ACC Football

The Clemson Tigers scored their biggest victory of the season Saturday, beating the 10th-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons 48-27 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

Clemson was a slight favorite despite being unranked, and it essentially led from wire to wire in handing Wake Forest its second loss of the season.

The Tigers dominated Wake Forest on the ground with 333 rushing yards and four touchdowns as a team, while quarterback DJ Uiagalelei went 11-of-19 for 208 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the victory.

Running back Kobe Pace was the primary star for Clemson, rushing for 191 yards and two scores on 24 carries, while Will Shipley contributed 112 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

The Clemson defense also turned in an impressive performance, holding Wake to a season-low 27 points and especially shutting down the Demon Deacons in the first half:

Wake Forest managed only 36 rushing yards on 31 carries in the game, and quarterback Sam Hartman threw for 312 yards with one touchdown and one pick.

The 2021 season has been a disappointing one for Clemson, as it entered the year expected to contend for a spot in the College Football Playoff and a national championship despite losing several key players to the NFL draft, including quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne.

Clemson found itself unranked after losses to Georgia, NC State and Pittsburgh, but thanks to Saturday's win, the Tigers are 8-3 on the season and likely to find themselves back in the Top 25.

Meanwhile, the Demon Deacons are now 9-2 overall and 6-1 in the ACC, although they control their own destiny, as a win over Boston College next week will still land them in the ACC Championship Game.

Clemson now owns 13 consecutive wins over Wake Forest dating back to 2008. The Demon Deacons' last win over the Tigers came in October 2008 by a 12-7 score.

It was after that game that Tommy Bowden was fired as head coach at Clemson and replaced by Dabo Swinney, who is now one of the top coaches in the nation.

Clemson will look to close its regular season in strong fashion next week in a rivalry game against South Carolina, while Wake Forest will attempt to bounce back and clinch an ACC Championship Game berth against Boston College.

Three days after a 48-17 win over Duke, Justin Fuente's tenure as Virginia Tech head coach has come to an end. 

In a statement released Tuesday, Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock announced a mutual parting of ways with Fuente in his sixth season:

We sincerely appreciate the contributions that Coach Fuente made to our football program and the positive impact he made on our student-athletes during his time at Virginia Tech. While it is never easy to make a change, I believe in order for our football program to attain the type of sustained success that is expected at Virginia Tech, the time was right for new leadership of our football program.

J.C. Price, who is in his first season as co-defensive line coach on the Hokies staff, will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the year.

Fuente was named Frank Beamer's successor as Virginia Tech head coach in 2015. The 45-year-old spent the previous four seasons at Memphis where he led the program to a 26-23 record with back-to-back bowl appearances in 2014 and 2015. 

Beamer cast a long shadow for any coach to follow. He retired after 29 seasons as head coach and led the Hokies to 23 consecutive bowl games from 1993 to 2015 and seven conference titles (three in the Big East, four in the ACC).

Fuente's tenure with Virginia Tech started strong with a 19-8 record in the first two seasons. He signed an extension in 2018 that tied him to the program through 2024. 

Since the start of 2018, the Hokies are 24-23 and have had two losing seasons (2018, 2020). They are 5-5 in 2021 with two games remaining in the regular season.

Fuente went 43-31 in six seasons at Virginia Tech. The team was ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after a 2-0 start, but it has since lost five of eight games.

A battle between Kenny Pickett and Sam Howell is getting a lot of attention among NFL personnel.

The two quarterback prospects will face off Thursday night as Pittsburgh hosts North Carolina, but the stands will be filled with scouts and executives:

ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. listed Pickett as the No. 1 quarterback in the 2022 class on his latest big board, while Howell was rated fifth-best at the position.

Pickett has put himself in the Heisman Trophy conversation this season with 3,171 passing yards and 29 touchdowns with only three interceptions in nine games for Pittsburgh. He's led the Panthers to a 7-2 record, including a 4-1 mark in the conference to sit first in the ACC Coastal division.

