Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
ATLANTIC DIVISION
BOSTON COLLEGE: Any questions surrounding quarterback Chase Rettig's ability
to bring Boston College's offense up to par in the ACC were answered in this
past weekend's season-opener against Miami-Florida. Although the outcome was
not ideal, a 41-32 loss to the Hurricanes, the silver lining was the play of
Rettig, who completed 32-of-51 passes, for 441 yards and two touchdowns.
Junior WR Alex Amidon benefited the most from Rettig's performance, hauling in
a career-high 10 balls, for 149 yards. The offense as a whole churned out 508
total yards. The team did however, give up 41 points to the 'Canes, the most
BC has given up in a game since allowing 44 to NC State on Oct. 9, 2010. The
Eagles will attempt to get their first win of the 2012 season this weekend,
when they play host to FCS foe Maine.
CLEMSON: Not having All-American wideout Sammy Watkins on the field did
little to slow down the Clemson offense, which amassed a whopping 528 yards in
a hard-fought 26-19 victory over the Auburn Tigers in the 2012 Chick-fil-A
Kickoff Game in Atlanta. It was the devastating trio of quarterback Tahj Boyd,
tailback Andre Ellington and wideout DeAndre Hopkins which provided the
difference in the game. Boyd was an effective 24-of-34 passing, for 208 yards
and a TD, while adding 58 yards rushing. Ellington had a bit of a coming-out-
party, with an impressive 231 yards on 8.9 yards per carry, while Hopkins
filled the void left by Watkins' absence due to suspension, setting the
Clemson record for receptions in a game with 13, good for 119 yards and
decisive fourth-quarter TD. That makes wins in each of the last two seasons
against Auburn, ending a 14-game drought that spanned 1952-2010. Watkins will
also finish up his two-game suspension this weekend, as Clemson welcomes Ball
State to Death Valley.
FLORIDA STATE: The 2012 Seminoles opened their season exactly as expected,
as they made light work of an obviously out-matched FCS program in Murray
State, crushing the Racers, 69-3 in Tallahassee. FSU's new ground attack
looked impressive to say the least, as the Seminoles racked up 285 yards on 42
carries. James Wilder Jr. did the most damage, posting 106 yards and two TDs
on 8.8 yards per carry. The ground game overall was responsible for seven TDs,
including three by Lonnie Pryor, who had just five total carries. Quarterback
EJ Manuel just had to manage things under center and did well in that regard,
completing 16-of-22 passes, for 188 yards and one TD. Kenny Shaw led the
receiving corps, posting four receptions, for 82 yards and a score. The FSU
defense did the rest, limiting the Racers to just nine first downs and 156
total yards of offense, including just 34 yards rushing on 32 carries. All-
American candidate Bjoern Werner got his season off and running, as the big
defensive end posted five TFLs and four sacks in the game. The win came at a
cost however, as All-American candidate Brandon Jenkins suffered a foot
injury. The star defensive end will be lost for the season. The Seminoles will
stay in the FCS ranks once again this week, as the take on Savannah State.
MARYLAND: Losing a starting quarterback prior to the beginning of the season
would dampen any program's outlook and those fears were only bolstered by
Maryland's performance in its season-opener, a 7-6 win over FCS foe William &
Mary. Quarterback C.J. Wilson tore an ACL just a couple of weeks ago, leaving
Randy Edsall's offense in the hands of a youngster. Freshman Perry Hills'
struggled to say the least, completing 16-of-24 passes, for 145 yards with
three INTs. The Terps, who trailed for most of the game got a six-yard TD run
by Justus Pickett in the fourth quarter to tie it up and a Brad Craddock
extra-point to give the team the win. The offense managed an ugly 236 yards of
total offense, but Maryland's defense certainly was the silver-lining, as the
Terrapins yielded just 229 yards of total offense to the Tribe. All-American
candidate Joe Vellano had a strong 2012 debut up front with 11 tackles and one
INT. Linebacker Demetrius Hartsfield also reached double figures, with 13
stops. The Terrapins will hit the road for the first time this season as they
travel up I-95 to take on the Temple Owls this weekend.
NC STATE: It was an ambitious schedule to start the 2012 season, but
unfortunately for Tom O'Brien's Wolfpack, they were unable to keep up with the
Tennessee Volunteers, in a 35-21 loss Friday night in Atlanta. Despite
churning out 407 yards of offense, the NC State defense allowed 524 yards to
the Volunteers, getting torched both on the ground (191 yards) and through the
air (333 yards). All-American David Amerson, who led the nation with 13
interceptions last year, had a rough outing, getting beat on a pair of long TD
passes by Tennessee. Mike Glennon is supposed to have a monster season under
center for NC State, but got off to a horrific start against Tennessee,
completing 27-of-46 passes, for 288 yards and one TD, with four INTs. The
Wolfpack will seek a quick turnaround this weekend when they travel to East
Hartford for a showdown with Big East foe Connecticut.
WAKE FOREST: It wasn't the prettiest season-opener, but the Demon Deacons
were able to put one in the win column nonetheless, topping FCS foe Liberty
20-17 in Winston-Salem this past weekend. Wake played sloppy ball for the most
part and rallied from a 14-7 third-quarter deficit to earn the win. There
certainly wasn't a whole lot to get excited about on the offensive side of the
football, as Wake managed a mere 293 yards of total offense, including just 98
yards on the ground. Quarterback Tanner Price was at his best, as he completed
just 16-of-28 passes, for 195 yards with one TD and one INT. Wideout Michael
Campanaro had a strong debut however, grabbing nine passes, for 96 yards and a
score. Redshirt freshman RB Doug Martin made a solid impression in his first
action, rushing for 74 yards and one TD on 21 carries. His production was
important as starting tailback Josh Harris left the game early on with a
concussion and did not return. Getting Harris back on the field to provide
Wake Forest with some offensive balance is a must considering the team opens
ACC play this week against a strong North Carolina squad.
