Neil Blackmon’s weekly musings, trends and takeaways from the weekend that was in the ACC…

Let’s call this week “Rodney Dangerfield I get no respect” week in the ACC. That’s what it feels like as we visit a weekend where a bunch of good football teams not enough people realize are good continued to play excellent football. Meanwhile, a former blue-blood that keeps demanding our respect may never again earn it. But more on that in a moment. Let’s start with what happened in Death Valley.

Should we just come out and say it? You know they would say it in another conference, whose name won’t (immediately) be mentioned.

Can we get a standing ovation for Clemson and Syracuse, please? Could any AP voter who dropped Syracuse in the national rankings after Saturday’s instant classic in Death Valley please offer us a coherent explanation why, preferably in organized essay form?

If this game happens in that “other” league, the narrative is likely about two great teams and how we hope to see them both in College Football Playoff discussions down the line. Because this game was in the ACC, the narrative and headlines across most the country were, “Clemson survives.”

On the contrary, Clemson won a terrific football game. The Syracuse defense was marvelous. They produced 4 turnovers, scored a defensive touchdown, and limited Clemson to a 5-for-15 3rd-down conversion rate. DJ Uiagalelei, whose progress we’ve rightfully lauded all season, had arguably the worst game of his career, turning the ball over 4 times before giving way to true freshman Cade Klubnik with the Tigers trailing 21-10 in the third quarter.

Klubnik, the nation’s top quarterback recruit in the 2022 class, wasn’t anything special, but he was poised. Clemson scored on 3 of the freshman’s 4 drives, including a 15-play, 80-yard march to cut the Orange lead to 5 in the fourth quarter and drag the sold-out Death Valley crowd, which spent most of 3 quarters in stunned dismay, back into the football game.

Clemson’s game-winning score came on this Will Shipley house call.

But Klubnik’s best play of the game was probably the 11-yard run that preceded Shipley’s game-winning run, and the mere threat of Klubnik taking off had to be in the back of the Syracuse defense’s mind as they waited on Klubnik to make his read on the Shipley carry one play later.

In the comeback, Clemson extended the nation’s longest home-winning streak to 38 games, breaking the FSU dynasty in the Bowden era for the lengthiest streak of home dominance in ACC history. The fact it didn’t come easy against a team that finished 2021 with a losing record and was picked by many, including prognostication guru Phil Steele, to finish last in the ACC Atlantic prior to the season, is why I’m fixated more on how this game is being framed nationally.

This wasn’t a case of a dominant team “surviving” a scare. This was two really good football teams playing an instant classic and one, fighting to avoid being the Clemson team that ended the “streak,” making just a few more plays than the other team.

RJ Mickens sealing the game for Clemson with an interception on a furious, efficient final Syracuse drive doesn’t alter the postgame analysis of the Orange as a team one bit.

Syracuse is really, really good. They’ve proven all season they can find ways to win and since a close call against Virginia in September, they’ve gotten way better, including posting a dominant win over NC State, a preseason media darling.

They also nearly beat Clemson despite the truly bizarre decision by Robert Anae, the offensive coordinator at the center of this rebuilding masterpiece, to give All-American running back Sean Tucker a functional day off Saturday.

“I felt like (Tucker) is and was the one guy who could beat us,” Swinney said afterward.

We’ll never know, I guess, because Tucker touched the football just 10 times — and this despite gaining over 10 yards per carry in his 5 rushing attempts! That’s a question Dino Babers, as the program CEO, will have to answer as his team prepares for Notre Dame this week. But it also speaks to how complete a football team Syracuse has that they can choose to not give their best player the football more than 10 times and nearly end the nation’s longest home winning streak anyway.

If that happened in the SEC, we’d be talking about the losing team “deserving” Playoff chatter anyway. After all, “we just don’t see anyone play (Georgia or Alabama) that tough.”