North Carolina (5-4, 3-3) has a chance to cut into that lead with a win Thursday, but it will need a strong performance from Howell.

The junior has 2,408 passing yards and 20 touchdowns this season, but he already has seven interceptions and his efficiency is down from 2020. His completion percentage has dropped from 68.1 to 63.1 and his passer rating fell from 179.1 to 157.9.

It's created doubt over a player who some projected as the No. 1 draft pick heading into the season.

There is still time for the passer to turn things around, and he will have a huge stage to do it on Thursday.

Among the teams in attendance, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos are likely seeking long-term answers at quarterback while the Las Vegas Raiders and Minnesota Vikings could look for younger upgrades over Derek Carr and Kirk Cousins, respectively.

The Philadelphia Eagles might still have doubts about Jalen Hurts as they look to the draft for another franchise quarterback.   

Wake Forest's dreams of reaching the College Football Playoff turned into a nightmare after Saturday's 58-55 upset loss to unranked North Carolina.

The Demon Deacons entered this game undefeated (8-0) and ranked ninth in the first playoff rankings released this week. They responded by allowing 546 yards, including 330 on the ground, to suffer their first loss of the season.

North Carolina running back Ty Chandler ran for a career-high 213 yards and four touchdowns in the win. His 50-yard score with 1:12 remaining sealed the win for his team.

In addition to severely damaging their playoff hopes, the Demon Deacons have left the door wide open in the ACC Atlantic division. NC State could end the day with a 4-1 conference record if it beats Florida State.

Wake Forest is currently 5-1 in ACC play and will host NC State next week.

This is a particularly crushing loss because Wake looked to be in control midway through the third quarter. A.T. Perry caught a 66-yard touchdown pass from Sam Hartman to help put the Demon Deacons up 45-27 with 7:38 remaining in the period.

North Carolina put up 31 points over the final 22:38 in regulation to get its biggest win of the season.

The 8-0 start was the best in Wake Forest history. The eight wins tied the most in a single season under head coach Dave Clawson, who was hired in 2014.

Clawson said coming into this game that he wanted his team to get more credit and attention on the national stage.

"We're a good football team, why are people surprised?" Clawson told ESPN's David M.  Hale. "This hasn't come out of nowhere. We've been good. We've been building. It doesn't upset me, but I just think our players deserve more credit."

The offense did put up 615 total yards and dropped 55 points in a game. Hartman wasn't razor-sharp with his accuracy, completing just 25 of 51 attempts for 398 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.

But the defense continues to be an issue for the Demon Deacons. They have allowed at least 34 points in four of their past five games.

Wake Forest is still a good team that is capable of doing big things, but its path looks a lot more difficult now.

On the other side, this was a huge win for a North Carolina team that's been a disappointment so far this season. The Tar Heels were ranked No. 10 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 after going 8-4 in 2020.

Quarterback Sam Howell, who was a preseason Heisman favorite and possible No. 1 pick in the 2022 NFL draft, had a terrible start to 2021. He went 17-of-32 for 208 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions in a 17-10 loss to Virginia Tech on Sept. 3.

Howell and the Tar Heels have been inconsistent thus far, resulting in their 4-4 record coming into Saturday. They still have a chance to win the Coastal division. Their 4-3 mark in ACC play ranks third in the division, behind Pittsburgh (4-1) and Virginia (4-2).

North Carolina already has a head-to-head win over Virginia. It will travel to Heinz Field for a showdown with Pitt on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET.   

The Notre Dame football team has reason to celebrate, as it landed one of the best recruits in the 2023 class.

Five-star linebacker Drayk Bowen, the No. 2 linebacker in the class according to 247Sports, announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish on Wednesday.

Bowen, a junior at Andrean High School in Merrillville, Indiana, chose Notre Dame over Auburn and Clemson. He mentioned that staying close to home was an important factor in his decision.

