Holliday: Heels, Devils atop chaotic Coastal

By Bob Holliday, WRAL Sports contributor

I think we all had an inkling NC State’s receivers would have a hard time getting open before Clemson’s defensive front got in Devin Leary’s face. But Clemson’s dominance wasn’t limited to the defensive side. The Tigers’ rebuilt offensive line ultimately created space for Will Shipley and DJ Uiagalelei to run. NC State held the lead late in the second quarter but couldn’t hold on.

Meanwhile, in the unpredictable Coastal Division, Pitt’s stunning home loss to winless Georgia Tech, coupled with UNC’s and Duke’s easy wins over their rivals from Virginia, put the Tar Heels and Blue Devils in the early lead in the division standings.

Clemson’s way out front now

With Clemson’s double overtime win at Wake Forest-and the Deacons then scored an impressive 10 point triumph over undefeated Florida State-coupled with the Tigers’ 30-20 win over NC State, Dabo Swinney’s bunch is well on its way to a spot in the ACC Championship Game. Again.

The Tigers visit Boston College and Florida State in the next two weeks, but they get Syracuse at home, not in the Dome. They close out ACC play with Louisville and Miami, both at Death Valley. In between Clemson travels to Notre Dame-maybe the Tigers can snap the Irish 25 game winning streak against ACC teams in the regular season?

NC State, on the other hand, in order to earn the coveted trip to Charlotte, must hope Clemson losses at least two of its five remaining conference games; and the Wolfpack will have to win out, a tall order unless this team gets better offensively.

The Wolfpack attack Saturday night started well enough. State matched Clemson’s six minute march to a field goal with a long drive of its own—eight minutes for three points.

Clemson scored a second field goal and shouldn’t have. State’s defense stopped the Tigers at their own 33, but on fourth and four, the Pack’s Colby Johnson was flagged for running into the kicker. Five yards and a first down. Clemson capitalized, also picking up a pass interference call on State’s Derek Pitts.

Still, State countered with a 9 play 75 yard drive, taking the lead on Leary’s two yard touchdown pass to Cedd Seabrough as Clemson’s defense played run. This might have been OC Tim Beck’s best play call in the red zone all season. But the 10-6 lead late in the second quarter was short-lived.

Will Shipley, of Weddington, NC, who signed with Clemson despite both parents and some 26 family members having graduated from NC State, broke Wolfpack hearts all over again. Shipley escaped a tackler and carved out 12 yards. He got to the edge and raced for another 11. Then he ran undetected out of the backfield under Uiagalelei’s pass and nearly scored. When Shipley’s quarterback charged ahead for the final yard into the end zone, Clemson had completed a remarkable 8 play 75 yard drive in just one minute and twenty seconds against the ACC’s #1 scoring defense.

Clemson began the game without four of its best defensive players and the Tigers lost two more during the game due to yet another injury and targeting. Yet NC State could not take advantage.

The Wolfpack did mount one drive for a field goal that featured an amazing catch by reliable receiver Thayer Thomas after a defender tried to knock the ball away. That cut Clemson’s lead to 20-13.

But State’s other five possessions in the third quarter and early fourth quarter all ended in punts or turnovers. Leary’s pass to Chris Toudle hit the receiver’s hands and bounced away, becoming a Clemson interception. Then midway through the final period, as State tried to convert a fourth and thirteen at the Clemson 39, center Grant Gibson snapped the ball early and Leary fumbled. Clemson scored 10 points off those two NC State turnovers. And note, the Wolfpack drive that ended in the fumble was previously compromised by a holding penalty on Timothy McKay, which took the Wolfpack out of field goal range.

State did finally score a second half touchdown with 53 seconds left, but by then Clemson held a 30-13 lead.

Uiagalelei looked vastly improved over 2021 when the Tigers lost at Carter-Finley Stadium. DJU is a natural pocket passer who now in his second season as a starter has grasped the subtleties of the quarterback run in Clemson’s spread offense, which incorporates a number of zone read options. DJU is now a lighter (lost weight in offseason) and more efficient runner—14 carries for 73 yards against NC State. His success takes some of the defensive focus off Shipley, who ran 14 times for 60 yards. Clemson’s ability to run created more opportunities for open passing lanes as NC State had to be prepared for the run and the pass. DJU threw just 30 times but completed 21 for 209 yards.

For NC State, Leary runs when he has to but the quarterback run is not a big part of the Wolfpack’s offense. So on apparent running plays, defenses can focus on Jordan Houston and Demie Sumo-Karngbaye knowing that Leary is not likely to yank the ball back and take off for 20 yards.

Houston had some modest success early, but for the most part Clemson’s defensive front defeated the blocks of NC State’s offensive line. Since the amount of deception in State’s run schemes was limited, Clemson held the Pack to 34 yards on the ground.

Also, NC State fell behind and had to pass to catch up. So Leary passed under great pressure in the second half. He was sacked three times and hurried on five other occasions. It didn’t help that most of his receivers, other than Thomas and Devin Carter early in the game, had trouble getting separation from the Clemson secondary. Leary passed 47 times completing 28 for 245 yards,

NC State averages 133 yards per game on the ground. The Wolfpack needs that much and maybe more to beat Florida State, one of the ACC’s best rushing teams, this weekend. And it needs to stop committing untimely penalties. Otherwise Leary could be under duress again. Sacks and penalties stop drives, and the Pack needs to find the end zone more often if this season is to generate the large win total that prompted so many key veteran players to return for one more shot at the big prize.