Instead, we’re getting stories about Syracuse’s survival and questions, regardless of Swinney’s defiance, about whether Uiagalelei, who has had an All-ACC caliber season, is the guy to lead Clemson moving forward. We’re getting questions like “Is Clemson, at 8-0, really a national championship contender?”

That’s all well and good, I suppose, but folks have short memories. A wise man once said, “You play to win the game” and Clemson has won all of its games, including multiple contests over ranked opponents. That’s more than most “contenders” can say. Georgia, for example, has played just 1 ranked team and it is almost November.

The Tigers now have a timely bye week. They can get Uiagalelei back on track and ready for a trip to Notre Dame. The Nov. 5 matchup, set for primetime television, was one of the “games of the year” in the preseason. It’s less sexy now and will be even less so if Syracuse hands the Fighting Irish their 4th loss of the season next weekend in the JMA Wireless aka Carrier Dome. But it’s still Clemson-Notre Dame, two of the sport’s blue-bloods in a primetime, nationally televised spot. It’s still one more step for the Tigers toward having an unblemished record when they arrive in Charlotte for the ACC Championship game in December.

And it doesn’t matter how great you look winning as long as you win. Ask Hunter Renfrow, Deshaun Watson and the 2016 Clemson Tigers if their national championship rings are still shiny after all their close calls during that regular season.

Or better yet, instead of worrying about Clemson, ask yourself this: Would an SEC team that finished 11-1 but didn’t win its division because of a close road loss to the team that did earn a College Football Playoff invite anyway?

We know the answer to that question. Just explain why the standard will be different if that’s what happens to Syracuse.

Preaching like Dabo

No one in college football offers a sermon quite like Swinney, the man who has led Clemson to 2 national championships. We pay homage to Swinney’s homilies with a few evangelizing thoughts of our own on college football in this space during the season

Here’s The Road’s most certain take of 2022: The U will never be back. Ever.

At this point, we’ve accumulated nearly 2 decades of empirical data points to back up this claim.

The Hurricanes haven’t won a single ACC championship since joining the conference in 2004. They’ve appeared in the ACC Championship game just once, under alum Mark Richt in 2017. The University of Miami, which used to appear in Orange, Cotton and Sugar Bowls like it was a simple thing to do, has played in just one New Year’s 6 bowl game (2017 Orange Bowl). As a program, the artists formerly known as “The U” have won just 2 bowl games since 2006, and those wins came in afterthought bowl month games — the MPC Computers Bowl (now the Idaho Potato Bowl) and a Russell Athletic Bowl. The Hurricanes haven’t had an individual player win a postseason position award since Kellen Winslow III won the John Mackey Award as the nation’s best tight end in 2003. They haven’t had a first-team, consensus All-American since Brandon Meriweather at safety in 2006.

In what universe does that sound like a program that is in anything but a permanent state of decline?

Is it a talent issue? That’s a hard sell. The Hurricanes rank 13th in the 247 Talent Composite, a respectable number among the elite programs nationally and the second-best ranking in the ACC (Clemson is 5th).

Mario Cristobal is a brilliant recruiter, but his “bump” (Year 2) class ranks 11th, behind in-state rival Florida and, with just 9 blue-chips committed, tied with archrival Florida State. Even Cristobal’s magic recruiting touch won’t get Miami inside the top 10 in the talent composite without work, and right now, with the second-best talent in the ACC, the Hurricanes are 3-4 on the football field.

Saturday, they hit what they hope will be the nadir of Cristobal’s “rebuild,” a 45-21 shellacking “at home” against Duke.

The Road uses “at home” loosely because the Hurricanes continue to play at a stadium they lease time for from the Dolphins in Miami Gardens, a half an hour (on the weekend) north of Coral Gables. Less than 5 years ago, the Canes held their spring game at a high school stadium. Saturday, on a glorious, sun-splashed October day in South Florida, there were over 9,000 empty seats at Hard Rock for the Duke game. Earlier this year, when Middle Tennessee — yes, Middle Tennessee — came to Miami Gardens and boat-raced the Canes, there were 20,000 empty seats. If the Cristobal hire truly generated enthusiasm, we’ve yet to see Miami Hurricanes fans show it.