"Being gone during summer for so long, I got closer with my brother and sister, and I wanted to stay close to home and see them grow up," Bowen said.

At 6'2" and 215 pounds, Bowen is a versatile player able to play multiple positions on defense.

247Sports national recruiting analyst Allen Trieu's scouting report described Bowen as "Physically strong player who is a weight room warrior. ... Pursues and closes to the football with effort and has explosiveness off the ball and as he closes to his target.

"Can play a couple of different roles as he has been used as a stand-up edge rusher or he can shift further outside and play out in space over a slot. Might not be as long as schools want in an edge-rusher so he projects more as a traditional outside backer who can blitz off the edge when needed."

The addition of Bowen likely makes Notre Dame's 2023 group a top-five recruiting class. The six-man class also features five-star defensive lineman Brenan Vernon.

Clemson defensive back Lannden Zanders is unhurt after a fire burned his family home in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. 

Per Todd Shanesy of the Greenville News, the house caught fire after Zanders built a fire pit in the backyard and later went to bed. 

Lannden's dad, Lindell Zanders, told Shanesy about the experience of getting a phone call from his son around 4:25 a.m. on Sunday morning. 

"Lannden was crying hysterically," Lindell said. "He was like, 'Daddy, the house is on fire. The house is burning down.' ... He said he went in the house and went to bed. When he woke up, the fire department was already there. He said his fan cut off and he opened his eyes and saw flames and smoke."

Shanesey noted the fire department turned off the power to the house as they were trying to combat the fire, which caused the fan to turn off. 

Images show that most of the house burned in the fire. The entire roof appears to have been lost. 

Lindell was able to joke about the situation, saying the fire gave the house an "open roof concept." He added that the most important thing was his son came out of this whole thing unharmed. 

"People say, ‘How are you smiling? I tell them it’s because my son is alive," Lindell said. "All this material stuff doesn’t matter to me. My boys are the reason I live. They are everything."

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney addressed the situation during his Monday press conference. 

"We’re lucky we didn’t lose him," Swinney told reporters about Zanders.

Zanders didn't travel with Clemson last week for its game against Pittsburgh because of an injury. He is in his junior season with the Tigers and has appeared in one game this season.    

Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei was benched in Saturday's loss to Pitt. After the game, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said he needs to reevaluate his team, and he indicated that Uiagalelei's starting job is in jeopardy.

"Everything's under evaluation at this point," Swinney told reporters. "Everybody's got to show up every day and we've got to take it one day at a time. We'll practice and see who has the best practice and that's the guy who'll run out there first at every position."

Prior to being benched, Uiagalelei threw two interceptions. His second pick in particular was ugly, as he tossed an ill-advised shovel pass that led to a Pitt touchdown.

"I thought he made a couple bad plays in a row," Swinney said of Uiagalelei. "I just felt like I needed to give [backup] Taisun [Phommachanh] a chance."

Phommachanh led Clemson on a scoring drive, but Swinney decided to go back to Uiagalelei late. He returned to the game and led a scoring drive, which Swinney praised as a good response to the benching. But it wasn't enough as the Tigers fell to 4-3.

Uiagalelei, a former top recruit at the quarterback position, said after the game that he's prepared to prove that he's deserving of his role as the team's starter.

"You've got to go earn it every week," Uiagalelei said. "That's my mindset since I was little. If it wasn't me next week, I'll be right here and I'll be happy to see my brother Taisun."

Swinney was asked if he plans to make changes on his coaching staff, and he said, "Absolutely not. We have a great staff that I believe in wholeheartedly."

After a run of success over the past six years that included two national championships and four appearances in the title game, Swinney knows the Clemson fanbase is not happy with the team's performance this year. But he has faith that the Tigers will be able to turn things around.

"They have every right to be disappointed. I'm disappointed. Everybody's disappointed. I'm sick to my stomach. But I know what we're made of, and we'll grow through it and get back to winning some ballgames."

Clemson will look to bounce back at home next Saturday against Florida State.     

