ACC Football

University of Miami safety Al Blades Jr. is out for the rest of the season after he was diagnosed with myocarditis a heart condition that has been linked to COVID-19.

He announced the end of his season in a Twitter post on Tuesday, saying he was "looking forward to returning to the field in 2021." Blades also said the condition was discovered while he was "going through COVID protocols."

The No. 10 Hurricanes, who played their first game in 20 days against Duke Saturday after a COVID-19 outbreak paused their season, will play No. 17 UNC this weekend before closing out the season against Georgia Tech on Dec. 19. 

Myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle usually caused by a viral infection, has been observed in people who have had COVID-19. A study out of Ohio State published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Cardiology showed four of 26 college athletes who had tested positive for COVID-19 also showed signs of myocarditis.

The condition caused Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez and Buffalo Bills tight end Tommy Sweeney to miss the 2020 seasons in their respective sports. 

Blades, a junior, said his recovery will take around three months. He did not play in the team's return to action and joined 14 other Hurricanes players who were unavailable, according to Susan Miller Degnan and David Wilson of the Miami Herald. 

Through eight games this season, Blades picked up two interceptions while adding 29 tackles (19 solo). Te'Cory Couch took Blades' slot in the lineup in each of the Hurricanes' past two games, recording six tackles, 0.5 sacks and an interception. 

The Clemson Tigers have clinched their sixth straight appearance in the ACC Championship Game after Saturday's 45-10 victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies.

After an easy victory over Pittsburgh last weekend in Trevor Lawrence's first game back following a COVID-19 diagnosis on Oct. 29, the Tigers wrapped up their regular season against the Hokies and are one step closer to securing a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Standing in Clemson's way will be the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the conference title game. The Irish handed the Tigers their only conference loss in the past two seasons on Nov. 7 in a 47-40 double-overtime thriller.

Despite the final score, this game was closer than expected until late in the third quarter. The game was tied at 10 in the final two minutes of the first half.

Clemson closed the game scoring 35 unanswered points. The running game made up for a rare off-day by Lawrence's passing. The Tigers racked up 238 yards and four touchdowns on 30 carries.

Notable Game Stats

• Trevor Lawrence, QB (CLEM): 12-of-22, 195 yards, TD, INT; 7 carries, 41 yards, 2 TD
• Travis Etienne, RB (CLEM): 16 carries, 66 yards
• Darien Rencher, RB (CLEM): 1 carry, 50 yards, TD
• Cornell Powell, WR (CLEM): 4 receptions, 90 yards, TD
• Braxton Burmeister, QB (VT): 10-of-12, 127 yards
• Khalil Herbert, RB (VT): 21 carries, 96 yards, TD
• Raheem Blackshear, WR (VT): 4 receptions, 68 yards

Tigers Show Vulnerability in Sloppy Win

One hallmark of being a successful team is how easy it is to overlook flaws. Few programs in the country can claim to be as good as Clemson has been over the past six years.

But as this season rolls on, it's becoming harder to ignore the Tigers' issues on defense. They were most visible in the loss to Notre Dame.

Virginia Tech showed that there are ways to move the ball against Clemson. Braxton Burmeister had two big plays in the first half, including a Hail Mary pass to Raheem Blackshear on the final play that was stopped at the 1-yard line before he could get into the end zone.

Clemson didn't come into this game fully healthy on the defensive side of the ball. Linebacker James Skalski and defensive end Tyler Davis didn't last long before injuries knocked them out.

With the defense trying to navigate things without two key players, Lawrence and the offense had to pick up the slack. That unit looked terrific last week against Pittsburgh with 52 points, including 38 in the first 22 minutes of game time.

Things were much more difficult for that group against Virginia Tech. Lawrence looked off for most of the game. He threw a bad interception in the end zone as the Tigers were trying to go up by 14 late in the third quarter.

Clemson's defense was able to step up two plays later. Myles Murphy forced Burmeister to fumble, which Mario Goodrich recovered at the Hokies' 12-yard line. Lawrence redeemed himself with a seven-yard touchdown run that helped put the Tigers up 24-10.

The most important thing for Clemson at this point in the season is getting the win, which it was able to do. Head coach Dabo Swinney has his team still in the mix for a conference title and another berth in the College Football Playoff.

Looking ahead to the Tigers' rematch with Notre Dame, though, they will need to play significantly better in two weeks if they want to avenge their only loss of the season to date.

