In the early going, the race to the ACC championship game looked like it would come down to the final stride or maybe even a lean at the tape. But with two weeks to go in the regular season, two teams have managed to separate themselves from the pack.

Georgia Tech rallied from a 10-0 deficit to clinch the Coastal Division title with its 49-10 victory at Duke on Saturday, and Clemson has moved one step away from doing the same in the Atlantic Division. The Tigers, who routed NC State 43-23, can book their trip to Tampa, Fla., for the league championship game with a home win over Virginia this week. Even if they stumble on senior day at Death Valley — hard to imagine at this point — the Tigers will win the division as long as Boston College loses to North Carolina this week or falls at Maryland next week.

So, how did races that appeared to be headed for photo finishes end up with the Yellow Jackets (10-1, 7-1 ACC) and Tigers (7-3, 5-2) lapping the field? Two reasons:

1) Georgia Tech took advantage of a favorable schedule and played at a high level more consistently than any other team in the conference. The Yellow Jackets, whose only loss came Sept. 17 at Miami, had the good fortune of playing their other three toughest conference opponents (Clemson, North Carolina, Virginia Tech) at home.

2) The Atlantic Division (with the exception of Clemson) turned out to be weak, as evidenced by its 3-10 record against the Coastal Division so far. Preseason Atlantic Division contenders Florida State and NC State fizzled early, and Wake Forest suffered three league defeats by a field goal or less. With the exception of Clemson’s 24-21 loss at Maryland on Oct. 3, perhaps the most surprising result in the league this season, the Tigers rolled over their division brethren. They outscored their other four divisional opponents by an average of 22.3 points per game.

Scoreboard

Boston College 14, Virginia 10
Clemson 43, NC State 23
Florida State 41, Wake Forest 28
Georgia Tech 49, Duke 10
North Carolina 33, Miami 24
Virginia Tech 36, Maryland 9

Spiller special, even without the ball

Clemson senior C.J. Spiller gave his Heisman Trophy hopes another boost over the weekend, making more history against NC State. Spiller became the first player in Clemson history to record a touchdown passing, rushing and receiving in the same game, and he broke Derrick Hamilton’s school record for all-purpose yardage in a season.

But as good as Spiller was with the ball — he rushed for 97 yards on 18 carries and made three catches for 48 yards — he might have been even better without it. NC State’s coaches were so determined to keep the ball away from Spiller on special teams, where he has scored four touchdowns this season, that they changed their team’s approach on kickoffs and punts.

NC State squibbed its first three kickoffs, giving Clemson the ball at its own 37-, 43- and 40-yard line, respectively. Punter Jeff Ruiz also aimed his kicks toward the sideline, shanking one for 6 yards that gave the Tigers the ball at the NC State 17. Spiller threw a touchdown pass to Xavier Dye on the next play to give Clemson a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter.

“Our starting field position today was unbelievable, and that’s a product of C.J.,” Clemson offensive coordinator Billy Napier said. “They had fear in their eyes when they walked out there on the punt team and the kickoff coverage team.”

FSU’s Manuel impressive in debut

Bobby Bowden was optimistic, but Florida State’s coach didn’t know what to expect from redshirt freshman quarterback E.J. Manuel in the first start of his college career.

“Manuel passed the test,” Bowden said after watching his team end a three-game losing streak to Wake Forest. “You really never know how he is going to do until you see him in a contest. But right from the first play, he showed a lot of confidence and poise.”

That’s just what the Seminoles needed as they played their first game without starting quarterback Christian Ponder, who is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Manuel completed 15 of 20 passes for 220 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and he also rushed for 45 yards and a touchdown.

Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher put together a great plan for Manuel, incorporating more option into Florida State’s offense to take advantage of Manuel’s tremendous running ability. Manuel also benefited from a good game from tailback Jermaine Thomas, who alleviated some of the pressure on the passing game by rushing for 149 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.

Thanks to the win over Wake Forest, the Seminoles (5-5, 3-4) have a chance this week to become bowl eligible for the 28th consecutive season. All Florida State needs to do is get a home win over injury-riddled Maryland (2-8, 1-5), which has suffered five consecutive losses since its improbable win over Clemson.

Burney burns Hurricanes

A cornerback with the last name Burney had better be good, and North Carolina’s Kendric Burney certainly is. Burney helped the Tar Heels become bowl eligible for the second consecutive season, intercepting three passes in UNC’s victory over Miami.

But Burney did more than intercept passes thrown by Miami quarterback Jacory Harris. He turned two of them into scoring plays for the Tar Heels. The 5-foot-9, 180-pound junior gave UNC a 20-7 lead with a 77-yard interception return for a touchdown just before halftime, and he made the biggest play of the game when he picked off Harris at his own 10-yard line in the fourth quarter. Burney made a great run to get the ball past midfield and then pitched it to roommate Melvin Williams, who carried it the final 44 yards for a touchdown that extended UNC’s lead to 30-17 with 9:28 remaining.

Burney, who became the first UNC player since Dre’ Bly in 1996 to intercept three passes in one game, set an ACC record with 170 interception return yards. He also set a school record for interception return yards in a single season (170) and a career (317).

Burney, who has four interceptions this season after earning a spot on the All-ACC second team last season, is part of a UNC defense that has bounced back in a big way since its second-half meltdown against Florida State on Oct. 22. The Tar Heels have allowed 272 yards per game and forced eight turnovers during their three-game winning streak.

Quick slants

• Clemson needs to find a solution to its kicking problem before it costs the Tigers a game. A week after Richard Jackson missed a pair of field-goal tries and a pair of extra-point attempts and Spencer Benton missed his only extra-point try, Benton was the starter against NC State. Benton made his first four kicks — a 28-yard field goal and three extra points — but he missed his next two PAT tries. Jackson relieved him and made Clemson’s final extra point.

• Duke senior quarterback Thaddeus Lewis broke a pair of school records in his team’s loss to Georgia Tech. Lewis took over the top spot on Duke’s all-time list for completions (826) and total offense (9,300 yards), breaking the records set by Spence Fisher from 1980-83 in both of those categories.

• Miami sophomore Jacory Harris was the only ACC player who was named a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award, presented annually to the nation’s top quarterback. But before Harris can be a legitimate contender for that kind of honor, he must cut down on his turnovers. Harris, who completed 28 of 50 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown against North Carolina, also tossed four interceptions. He has thrown 16 interceptions this season, most in the nation.

• North Carolina sophomore kicker Casey Barth, who made field goals of 22, 42, 32 and 33 yards against Miami, is enjoying the best stretch of his young career. He has converted 13 consecutive field-goal attempts.

• Virginia Tech received a career-high three touchdown passes from quarterback Tyrod Taylor in its win over Maryland, but it was tailback Ryan Williams who broke another record. Williams, who rushed for 126 yards in his seventh 100-yard rushing game of the season, scored his 12th touchdown to break the school freshman record that Darren Evans set last year. Williams has rushed for 1,235 yards this season, 30 yards short of the school freshman record that Evans posted.

• Wake Forest senior quarterback Riley Skinner struggled in the final home game of his college career. Skinner, who was trying to become the first quarterback to start in four wins over a team coached by Bobby Bowden, passed for 227 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The Demon Deacons, who suffered their fifth consecutive loss, officially were eliminated from bowl contention.

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