The dynasty isn't necessarily dead. Let's get that out of the way right now.

This isn't one of those stories.

Even great programs on historic runs are entitled to a mulligan every now and then. But Clemson's dramatic fall this season could very well be a sign of further struggles to come, and the days of the Tigers' dominance feel largely behind them. At least in the moment.

If this is a mulligan, it's a major one. There is no possible way to sugarcoat just how disappointing Clemson has been relative to expectations this fall.

And it's not just one bad week or one bad month. It's been a constant throughout the year.

The issues that have plagued Clemson all season long were all on display against Pittsburgh on Saturday. The offense couldn't muster up enough points or long drives. Mistakes and drops were once again a prevalent theme. And the defense, which has kept this season afloat, finally broke against a quality offense and a potential Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback.

Kenny Pickett looked in complete control against Clemson, elevating his Heisman resume with another 300-yard passing game, two more touchdowns and zero interceptions. His brilliance should not be lost amid the shock of seeing Clemson lose its third game before November hits.

The final score, 27-17, tells a story. Final scores can often lie, though this one does not.

The Clemson defense was good for a while. The offense really wasn't. The only difference, however, is the Tigers have not looked this broken in years.

They also haven't spent much time looking like the inferior team on the field, which they most certainly were on Saturday.

For some perspective, the Tigers lost seven games total over the six years leading up this season. Dabo Swinney's team actually outpaced Alabama's dominance for some time, winning at a rate known only by the team in Tuscaloosa. They won two national titles over Nick Saban's team and lost another.

This was—and maybe still is depending on how quickly you're ready to punt on dominance—the team every college football program in the nation strove to be.

But now? It's a middling team in the Atlantic Division of the ACC.

Clemson has three losses against a schedule most laughed at, outside of the opening game against Georgia, before the season began.

And it could've been worse. The only team Clemson has beaten by more than a touchdown is South Carolina State. The Tigers played nail-biters against Syracuse, Boston College and Georgia Tech, winning all three games by a combined 15 points.

The loss against Pitt wasn't a surprise. It was a fitting next chapter given how this season has unfolded.

Perhaps, in some ways, the expectations were too much.

After losing quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne to the NFL, some regression was assumed. But the glimpses of quarterback DJ Uiagalelei last year were so superb, we expected him to naturally grab the baton, as Clemson quarterbacks have done for the better part of a decade, and be immediately dominant.

That's what Uiagalelei was against Notre Dame last year when Lawrence couldn't play, throwing for 439 yards in a loss. This season, Uiagalelei has thrown for more than 200 yards only once in a game. He's thrown for two touchdowns only once as well.

On Saturday, Uiagalelei was benched after his shovel pass was picked off and returned for a touchdown. Taisun Phommachanh replaced him, though he returned to the game later on.

A player with unbelievable physical gifts has been largely off all year, and it's hard to know exactly why that is the case and when, if ever, he will blossom into the player we thought he would become.

That has been a major issue, though there's blame to go around. Injuries have not been kind to Clemson, and that can't simply be a footnote in a long season. Both sides of the ball have been severely impacted.

This roster, so we thought, could overcome injuries and departures to the NFL no matter how pronounced. The coaching staff, outside of the loss of former co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott, has remained intact. The continuity that built this team and dynasty remains largely in place. And yet, this football team is a shell of what we're accustomed to.

The 2021 season is lost. In fact, it was lost when the Tigers lost to NC State weeks ago.

The question now isn't what this team will look like come December. At this point, we know. Instead, one can't help but wonder if this will carry over to next fall.

At the moment, it's impossible to say. The roster is still largely compiled of some of the best athletes in America. The conference will likely be without a dominant team moving forward—unless that team is Clemson.

But winning at the level that the Tigers did for such a prolonged period of time is not easy, no matter how easy this program made it look. Doing so requires the perfect pieces, which Clemson has put together before this year.

