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ACC power rankings, Week 7: Clemson and Notre Dame separate themselves

By Rucker Haringey

RALEIGH, NC - SEPTEMBER 29: Bryce Perkins #3 of the Virginia Cavaliers passes the ball against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Carter-Finley Stadium on September 29, 2018 in Raleigh, North Carolina. NC State won 35-21. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
RALEIGH, NC - SEPTEMBER 29: Bryce Perkins #3 of the Virginia Cavaliers passes the ball against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Carter-Finley Stadium on September 29, 2018 in Raleigh, North Carolina. NC State won 35-21. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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PITTSBURGH, PA – OCTOBER 06: Syracuse Orange defensive back Christopher Fredrick (3) celebrates with teammates after making an interception during the college football game between the Syracuse Orange and the Pittsburgh Panthers on October 6, 2018 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA – OCTOBER 06: Syracuse Orange defensive back Christopher Fredrick (3) celebrates with teammates after making an interception during the college football game between the Syracuse Orange and the Pittsburgh Panthers on October 6, 2018 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

At the end of the season, Syracuse may look back and really regret some of their near-misses. Saturday’s loss at Pittsburgh needs to be added to the list. Losing in overtime is always painful. The Orange simply asked too much of Eric Dungey in this game. He shouldn’t be asked to serve as the team’s leading rusher and passer. That’s what he did for his team on Saturday, but it wasn’t enough to earn them a big road win.

The Eagles scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to make this game close, but they really didn’t put NC State under a ton of pressure. Then again, this result looks pretty good when you consider the fact that BC didn’t have A.J. Dillon to rely on.

In the star running back’s absence, the Eagles tried to put the game into the hands of Anthony Brown. That didn’t work out. He finished the afternoon 14 of 25 for 179 yards. Ultimately, Boston College’s passing game wasn’t good enough to spring the road upset.

This bye came at a pretty painful time for the Blue Devils. There’s no doubt David Cutcliffe would’ve liked to get back on the field this weekend to get the taste of their loss to Virginia Tech out of his team’s collective mouths. In the end, Duke received an extra week to prepare for a trip to Georgia Tech. The coaching staff will have spent a lot of time this week working on defending the triple option. Next week we will find out if it was time well spent.

The Hokies looked good last week at Duke, but the reality of playing without Josh Jackson is starting to get in on Justin Fuente’s team. It’s not that Ryan Willis played poorly on Saturday night, but he just didn’t do enough for his team with his 52 passing attempts.

The real culprit against Notre Dame was the Virginia Tech defense. That group will be particularly disappointed to give up 178 rushing yards to Dexter Williams. The Irish were always going to experience some success in the air in this matchup, but their ability to balance their offense with a strong run game is what allowed them to win easily.

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