The calendar has flipped to November, so the stretch run of the ACC season is here. And somehow, even at this late juncture, Duke remains in control of its own destiny in the Coastal Division race. Duke’s surprising run hasn’t been enough to keep fans from realizing that basketballs have begun bouncing in Cameron Indoor Stadium, but it has raised plenty of eyebrows around the conference.

The Blue Devils (5-3, 3-1 ACC) have delivered five consecutive solid performances, including three consecutive ACC victories for the first time since 1994, to climb into second place behind Georgia Tech (8-1, 5-1). Duke has four games remaining — at North Carolina, home against Georgia Tech, at Miami and home against Wake Forest — and wins in those four games will send Coach David Cutcliffe’s team to the ACC championship game.

It’s not a likely scenario, of course. But neither was this surge, which continued over the weekend when the Blue Devils won at Virginia 28-17. After all, Duke began the season with a home loss to Football Championship Subdivision member Richmond, a comeback win over Army and a blowout loss at Kansas.

Cutcliffe deserves credit for making his players believe they could win, and his players deserve credit for proving him right. The team walked a delicate line a month ago by gaining confidence from its 34-26 loss to Virginia Tech without treating the defeat like a moral victory.

Duke is now 9-11 (4-8 ACC) in two seasons under Cutcliffe, a drastic improvement compared with the 10-82 (3-61 ACC) record it put together in the previous eight seasons combined. And with one of the hottest quarterbacks in the country on their side — senior Thaddeus Lewis has thrown for 300-plus yards in four consecutive games — the Blue Devils are no fun for any opponent to play right now.

Scoreboard

North Carolina 20, Virginia Tech 17
Boston College 31, Central Michigan 10
Clemson 49, Coastal Carolina 3
Duke 28, Virginia 17
Florida State 45, NC State 42
Georgia Tech 56, Vanderbilt 31
Miami 28, Wake Forest 27

Seminoles, Tigers bounce back to create showdown

A few weeks ago, Florida State’s trip to Clemson didn’t look like it would have a big effect on the Atlantic Division race. But now that the Seminoles have won back-to-back ACC games in dramatic fashion and the Tigers have run off three consecutive wins, the game is just as important as it was supposed to be during the preseason.

With a win, Clemson (5-3, 3-2) will seize control of the race and be able to clinch a spot in the ACC championship game with victories over NC State and Virginia. But if the Seminoles (4-4, 2-3) win, they will sit just one-half game out of first place. Boston College (6-3, 3-2), which is idle this week, would remain in first place under that scenario.

The injury report could play a big role in the matchup between Florida State and Clemson. Quarterback Christian Ponder struggled through FSU’s win over NC State, overcoming sore ribs to pass for 277 yards and a touchdown. He is unlikely to be fully healthy this weekend, but he is likely to play. Clemson, meanwhile, probably will be without one of its best defensive players. Defensive end Da’Quan Bowers, who has three sacks and seven tackles for loss this season, suffered sprained knee ligaments against Coastal Carolina and is expected to sit out against the Seminoles.

On the positive side for Clemson, star tailback C.J. Spiller should be rested and ready to go this weekend. Clemson’s coaches made a wise decision in limiting his workload against Coastal Carolina, passing up the chance to pad his gaudy statistics so that he could rest his nagging foot injury.

The result for Spiller, who rushed for 27 yards and a touchdown on five carries, was that his streak of seven consecutive games with at least one play of 60-plus yards came to an end. But he will have ample opportunities to start a new streak against a Florida State defense that ranks last in the ACC against the run and the pass.

Tar Heels save season

Talk about unlikely victories. North Carolina, winless in ACC play, was coming off a deflating loss against Florida State in which it blew an 18-point lead at home in the second half. The Tar Heels then had to go on the road to play a Virginia Tech team that had extra time to prepare for them. UNC pulled together and won, giving itself legitimate hope to earn a bowl berth in a season that has been disappointing otherwise.

The outlook suddenly is brighter for the Tar Heels (5-3, 1-3), who need to win two of their remaining four games to become bowl eligible. Their defensive collapse against the Seminoles appears to be an aberration — they held Virginia Tech to just 256 yards and 11 first downs — and their offense is finding a way to run the ball successfully. Tailbacks Shaun Draughn and Ryan Houston have combined for 275 yards on the ground in the last two weeks, and UNC is pressing the edges with its wide receivers on reverses.