Justin Fuente Needs to Figure Out QB Position

As much as Clemson's defense gave Virginia Tech openings to keep this game interesting, the offense was unable to sustain any momentum long enough to pull off an upset.

This has been an ongoing problem for head coach Justin Fuente, particularly down the stretch.

The Hokies have lost four straight games for the first time since 2018. Their last game was a 47-14 loss to Pittsburgh two weeks ago. They committed two turnovers in that game, but it resulted in only three points for the Panthers.

One week later, against a better opponent, Virginia Tech committed two turnovers in the third quarter. Both of those giveaways led to two Clemson touchdowns that turned a close game into a blowout.

A big problem for the Hokies this season has been at the quarterback position. Fuente has primarily used Hendon Hooker as his starter, but Burmeister saw extended action in three games coming into Saturday.

Hooker was given the starting nod against Clemson, but Fuente lifted him following the first series of the game after Virginia Tech gained 10 yards on five plays and punted. The junior may have been injured on that series:

Burmeister did provide a spark in the first half, leading the Hokies on a touchdown drive on his first series of the game.

After the offense managed just three points on its next six drives, Hooker was put back in at quarterback. His second snap was fumbled and returned 66 yards by Derion Kendrick for a Clemson touchdown. He was also injured on the play, forcing the Hokies to turn to third-string quarterback Knox Kadum.

One reason that Fuente has gone through a quarterback jumble at times this season is because no one has stepped up to take control of the job. Hooker has had the longest leash but hasn't done much with 1,332 passing yards and nine touchdowns in seven games entering Saturday.

Burmeister played his most complete game of the season against Clemson, but it didn't come close to being enough to get a win. Kadum saw his first college action in this game, so the jury is still out on what the freshman can do.

Fuente is in his fifth season as head coach at Virginia Tech. His best quarterback during this span was Jerod Evans in 2016. He threw for 3,552 yards and 29 touchdowns that season, prompting him to declare for the 2017 NFL draft.

Saturday's loss clinches Virginia Tech's second non-winning season in the last three years. The next step for Fuente in building this program will be finding a quarterback who can at least make the offense respectable.

What's Next?

Clemson will play No. 2 Notre Dame in the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 19. Virginia Tech will wrap up the regular season on Dec. 12 at home against Virginia.

University of Louisville head coach Scott Satterfield said he won't be leaving the school for South Carolina after speaking with the Gamecocks. 

The Cardinals coach told the Louisville Courier-Journal he "owed an obligation just to listen [to South Carolina] because of where it's at."

Satterfield is in his second full season at U of L and has gone 11-12 with the ACC program. The 2019 season was especially revelatory for the coach, who finished with a 8-5 record (5-3 ACC) and a victory over Mississippi State in the Music City Bowl en route to earning ACC Coach of the Year. 

South Carolina fired head coach Will Muschamp on November 14 after five seasons. 

Satterfield told the Courier-Journal he informed Louisville athletic director Vince Tyra of his discussion with South Carolina but said the call as more of a "conversation" than an interview:

"When [South Carolina] reached out, I told Vince they reached out, and I told him I wasn't interested in talking to those guys. Well, they circled back in a week, and so I said I would listen to what they had to say—and the reason being is that it's a few hours away from my parents, who are both getting older and I've seen them one time this whole year [due to COVID-19].

"... I went to listen to a conversation and that's what it is. I kept Vince abreast with that, too. I'm not trying to hide anything from anybody. I'm not that person."

Satterfield, 47, is a native of Hillsborough, North Carolina, about three hours north of the S.C. campus. He previously played quarterback at Appalachian State before going on to coach at his alma mater, eventually taking over the program in 2013. 

According to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, the Gamecocks are nearing a hire and have focused on Oklahoma assistant head coach Shane Beamer, Louisiana coach Billy Napier and Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell as their top candidates. 

The Atlantic Coast Conference will now determine the participants of its football championship game based on a nine-game league schedule, the ACC announced Tuesday.

The decision means both No. 4 Clemson (8-1, 7-1 ACC) and No. 2 Notre Dame (9-0, 8-0 SEC) will complete their regular season slates this weekend with the Fighting Irish having clinched a berth in the conference title game.

ACC administrators made the change following a recommendation from the Athletic Director football subcommittee. 

The subcommittee's vote reflected a desire to "preserve the integrity of the ACC Football Championship Game". 