Heels find defense against Virginia Tech

Yes, Virginia Tech ranks near the bottom of the ACC in rushing, passing, and scoring, but the Hokies did put up 27 points on Boston College. Given the erratic tendencies exhibited by North Carolina’s embattled defense in the first four games of the season there was reason to believe VT could trade touchdowns with UNC’s high powered offense as all other Tar Heel opponents have. But Gene Chizik’s crew, at least for one Saturday, put an end to the onslaught of missed tackles, chunk plays, blown assignments, and costly penalties that led to 158 points by opponents prior to Saturday.

Virginia Tech took the game’s first lead. Following an uncharacteristic punt by Carolina on its first possession, the Hokies moved 59 yards in 9 plays. Grant Wells’ pass to Kaleb Smith for 34 yards evoked memories of games one through four. But this time the Tar Heels—with help from a VT false start penalty—made a stop on third down, leading to William Ross’ 34 yard field goal.

Carolina kept Tech bottled up in its own territory on the Hokies’ next three possessions, with Cedric Gray intercepting a pass on one of those drives to set up UNC’s third touchdown. But late in the first half the Hokies marched 69 yards for 7. There was one chunk play—Keshawn King ran 25 yards after breaking a tackle. Beyond that, the Heels dug in and made the Hokies work for it; 14 plays and conversion of a fourth and seven were required for VT to reach the end zone with 28 seconds until intermission.

Tech would get the ball to start the second half, looking for a “two for one.” Another touchdown would cut UNC’s once 18 point lead down to 4. Sound familiar?

But the Tar Heels took back momentum immediately. Maye hit passes of 18, 14, and 16 yards, setting up a Noah Burnette field goal as time expired. That pushed the Heels’ lead back to 24-10.

After the break UNC held firm in the critical VT drive to start the third quarter. Kevin Hester nailed Bryce Duke on third and one at the VT 45. Brent Pry chose to punt and trust his defense. Virginia Tech does boast one of the ACC’s best defenses—until Saturday only one team had scored more than 20 points on the Hokies. But turning the ball over to Drake Maye unnecessarily, is not recommended. Maye directed a 94-yard touchdown drive, UNC’s longest of the season, and the game was over.

Defense did its part. The Tar Heels forced three straight three and outs, holding VT to just 33 yards in the third quarter. And Maye continued moving the offense, connecting on nine passes of 20 yards or more. UNC ultimately piled up 527 yards and 41 points against a program with a rich defensive tradition.

Maye is blessed with great receivers-Josh Downs, Antoine Green, and three terrific tight ends. On the downside, Maye led the Tar Heels in rushing for the second straight week. And he again tried to hurdle a defender near the goal line, landing awkwardly on his head and shoulder. He only left the game for one play and directed another UNC touchdown drive, but will Maye feel any lingering effect Saturday at Miami from that near catastrophic fall?

The Tar Heels become contenders in the Coastal if they can win at Hard Rock Stadium. But going forward, Mack Brown needs more productivity from his running backs. And while Drake Maye must continue to run as part of Phil Longo’s offense, Maye needs to learn how to slide-like Sam Hartman.

Statement win by Duke

Since the departure of star quarterback Daniel Jones in 2019, ACC wins for Duke have been few and far between; none at all since the pandemic season of 2020. But under new coach Mike Elko, Duke scored a breakthrough victory in the rain at Wallace Wade. The Blue Devils of all things thrashed Virginia, a program Duke could not even once conquer during David Cutcliffe’s final seven years as coach.

On the field the Blue Devils are now led by the best young quarterback no one has ever heard of. Riley Leonard ranks second among quarterbacks in the ACC with 260 yards rushing. Only Louisville’s Malik Cunningham has more. And though Saturday night at halftime Elko said Leonard needed to “do a better job throwing the football” the sophomore currently leads the league in accuracy, completing 90-125 passes for a completion percentage of 72%. He has thrown for seven touchdowns against two interceptions.

Duke ranks fourth in the ACC in total offense with 444 yards per game, but the Blue Devils are third in rushing at 200 yards per game and just ninth in passing yardage.

So of course Virginia stacked the box, trying to make the Blue Devils throw. Offensive coordinator Kevin Johns thwarted the Cavaliers’ strategy by working to the outside, but running the football. Time after time Duke got to the edge setting up big runs for Jaylen Coleman and Leonard. Coleman rushed 19 times for 97 yards. Leonard dashed for 59 yards on 9 carries. Most of their combined 156 yards came running to one sideline or the other. Duke’s Jaquez Moore broke off the biggest run, going 59 yards for a touchdown. Leonard rushed for two more touchdowns and threw to Jalon Calhoun for a third score.

It was a big night for Duke’s special teams. The Blue Devils blocked a Virginia punt and recovered a fumble on a UVA kickoff return. Calhoun ripped off a 43 yard punt return. Duke punter Porter Wilson averaged 41 yards on four kicks, none of which were returned. Charlie Ham kicked a field goal and five PAT’s.

Defensively, Duke suffered a small setback late in the first half when the Devils allowed Brennan Armstrong to take his UVA team 83 yards in just 2:38 to cut Duke’s big lead to just 21-7 at intermission.

But the Blue Devils did not allow another touchdown until the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. And Duke’s secondary capped a solid night intercepting a pass.

For the game Virginia could gain just 93 yards on the ground and 202 through the air.

And now, thanks to Georgia Tech’s upset of nationally ranked Pitt, the Blue Devils find themselves tied with arch rival North Carolina atop the Coastal Division standings at 1-0.

Duke heads to Atlanta Saturday to take on the Yellow Jackets, who appeared rejuvenated after the dismissal of Coach Geoff Collins. UNC visits Miami, a team looking for a bounce back after an embarrassing home loss to Middle Tennessee. Should Duke and UNC both win, we’ll see an early season Coastal Showdown October 15 when the teams meet in Durham.

And even should the Devils and Heels lose this week on the road, both now look like players in what promises to be one last round of “Coastal Chaos.”