The key this week is how the Tar Heels handle Duke’s pass-happy offense. Florida State abandoned the run against UNC’s ferocious front seven, electing to throw quick passes before the pass rush could reach Ponder. That’s how the Blue Devils operate on a regular basis, which should give UNC’s defensive backs a chance to show that they have learned from the mistakes they made in coverage against the Seminoles.

Demon Deacons in big trouble

Wake Forest’s once-promising season has unraveled faster than anyone expected, and the Demon Deacons now are in serious jeopardy of failing to qualify for a bowl game. Wake Forest (4-5, 2-3), which blew a 17-0 lead at home against Miami on Saturday, must win two of its final three games (at Georgia Tech, home against Florida State, at Duke) to have a chance to play in the postseason.

And this week’s game against the Yellow Jackets, who run the same offense as a less-talented Navy team that knocked off the Demon Deacons two weeks ago, is even more of a long shot now. Wake Forest senior quarterback Riley Skinner suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter against Miami and is questionable to play at Georgia Tech. Skinner’s absence would leave Ryan McManus, a fifth-year senior who has just 14 career pass attempts, in charge of the offense.

The Demon Deacons have dropped three consecutive games, a stretch that started with a 38-3 loss at Clemson on Oct. 16. That loss is the only one on Wake Forest’s ledger that couldn’t be categorized as heartbreaking. Wake Forest’s other four defeats this season have come by a total of 10 points, leaving the team with an 0-4 record in games decided by three points or fewer.

Quick slants

• Boston College senior Steve Aponavicius became the school’s all-time leading scorer with a field goal and four extra points in the win over Central Michigan. Aponavicius, a former walk-on, now has 267 points in his career. He broke the previous mark of 262 points set by kicker Brian Lowe from 1986-89.

• Wake Forest racked up a season-high 555 total yards against Miami, outgaining the Hurricanes by 199 total yards. Interestingly, the Demon Deacons are just 2-3 under Coach Jim Grobe when they gain 500 or more yards.

• Duke’s Lewis and Wake Forest’s Skinner joined some elite company over the weekend. They each surpassed 2,000 passing yards for the season, becoming the second and third players in ACC history to accomplish that feat four years in a row. Former NC State star Philip Rivers is the charter member of that club. Skinner also moved into second place in league history in career completions (824), trailing only Rivers (1,087).

• Duke wide receivers Donovan Varner and Conner Vernon, who also were high school teammates at Gulliver Prep in Miami, each posted more than 100 yards receiving for the second week in a row. Vernon, a freshman who made seven receptions for 103 yards, posted his third 100-yard game of the season. Before this year, Duke had three 100-yard receiving games by freshmen in its history.

• Miami’s Jacory Harris showed once again that he is one of the coolest customers in the conference. He led the Hurricanes to a touchdown with 3 seconds remaining in the first half to cut Wake Forest’s lead to 20-14, and he delivered the game-winning touchdown pass with 1:08 remaining. They key play on the final drive was Harris’ 29-yard pass on fourth and 16 to former high school teammate Aldarius Johnson.

• Georgia Tech trailed at Vanderbilt 31-28 late in the third quarter before scoring four touchdowns in a span of 6:11 to blow open the game. Junior Jonathan Dwyer led the way, rushing for a career-high 186 yards and three touchdowns as the Yellow Jackets amassed a season-high 597 total yards and controlled the ball for 39:45.

• With Spiller cooling his jets against Coastal Carolina, wide receiver Jacoby Ford took on a starring role for Clemson. Ford made a 36-yard touchdown catch and threw a 23-yard touchdown pass for the first two scores of the game, joining Spiller in the school record book as the only players who have accounted for touchdowns five different ways. Ford has produced touchdowns via reception, rush, pass, kickoff return and punt return in his career.

• The crowd of 67,712 at Doak Campbell Stadium that watched NC State and Florida State combine for 87 points and 1,093 yards was the smallest at FSU since 1993.

• How’s this for efficiency? NC State wide receiver Jarvis Williams caught three passes for 18 yards against the Seminoles, and all three went for touchdowns. Williams’ effort was part of a big day for quarterback Russell Wilson, who threw for 349 yards and tied a school record with five touchdown passes.

• NC State has allowed at least 30 points in five consecutive games and has surrendered at least 45 points in three consecutive games. Both streaks are unprecedented in school history.

Del.icio.us | Digg it | Athlon Sports RSS Feeds