This isn’t to say all Hurricanes fans lack passion. The die-hard Canes supporters, who bleed 954 and 305 and tailgate in the hundred-degree heat of September Miami Gardens asphalt parking lots or make the trips to Boston to sit in the cold in Chestnut Hill, are some of the best fans in the universe.

There just aren’t enough of them in the stadium they rent on Saturdays.

Plus, the Canes can promote playing in a NFL stadium to kids all they want, but the truth is, until a huge influx of NIL money and promised facility upgrades are accompanied by a stadium deal—and keep in mind, the Canes just missed a huge opportunity to partner with David Beckham and Jorge Mas and Inter Miami of MLS and actually get a piece of a new Miami-Dade County stadium coming for the soccer team — this program will be a homeless entity, hyping up the halcyon days while recruiting with no home field and only just now catching up in the facilities arms race.

Any future stadium deal will require more than money and willpower: It will require deft poltical manuevering as well.

Miami’s most strident supporters claim NIL will be a game-changer for the program, that it will make the U a destination for the nation’s best talent again.

But national talent isn’t what made The U The U. The whole idea was to recruit Broward, Dade and Palm Beach counties, convince at least 10-15 of that talent fertile region’s best players to stay home and play close to their families, and then fill in the roster with the occasional Jeremy Shockey or Ken Dorsey or Gino Torretta or Ed Reed brought in from elsewhere. The heart and soul of The U was always local kids: Willis McGahee, Frank Gore, Michael Irvin, and so many other stars came from the tri-county area, growing up in the shadow of the old Orange Bowl.

In the past 12 years, the Hurricanes haven’t landed the top player in the state of Florida; and the closest they’ve come is when they landed future star Duke Johnson, who was the top player in Miami-Dade County when he signed out of Norland in 2013. Nowadays, the Hurricanes hemorrhage local talent to the likes of Georgia, Alabama, and Clemson, and at least early in the Cristobal era, Florida head coach Billy Napier appears to have made better inroads with Florida high school coaches than Cristobal, who grew up in Miami.

As one South Florida powerhouse, state title winning head coach told The Road Sunday morning: “It’s night and day talking to (Napier) and (Cristobal). One has a long-term vision and administrative support; the other is selling a biography and relying on NIL deals that kids can get anywhere else and hoping and wishing. Kids see through the biography stuff. They want to go where someone has a plan for their future.”

Cristobal needs a plan. He also needs to figure out how to salvage what’s left of a disastrous first season, one that has seen the Canes fall from Coastal division favorites to needing a 3-2 finish just to secure bowl eligibility and earn crucial extra practices in December.

Even with all of that, there’s just not any reason to believe the U will ever truly become the U again. Come January, it will have been 20 years since a phantom pass interference penalty cost the Hurricanes their 6th national championship. They did manage to beat Florida State in the Orange Bowl a season later and rout the hated Gators in the Peach Bowl in 2005, but mediocrity has made a home on Miami Beach since.

The late, great Anthony Bourdain said he loved Miami because it was a “hot, messy, dysfunctional hell-broth of people from all over the world” and that’s what “made it awesome and a place I want to come back to.” That quote is apt for Miami football in 2022. The Hurricanes are a hot, messy, dysfunctional hell-broth and no matter how much it would be wonderful to see that work again and come back to the glory days, they don’t seem likely to ever return.

The Road to Charlotte

Duke 45, Miami 21: Most of what needs to be said about this game is above but credit to Duke for doing something astonishing and forcing 8 Miami turnovers.

