By Will Vandervort.
ACC notebook
How rare is it that a true freshman starts at quarterback in college football? Well, it’s pretty rare.
But how many schools have a Deshaun Watson at quarterback? His first two appearances as a college football player came at No. 12 Georgia and at top-ranked Florid State, and in each one he made a splash.
In the first drive of his career, he marched the Tigers down the field 68 yards in six plays, which he capped with a 30-yard bullet to Charone Peake for a touchdown.
In his first real significant playing time, he again came off the bench and nearly pulled off the biggest upset in Clemson history as FSU needed overtime to knock off the Tigers. Watson was magnificent in the game as he completed 19 of 28 passes for 266 yards. He looked more like a season veteran instead of a kid who was in high school this time last year.
“It’s just who he is,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “He’s way mature. He is beyond his years. The other thing is where he came from. Coach Miller up there at Gainesville, that’s a great program in Gainesville, Georgia. They did a tremendous job in developing Deshaun, that’s for sure.
“He came in here with a very strong foundation, especially in what we do. That’s why it was such a good fit for us.”
When Clemson host’s North Carolina at 7 p.m. in Death Valley on Saturday, Watson will make his first start as the quarterback of the Tigers.
“Of course it is going to be exciting,” Watson said. “It’s my first game starting in front of all the Clemson fans in my home stadium. It is going to be pretty exciting. There are a lot of nerves, but I’m ready for it.”
Clemson has not had a true freshman start at quarterback since 1994 when Nealon Greene made his first start at No. 19 North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He directed the Tigers to a 28-19 victory that day.
Greene started five games for Tommy West’s first Clemson team that year.
Over the years Clemson true freshmen are just 4-12 as starting quarterbacks, but 2-0 against the Tar Heels. Patrick Sapp beat North Carolina 40-7 in 1992 when he was a true freshman.
Twelve in a row, really? Duke travels to Miami this Saturday having won 12 straight regular season games — the second-longest active streak in the nation behind Florida State (15). Saturday’s game will mark the 12th meeting between Duke and Miami. The Hurricanes lead the all-time series by a 9-2 count with nine victories sandwiched between the series opener (1976; Duke, 20-7) and last season’s 48-30 Blue Devil triumph in Durham.
Duke is winless in four games on the road versus the Hurricanes since Miami joined the ACC.
Putting up big numbers in Chestnut Hill. In each of its past two games, Boston College, led by quarterback Tyler Murphy and freshmen running backs Jon Hilliman and Marcus Outlow has rushed for over 400 yards, something no other ACC school besides Georgia Tech, has accomplished in this century, The Eagles ran for 452 yards against 9th-ranked Southern California, then followed that with a 413-yard rushing effort against Maine. Just as impressive has been BC’s defense against the run, which limited USC to just 20 yards on the ground and Maine to only 16 net rushing yards. Those efforts have boosted BC to rank fourth nationally in rushing offense (336.3 yds/gm) and 18th nationally in defense against the run (98.5 yds/gm), an impressive 238-yard per game differential which ranks third nationally behind only Wisconsin (268.7) and Air Force (257.7) and just ahead of fourth-place Pitt (215.0).
Someone has to lose. Florida State and NC State have met every year since the Seminoles joined the ACC in 1992, but Saturday’s matchup marks the first time since 1999 that both teams enter the game without a loss.
In 1999, No. 1-ranked Florida State was 2-0 when it hosted 20th-ranked and 3-0 NC State. The Seminoles went on to win 42-11 en route to an undefeated season and a national championship.
On Saturday, No. 1 FSU enters Raleigh with a 3-0 record to face the 4-0 Wolfpack.
Getting defensive. Somewhat lost in the excitement of James Conner’s start this season as the leading rusher in the nation is the fact that Pitt’s young defense has also played very well. Though only returning five starters from 2013, the Panthers rank fourth nationally in total defense, allowing 236 total yards per game. Pitt is 15th nationally in defense against the run (91.3 yds/gm) and 15th in pass efficiency defense (100.86), and 20th in scoring defense (17.3 pts/gm).Their rushing offense to rushing defense differential ranks fourth nationally (+215.0).