8 o c t ober 4- 5 , 2 013
sports@ da ilyor a nge.com
Around theACC
On Saturday, Syracuse will be welcomed to the Atlantic Coast Conference with a matchup against Heisman Trophy candidate Tajh Boyd and No. 3 Clemson. Here’s a look into how SU’s new conference has been this season.
7. North Carolina State (3-1, 0-1)
1. Clemson (4-0, 2-0) Boyd, stud receiv-
8. Syracuse (2-2, 0-0) Syracuse stum-
er Sammy Watkins, and the high-octane Tigers opened the season with a threepoint victory over No. 5 Georgia and haven’t looked back, beating teams by an average of a little over 25 points.
2. Florida State (4-0, 2-0) Freshman
sensation Jameis Winston has seamlessly filled the void left by Buffalo Bills first-round pick EJ Manuel, and the Seminoles have thrashed their early-season opponents.
3. Miami (Fla.) (4-0, 0-0) The undefeated
Hurricanes have fans in South Florida hoping Stephen Morris and Duke Johnson can do what Ken Dorsey and Clinton Portis did in 2001.
4. Maryland (4-0, 0-0) The Terrapins
have also taken care of a weak early-season schedule, thwarting Florida International 43-10, Old Dominion 47-10, Connecticut 32-21 and West Virginia 37-0. Maryland travels to Tallahassee this week to face FSU.
5. Virginia Tech (4-1, 1-0) Led by a
dominant defense, especially the secondary, the Hokies are 4-0 since losing their season opener to No. 1 Alabama.
6. Georgia Tech (3-1, 2-1) The Yellow
Jackets already have two conference wins under their belt — against Duke and North Carolina — and will look for a third on Saturday at No. 14 Miami (FL).
Although the Wolfpack put up a good showing against Clemson — losing 26-14 — quarterback Pete Thomas hasn’t put forth a good showing this season. bled against Penn State and Northwestern but responded with blowout wins over Wagner and Tulane.
9. Boston College (2-2, 1-1) The
Eagles had FSU on upset alert last week, but ultimately lost 48-34.
10. Pittsburgh (3-1, 2-1) Much like
Virginia Tech, the Panthers are undefeated since a Week 1 loss. Pittsburgh lost to Florida State 41-13.
11. Duke (3-2, 0-2) Losing star quarter-
back Sean Renfree to the NFL hasn’t hurt the Blue Devils yet, but Duke faces Virginia on Oct. 19 and Virginia Tech on Oct. 26.
12. Virginia (2-2, 0-1) The Cavaliers will look to get on the right side of .500 with a win over Ball State.
13. North Carolina (1-3, 0-1) The Tar Heels average just over 25 points a game, but give up an average of 32.5.
14. Wake Forest (2-3, 0-2) The Demon Deacons are the only team in the Atlantic Division to have played five games, but their only two wins have come against Presbyterian and Army.
— Compiled by Josh Hyber, staff writer, jmhyber@syr.edu