Dino Babers exists, so Mike Elko can’t claim the ACC Coach of the Year award just yet, but the Blue Devils, who are now 5-3 and nearly bowl eligible, appear to have secured one of the best young coaches in the sport in Elko. The win was also Duke’s second consecutive win in Miami Gardens, no small feat for any program.

No. 13 Wake Forest 43, Boston College 15: It’s fashionable to make fun of Wake Forest.

That shouldn’t surprise The Road, I suppose. The Demon Deacons don’t have a rich football history and with the smallest enrollment of any school in the Power 5, they’ve achieved perennial “little brother” status, no matter how much success Dave Clawson continues to have in Winston-Salem.

There’s a reason that Wake Forest has made 6 straight bowl games under Clawson and played for the ACC Championship last December.

The reason is the Demon Deacons are really good. They also don’t care if you respect them or not. They know who they are, and they play like a team that understands their identity. They don’t make dumb mistakes, they develop talent, and once again, they are led by a brilliant quarterback. Sam Hartman was magnificent Saturday, throwing for 313 yards and 5 touchdowns and running for another score in Wake’s 28-point blowout of hapless Boston College. After the game, Clawson lamented to the media that his quarterback “doesn’t get enough credit” for being as good as he is, saying, astutely, that he’s gone from being “an All-ACC quarterback to a guy I saw listed as the 5th-best quarterback in the ACC a few weeks ago, which is funny because there’s no one in the country I’d rather have at the position than him.”

Hartman’s reply was Dangerfield-like in its perfection.

It is indeed Wake Forest, Sam. It’s just a Wake Forest that, should they defeat North Carolina in Winston-Salem on November 12, should see a New Year’s Six bowl invite come December.

Virginia 16 Georgia Tech 9: Thursday night’s ACC special in Atlanta saw a pair of teams still eyeing bowl eligibility meet in a must-win for both. Brennan Armstrong, who has had a tough year without Robert Anae calling plays, started the game ominously with an interception that Tech took to the endzone for 6 points, but he closed strong, accounting for 348 total yards and 2 touchdowns, including this 47-yarder to Dontavyion Wicks in the second quarter.

Tony Elliott has gotten some unwarranted heat for Armstrong’s play, but in truth, the Cavaliers, who lead the ACC in dropped passes and quarterback pressures allowed, haven’t been good enough around him. That’s been a shame, because Virginia is quite good on defense, ranking 39th nationally in total defense and 33rd in success rate. Are there 3 more wins and bowl eligibility left on that schedule? We’ll find out soon enough, but a home win over flailing Miami next Saturday is essential.

Louisville 24, Pittsburgh 10: Good luck trying to figure either of these teams out.

Just when it looks like Scott Satterfield is finished at Louisville, he rattles off 2 wins in a row and Malik Cunningham starts to play like, well, Malik Cunningham. The senior threw 2 touchdown passes Saturday in Louisville’s upset win over the Panthers and also had Louisville’s longest run from scrimmage and longest reception (a 33-yard wide receiver pass by Braden Smith).

 

The Cardinals’ defense also turned a second consecutive excellent performance. Israel Abanikanda did run for 129 yards and Pitt’s lone touchdown, but the Cardinals sacked and intercepted Kedon Slovis twice and limited Pitt to a 4-for-13 conversion rate on 3rd and 4th down. Pat Narduzzi’s team is now all but eliminated from defending their ACC Championship while Louisville picked up a vital win in its quest to advance to bowl games in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2016-2017.

Bobby Bowden Awards

Every week, The Road pays homage to the ACC’s best ever — Bobby Bowden — by honoring the ACC’s best over the weekend

Charlie Ward Award (Offensive Player of the Week): Will Shipley, RB (Clemson)

The sophomore willed Clemson to the win Saturday, rushing for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns and adding 17 yards receiving and 53 yards in the return game on the afternoon. Shipley did lose a fumble, but when the game was on the line in the fourth quarter, he shined. On Clemson’s 15-play, 80-yard drive to cut the Syracuse lead to a score, Shipley carried the ball on 5 consecutive plays to get the drive started and the comeback moving. When Clemson got the football back, Shipley would score what proved to be the game-winning touchdown on the 50-yard run at the top of the story.

