Thursday March 28th, 2024 3:28PM

ACC notebook: Another mixed day for top teams

By The Associated Press

Here is the latest ACC sports news from The Associated Press:

CLEMSON, S.C. — Will Shipley ran for two touchdowns and No. 6 Clemson survived a wild finish to escape Georgia Tech with a 14-8 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday night. Shipley had two scoring runs of 3 yards, the last coming midway through the fourth quarter as the Tigers needed a goal-line stand in the final seconds to escape close call from the Yellow Jackets in the ACC opener for both teams. Clemson's defense has not given up a touchdown in its three games this season as its offense continues to search for a successful rhythm.  The game was delayed nearly two hours just before the half because of the threat of lightning around Memorial Stadium. 

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Payton Thorne passed for 261 yards and four touchdowns, two of those scoring throws going to Jalen Nailor, and Michigan State extended its unbeaten start by topping No. 24 Miami 38-17 on Saturday. Kenneth Walker III rushed for 172 yards and caught a touchdown pass for the Spartans. They're 3-0 and off to their best start since 2015. Jayden Reed also had a scoring catch for Michigan State, which forced four turnovers. D'Eriq King set school records with 38 completions and 59 attempts for Miami. Charleston Rambo tied a school record with 12 catches for Miami, good for 156 yards and both of the Hurricanes’ touchdowns.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia survived No. 15 Virginia Tech’s furious rally from a 20-point deficit to beat the Hokies 27-21. Jarret Doege threw two touchdown passes and Leddie Brown rushed for 161 yards and a score for the Mountaineers, who built a 27-7 lead midway through the third quarter. Virginia Tech’s Braxton Burmeister threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Holston with 3:10 left and the Hokies got the ball back on an interception. But Burmeister threw incomplete on fourth-and-goal from the 3. It was one of three Virginia Tech drives that stalled inside the West Virginia 10 and the Hokies came away with no points.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Sam Howell threw for five touchdowns while also running for a career-best 112 yards as No. 21 North Carolina beat Virginia 59-39 on Saturday night. The Tar Heels scored touchdowns on all five of their second-half drives. That helped turn a 28-24 halftime deficit into a 52-31 lead on Howell’s short TD throw to Kamari Morales with 12:13 left. The Tar Heels finished with 699 total yards. That included Ty Chandler running for a career-high 198 yards and two scores. Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong threw for 554 yards to set a program record. He also threw for four scores.

UNDATED — Alabama looked beatable. Ohio State’s defense still looked discombobulated. Clemson’s offense still looked limp. Oklahoma was far less than elite again. Maybe the season of the super team won’t be such a forgone conclusion after all. The top-ranked Crimson Tide faced its first serious challenge, but managed to get win at No. 11 Florida. The No. 9 Buckeyes, No. 6 Tigers and No. 3 Sooners also were winners. Those four teams have combined for 20 College Football Playoff appearances, but all four have shown signs of weakness in the early going.

DURHAM, N.C. — Duke scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and did all its scoring in the first half, then held off a Northwestern comeback to earn a 30-23 win in a non-conference game. Duke was efficient on both sides of the ball early on, scoring on six of its first eight possessions behind Gunnar Holmberg, who completed 31 of 44 passes for a career-high 314 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils’ defense forced Northwestern into punt or a turnover on its first seven drives.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Sean Tucker scored five touchdowns, the Syracuse defense recorded eight sacks and yielded just 135 total yards and the Orange defeated Albany 62-24. Tucker scored on runs of 56, 26, 12 and eight yards, and caught a 72-yard screen pass from Garrett Shrader in the first game between the upstate New York teams. Albany quarterback Jeff Undercuffler was 7 of 13 for 69 yards, and was sacked five times.

  • Associated Categories: Sports
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