quarter that teammate Matt Merletti recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.

That play gave the Tar Heels a 17-3 lead and was part of an amazing streak in which Carter got a piece of four consecutive punts. The sophomore deflected Miami’s final punt last week to set up UNC’s game-winning touchdown drive, and got a hand on each of UConn’s first three punts Saturday.

Freshman of the week: Travis Benjamin, WR, Miami

Benjamin drew comparisons to former Miami star Devin Hester during training camp, and he finally got a chance to show everyone why. The 5-foot-10, 160-pound speedster scorched Florida State for 274 all-purpose yards, including a 51-yard touchdown catch, an 18-yard touchdown run and kickoff returns of 57 and 42 yards.

Honorable mention for top freshman goes to Benjamin’s teammate Sean Spence, a linebacker who made 10 tackles and intercepted a pass that he returned for a touchdown.

Team of the week: Virginia

With the school lifting its ban on signs inside Scott Stadium, many fans proudly displayed their displeasure with the job coach Al Groh had done in the first four games. But the Cavaliers didn’t let the negativity discourage them as they put together their best effort of the season.

Quarterback Marc Verica, who completed 25 of 34 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns, looked nothing like the player who threw four interceptions against Duke. Tailbacks Cedric Peerman (17 carries for 110 yards) and Mikell Simpson (14 carries for 77 yards) finally provided the 1-2 punch in the running game that Virginia had been expecting all season. And cornerback Ras-I Dowling caught more passes (one) from Maryland quarterback Chris Turner than star receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey (none).

Now that Peerman is healthy — the senior leader sat out the Duke game and played sparingly the week before because of injury — the Cavaliers have renewed hope.

“I’m back, I’m ready to go, and I’m excited about the direction we’re headed as a team right now,” Peerman said.

Disappointment of the week: Maryland

Virginia coach Al Groh said his team “took a little step forward” with its solid performance against Maryland. True enough, but Ralph Friedgen’s Terrapins took a giant leap backward.

The Terps had everything in front of them. They knew they had an open date at the halfway point of their season, and they knew that four of their last six games would be at home. If they had beaten Virginia, they would have come back from their bye week in control of the Atlantic Division.

“It was reiterated daily,” Friedgen said. “Last night I talked about it — this was our chance. It’s frustrating. It really is.”

FSU hits the ground running

Florida State, which rushed for 259 yards last week against Colorado, maintained its commitment to the run against Miami. The Seminoles outrushed the Hurricanes 281-51, with senior tailback Antone Smith rushing 27 times for 92 yards and a career-high four touchdowns.

Smith had help from an unlikely source. Quarterback Christian Ponder, who completed 14 of 31 passes for 159 yards one touchdown and two interceptions, also racked up 144 yards on 19 carries. Ponder became the first Florida State quarterback to rush for 100 yards in a game since Charlie Ward in 1992.

Yellow Jackets take flight

Jaybo Shaw already had played in two games for Georgia Tech this season. But with starting quarterback Josh Nesbitt out with a sore hamstring, Shaw got the first start of his career against Duke. Was the true freshman nervous?

“Well, I’m sure you couldn’t have driven a straight pin up his tail with a sledgehammer,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. “I’m sure he was a little nervous.”

Shaw overcame the early butterflies, completing 9 of 14 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown. Surprising numbers for Georgia Tech’s run-heavy offense, no doubt.

Even more surprising? Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas was on the receiving end of every completion. Thomas nearly broke Dez White’s school record for receiving yards (243), and his 88-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter is the third-longest scoring grab in school history.

Hokies lose another key player

Virginia Tech extended its winning streak to five games, but the team did so while losing a major contributor to a season-ending injury for the second week in a row. With starting safety Davon Morgan sitting out after tearing a knee ligament at Nebraska, tailback Kenny Lewis Jr. suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon early in the second quarter against Western Kentucky.

Virginia Tech has an emerging standout in redshirt freshman Darren Evans, who has scored a touchdown in every game this season and carried 21 times for 79 yards and two touchdowns against the Hilltoppers, but Evans will have to continue without Lewis as his running mate. Lewis finishes the season with 237 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

“That’s a tough loss for us,” Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. “I thought Davon Morgan was a tough loss because of the kind of kid he is and how positive he is. Now we’ve lost a guy on offense who is pretty much the same way. I hate to see that. I hate to see any injury, but you hate to see those two guys go down.”

Extra points

N.C. State freshman T.J. Graham set a record for the longest kickoff return in school history when he sprinted 100 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first quarter against Boston College. The previous mark was 99 yards, set by Darrell Blackman against Clemson last season.

Georgia Tech blanked Duke 24-0 in the second half. The Blue Devils entered the game having outscored their opponents by a combined 76-14 in the third and fourth quarters this season.

North Carolina intercepted three passes against Connecticut, including one that defensive tackle Marvin Austin returned for a touchdown. The Tar Heels have 12 interceptions through five games this season after picking off just 11 passes in 12 games last year.

Virginia’s two wins this season are shutouts. The Cavaliers have allowed an average of 42.7 points per game in their three defeats.