Prior winners: Garrett Shrader, QB, Syracuse (Week 1 and Week 2); Johnny Wilson, WR, Florida State (Week 3); DJ Uiagalelei, QB, Clemson (Week 4 and Week 5); Israel Abanikanda, RB, Pitt (Week 6); Drake Maye, QB, North Carolina (Week 7).

Mickey Andrews Award (Defensive Player of the Week): Ja’Had Carter, Safety (Syracuse)

The sophomore earned a reputation as a ballhawk by ranking among the ACC leaders in pass breakups as a freshman a season ago. He broke out in the biggest game of his life Saturday, running a recovered fumble back for a touchdown and collecting this spectacular interception of DJ Uiagalelei on the drive prior to the big fumble return.

Carter also collected 9 tackles, his season-high, and he recovered a Shipley fumble as well, meaning he accounted for 3 of Syracuse’s 4 turnovers in the 27-21 Clemson win. A special day for a safety who is becoming a special player.

Prior winners: Shyheim Battle, DB, NC State (Week 1, Week 4), Brandon Johnson, DB, Duke (Week 2); Aydan White, DB, NC State (Week 3); Myles Murphy, DE, Clemson (Week 5); DeAndre Boykins, DB, North Carolina (Week 6); Akheem Mesidor, DL, Miami (Week 7).

Sebastian Janikowski Award (Special Teams Player of the Week): Isaiah Foskey, DE (Notre Dame)

Put an asterisk by this one if you’d like, since Notre Dame isn’t a football institution in the league, but we cover all things Fighting Irish here at The Road and it’s hard to ignore what Isaiah Foskey did in the Irish’s 44-21 victory over UNLV on Saturday. In addition to his 5 tackles and 3 sacks, the preseason All-American blocked 2 punts, making Notre Dame football history in the process.

Foskey and the Fighting Irish needed both first-half blocks to help ignite an offense that continues to struggle to find consistency.

The blocks both led to scores and as a result, Notre Dame collected its first comfortable win of the 2022 season.

Prior winners:  Matthew Dennis, Kicker (K), Wake Forest (Week 1), PJ O’Brien, DB, Pitt (Week 2); Brendan Farrell, K, Virginia (Week 3), Andre Szmyt, K, Syracuse (Week 4); Gavin Stewart, K, Georgia Tech (Week 5); Sahmir Hagans, Returner, Duke (Week 6); Will Shipley, Clemson (Week 7).

I Can’t Wait until Saturday because: Notre Dame at No. 14 Syracuse (noon, ABC)

This is the game that will define the season for Syracuse. If Dino Babers and the Orange can rebound from the Clemson heartbreak and beat a talented, hungry Notre Dame squad on Saturday, they’ll make believers out of anyone who still harbors doubts despite what they saw in Death Valley.

It’s also an intriguing strength-on-strength matchup, with the powerful Syracuse run game headed into the teeth of a Notre Dame defense that has been solid against the run since the shocking loss to Marshall. It’s a huge game for the Fighting Irish too. Win, and Marcus Freeman will have 2 wins over ranked foes in his first full season as head coach, precious jewels to calm the salvos from a fan base uneasy about the program’s 4-3 start and stumbles against inferior opponents like the Thundering Herd and a weak Stanford team.

Notre Dame has struggled to find offensive consistency all season, and they’ve been plagued by slow starts. In fact, Saturday’s win over UNLV was the first time all season that the Fighting Irish scored a first-quarter touchdown. They’ll face a Syracuse team that has started fast all year, outscoring opponents 75-23 in the first quarter this season. If styles make fights, this one will be a dandy, and that’s why I can’t wait until Saturday.