COASTAL DIVISION
DUKE: The numbers on the stat page tipped the skills in FIU's favor, but the
outcome was a Duke win, as the David Cutcliffe's Blue Devils opened the 2012
campaign with a 46-26 victory. It marked the start of Duke's 100th year of
football. The team was fueled by a second quarter that saw Duke put up 30
points to cruise to the win, the fourth-highest scoring output in a quarter in
school history. The Blue Devils amassed 420 yards of total offense in the win,
but gave up 513. The team also finished with just 16 first-downs to 29 for the
Panthers. Quarterback Sean Renfree had a strong outing, completing 21-of-30
passes, for 290 yards and two TDs. Both Conner Vernon (10 catches, 180 yards,
one TD) and Jamison Crowder (six catches, 102 yards, one TD) eclipsed the
century mark in the win.
GEORGIA TECH: A slug-fest took place in Blacksburg on Labor Day and the
result was a 20-17 overtime loss for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets gave
themselves a chance thanks to quarterback Tevin Washington, who engineered a
drive late in the fourth quarter by passing the football and gave Georgia Tech
a lead, before Virginia Tech had a drive of its own to set up a game-tying
field goal as time expired. Although Washington gave the Yellow Jackets their
chance at an upset, Georgia Tech got the ball first in the overtime session
and it was a Washington interception that cost the team the game, as the
Hokies took their turn and knocked a 17-yard field goal through the uprights
for the win. The Yellow Jackets will take a break from both conference and FBS
action this weekend, as they take on Presbyterian to kickoff a four-game
homestand that will keep the team in Atlanta through the month of September.
MIAMI-FLORIDA: Freshman tailback Duke Johnson paced the Miami rushing attack
with 135 yards, scoring on long TD runs of 54 yards and 56 yards, leading
Miami-Florida to a 41-32 win over Boston College in Chestnut Hill. The
Hurricanes, which got 208 yards on the ground in the game, nearly matched that
with 207 yards passing, as quarterback Stephen Morris completed 28-of-45
passes, with one TD and one INT. Al Golden's squad dug itself in a early 14-0
deficit, but battled back to earn the win thanks to an offense that racked up
over 400 yards. The Miami defense struggled though, giving up an alarming 508
yards to Boston College. Still, after earning Freshman All-American honors in
2011, LB Denzel Perryman started 2012 in impressive fashion, returning an INT
41 yards for a TD in the first quarter. The Hurricanes were fortunate to get
the win at Boston College but will need to shore things up defensively this
week, as they take on nationally-ranked Kansas State in Manhattan this
weekend.
NORTH CAROLINA: There Larry Fedora Era began on the right foot, as the Tar
Heels played a near perfect game in routing the Elon Phoenix in Chapel Hill
this past weekend, 62-0, the largest scoring output by UNC in 17 years. The
shutout was the first for the program since 1999 (38-0) and the first season-
opening shutout since 1996 against Clemson (45-0). The Tar Heels were able to
move the football at will, gaining 264 yards on the ground and another 281
yards through the air. All-American candidate Giovani Bernard didn't have a
huge amount of touches, but made his presence felt, racking up 94 yards and a
TD on just nine carries, a second score on two receptions and a third TD on a
punt return. Quarterback Bryn Renner was an effective 14-of-21 passing, for
236 yards and three TDs. The Tar Heels were equally impressive on defense,
allowing just 170 total yards of offense to Elon. North Carolina opens up ACC
play this weekend, making the short trip to Winston-Salem to take on Wake
Forest.
VIRGINIA: The Cavaliers put on an offensive clinic in their 43-19 rout of the
Richmond Spiders this past weekend. Virginia amassed 545 yards of total
offense, getting 184 yards rushing and 361 yards passing. Quarterback Michael
Rocco had a strong debut, completing 25-of-37 passes, for 311 yards and one
TD. The team got four TDs rushing, two from Kevin Parks, one from Perry Jones
and one from Khalek Shepherd. The Cavaliers have now gone over 500 yards three
times under Mike London and over 400 yards in half of his 26 games coached.
With the win, London became the first coach since 1921 (Rice Warren) to win
his first three season-openers at Virginia. The Cavaliers will jump back up to
the FBS ranks this weekend, when they welcome the Penn State Nittany Lions to
Charlottesville.
VIRINIA TECH: A divisional battle between Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech is
usually a hard-fought affair and nothing changed this year, as the two teams
went into overtime in Blacksburg on Labor Day in the season-opener, before the
hometown Hokies came out on top, 20-17. It was place-kicker Cody Journell that
provided the difference in the game, as he hit a clutch 41-yard field goal as
time expired in regulation to force overtime and then a 17-yarder on Tech's
first possession in the extra session to earn the win. Quarterback Logan
Thomas didn't light things up, but he did play well enough, completing 21-
of-38 passes, for 230 yards and two TDs, while adding 40 yards rushing. Marcus
Davis and Corey Fuller led the receiving corps with a combined 11 catches.
Each wideout amassed 82 receiving yards. Georgia Tech got the ball first in
overtime, courtesy of the Hokies, who won the toss. Kyle Fuller intercepted
Tevin Washington to set the Hokies up for the win. With the victory, Frank
Beamer moved to 18-8 in season-openers at Virginia Tech. The Hokies welcome
Austin Peay into Blacksburg this weekend.
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