Those pieces are currently missing. Something is missing.

At the very least, they haven't come together like they have in the past. While it's possible Clemson could regain momentum once the season ends, it's also possible that Swinney's program will never be what it was.

It's hard to know exactly when the brilliance disappears. There's no guidebook to this part. It just, well, does. It doesn't happen in one game or even one season. It just fades.

It certainly demands a sample size of more than seven games, as catchy as it is to declare otherwise. And yet, one can't help but see the quality suffer as much as it has and the losses mount as quickly as they have and wonder if the best is behind us.

Zach Rice, a 5-star offensive tackle from the Liberty Christian Academy in Lynchburg, Virginia, committed to North Carolina on Thursday.

Rice chose North Carolina over Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Virginia.

The 6'6", 282-pound Rice is considered the No. 9 prospect in the country, the top offensive tackle and the top player from the state of Virginia, per 247Sports.

Brian Dohn of the recruiting website offered the following scouting report on Rice:

"Agile and high-level athlete. Moves well in space. Plays with attitude and nastiness. Strong at point of attack and uses his lower body strength well. Initial punch is forceful and plays with heavy hands. Once engaged remains locked on and drives legs. Finishes blocks well. ... Is patient in pass pro and does not lunge often. Consistency with hand placement needed. Has to continue to work on bend to be more consistent with sinking hips and winning leverage battle. Has to refine kick step. Multi-year starter at top 10 program. NFL first-round potential."

Rice has obvious physical tools, but it's his intangibles that he takes the most pride in as a player.

"My humility and my mindset," he said when talking about what distinguishes him from other offensive line prospects around the country, per Ahmed Ghafir of SI.com. "I come out and compete. Everyone gets beat, but I'm always the one that bounces back in games and camps."

Say what you want about Mack Brown, but the man can recruit. Rice will join 5-star defensive lineman Travis Shaw in what has become one of the top recruiting classes in the nation. Everybody may be looking up to Clemson in the ACC, but Brown and the Tar Heels have landed some potential future stars.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney isn't concerned about the possibility that LSU athletic director Scott Woodward could pursue him to replace Ed Orgeron. 

"I'm a big time, coach? Wow! I made a big-time list? Wow," Swinney joked Tuesday, per The Athletic. "Yeah, this is the only Death Valley I'm concerned about right here. That's for sure."

Swinney has been speculated to be a potential LSU head-coaching candidate, with Orgeron and the Tigers agreeing to part ways following the 2021 season. 

Woodward has made some pretty impressive moves in his tenure as an athletic director. He pried Jimbo Fisher from Florida State to Texas A&M and also lured Chris Peterson from Boise State while at Washington.

It's hard to imagine Swinney wanting to leave Clemson, though. The 51-year-old is 144-35 since taking over as head coach of the Tigers in 2008. He has also won two national championships 

Swinney has also been linked to being Nick Saban's successor at Alabama, even though Saban recently extended his contract through 2028. Swinney graduated from Alabama and was an assistant under former head coach Gene Stallings. However, he has frequently denied any significant interest in leaving Clemson. 

Clemson is 4-2 this season following a season-opening loss to Georgia. The Tigers haven't lost more than two games in a season since 2014. 

Clemson made Swinney college football's highest-paid coach (at the time) in 2019, giving him a 10-year, $93 million contract. The deal runs through 2028-29. 

Orgeron and the Tigers agreed to part ways following a disappointing 4-3 start to the 2021 season. The post-Joe Burrow era has been especially rough for LSU with the Tigers going 5-5 in 2020 and 9-8 overall after winning the national championship in 2019. 

Before 2020, LSU hadn't lost five games in a season since 2014 when Les Miles was head coach. Orgeron is the fourth-winningest coach in LSU history, and his 74.2 winning percentage ranks among the top five in school history. 

In addition to Swinney, Fisher and Lousiana's Billy Napier have denied interest in LSU's head coaching job. However, that could change once the 2021 campaign is over.