No. 7 Miami (7-1, 6-1 ACC) will face Duke on Saturday, December 5 before finishing off its nine-game schedule against No. 19 North Carolina on December 12. Should the Hurricanes miss out on the ACC title game, they'll play a previously-scheduled final conference contest against Georgia Tech on December 19—the same day as the ACC Championship. 

The league provided an updated schedule: 

Thursday, Dec. 10
Pitt at Georgia Tech (previously announced)

Saturday, Dec. 12
Virginia at Virginia Tech (previously announced)
North Carolina at Miami (previously announced)
Duke at Florida State
Wake Forest at Louisville

Saturday, Dec. 19
ACC Football Championship Game, 4 p.m., ABC (previously announced)
Georgia Tech at Miami (previously announced and if Miami is not in the FCG)
Florida State at Wake Forest

So far the ACC has completed 74 of the 85 football games scheduled this year and has adopted updated policies to finish the season on time. Beginning this week, teams must administer PCR tests on Thursday with results returned prior to any visiting teams traveling to game locations. 

Per the conference: 

"Should a game(s) involving Clemson, Miami or Notre Dame not be played this weekend, the ACC has the option to reschedule games on Dec. 12 as needed. Based on the current standings and results to date, Notre Dame holds all tiebreakers and has therefore secured a berth in the ACC Football Championship Game."

The ACC began the season with the expectation its championship berths would be handed out using an 11-game schedule featuring 10 conference games and one non-conference opponent. That plan has been adjusted as the coronavirus continues to surge across the country. 

The Miami Hurricanes football team will face the Duke Blue Devils on Saturday, Dec. 5, the school announced Sunday after Miami's matchup with Wake Forest was postponed following an outbreak in the Demon Deacons football program. 

The game will kick off at 8 p.m. ET with television coverage on the ACC Network.   

The ACC announced that the Miami vs. Wake Forest postponement "follows positive tests, subsequent quarantining, and contact tracing within the Wake Forest football team." It comes one day after the matchup between Florida State and Virginia had to be postponed due to an outbreak at Florida State. 

In addition, the conference noted it has now had to cancel or postpone 11 games this season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"As we have throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we will continue to work with University leadership and our medical personnel to create the safest environment possible for our student-athletes and staff," Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson said in a statement. "Although we are disappointed that we will be unable to play a game next weekend, this is the right thing to do at this moment."

Miami itself hasn't played the past two weeks due to its own coronavirus outbreak, which included head coach Manny Diaz testing positive for the coronavirus. 

Diaz told ESPN's Mark Schlabach that he believed the positive tests among the Hurricanes were originating from outside the program:

"If you graph it, there's probably a level of safety in terms of what we've been doing and then what's happening is the floodwaters around us are rising. That's what's happening in the country. I feel like inside our program from all of the positives that we have had, through our contact tracing, it's been hard for us to find any type of connection of somebody catching it from somebody inside this building or at practice. What it seems like if they aren't coming down with it, they're coming down with it when they're not around us. It makes it a relentless enemy that has to be bested every day."

Regardless, the No. 10 Hurricanes (7-1) will finally be back in action, barring any future outbreaks or postponements, against Duke (2-7) as they look to further their case for a College Football Playoff berth.

Asante Samuel Jr. is following in his father's NFL footsteps.

The Florida State cornerback announced he is opting out for the rest of the 2020 season to prepare for the upcoming NFL draft.

"I have made the decision to enter the 2021 NFL Draft," he wrote. "I will forever bleed Garnet and Gold. Thank you, Florida State University, for everything!"

Samuel arrived at Florida State as a highly regarded 4-star recruit in the class of 2018, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

The 5'10", 184-pound Florida native was a secondary contributor as a freshman before tallying 49 tackles, 14 passes defended and one interception as a sophomore. The junior posted 30 tackles, six passes defended, three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble through eight games this year before opting out.

His play in the defensive backfield had been a rare bright spot for the Seminoles, who are an abysmal 2-6 on the year.  

Brendan Sonnone of 247Sports noted Samuel partially made this decision to "make sure a shoulder issue is fine for the pre-draft process."

Living up to his father's name in the NFL will be a daunting task. The elder Samuel played for the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons during a career that lasted from 2003 through 2013, and he was a four-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion.

The 39-year-old finished his NFL career with 51 interceptions and led the league in picks two seasons.