A weekly look around the Atlantic Coast Conference with an eye on the teams that Clemson football will, or could, face in the 2022 season.
I’ll be the first to admit that I did not watch either of Florida State – Duquesne or North Carolina – Florida A&M from stem to stern, but I did catch pieces and the internet is a wonderful place to catch up on football games.
Clemson, of course, travels to Tallahassee this year and will play what looks to be an improved Florida State team. I say that not because of their 47-7 win over the FCS Dukes from Pittsburgh, but from how athletic they look and analysis from those I trust.
I don’t care who you’re playing, 406 yards rushing and 638 total yards is a good day.
Does it prove anything in the big scheme of things? No, except the Seminoles won’t lose to an FCS team this year.
We’ll know more after the trip to New Orleans next Saturday to face LSU for a “neutral” site game.
The other game involving an ACC team, North Carolina’s 56-24 win over Florida A&M was a bit more interesting, if for no other fact that the Tar Heel’s defense under new coordinator Gene Chizik, struggled to contain a Rattler team that was severely depleted, especially along the offensive line.
Clemson football ACC brethren Florida State and North Carolina won big on the scoreboard, but questions remain moving forward
In the big picture the Rattlers ended up with only 279 yards passing, but at times it came in chunks and the score at the end of the third quarter was 35-24, after which the Tar Heels pulled away, but it was interesting there for a minute.
Drake Maye threw for 294 yards and 5 touchdowns as the Heels also racked up over 600 total yards, but suffice it to say no one expected 24 points from a Rattlers team that almost didn’t make the trip.
Next week, of course, the Tar Heels travel to Boone to take on Appalachian State, which could turn out to be a big game for North Carolina’s season as doubt crept in a bit last night and a loss to the Mountaineers could spell trouble for Mack Brown and his crew with the schedule ahead.
The Tar Heels are currently a 2.0 favorite over Appalachian State at WynnBet.