Sep 24, 2018

ACC & Big 12 Week 4 Recap: Texas, Texas Tech make statements as Big 12 play heats up

Standings and Results

ACC

Big 12

AP Top 10

  1. Alabama
  2. Georgia
  3. Clemson
  4. Ohio State
  5. LSU
  6. Oklahoma
  7. Stanford
  8. Notre Dame
  9. Penn State
  10. Auburn

Texas Tech upsets Oklahoma State 

Last time Texas Tech beat Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Kliff Kingsbury — the Red Raiders’ current head coach — was their starting quarterback.

Texas Tech opened up Big 12 conference play with a bang, topping No. 15 Oklahoma State 41-17 in Stillwater on Saturday. The win was Red Raiders’ first victory over the Cowboys since 2008, and the team’s first road win at Oklahoma State since 2001 — when current Red Raiders head coach Kliff Kingsbury was the team’s junior quarterback.

This time around, the Tech offense was led by freshman Alan Bowman, who completed 35 of 46 passes for 397 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Since taking over for injured starter McLane Carter in Week 1, Bowman has completed 129 of 179 passes for 1,557 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Raiders defense also showed up in a big way Saturday. The Cowboys put up 157 points in their first three games, including 44 in a win against then No. 17 Boise State last week, however the Red Raiders defense held the Cowboys to 17 points, the lowest output for Oklahoma State against Texas Tech since 2004.

Texas Tech will have another chance to make some noise against No. 12 West Virginia next week, while the Cowboys head to Lawrence to visit Kansas.

Texas makes statement against TCU

The Texas Longhorns earned their second consecutive victory over a Top 25 opponent Saturday, topping 17th-ranked TCU 31-16 — the team’s first win over the Horned Frogs since 2013 and their first victory over TCU in Austin since 2007.

The win comes on the heels of a 37-14 blowout of USC at DKR Memorial Stadium last week and marks the first time UT has beaten Top 25 teams in consecutive weeks since 2008. In addition, Texas has now won three straight games for the first time since 2014 and is 3-1 to start the season for the first time since 2012.

In the victory, Longhorns quarterback Sam Ehlinger became the first Texas quarterback since 2008 to record at least two passing TDs and one rushing TD in three consecutive games, however it was the defense that shined, forcing four TCU turnovers in the victory.

Following the win, Texas entered the AP Top 25 at No. 18 and will look to keep things rolling when it visits Kansas State this weekend. TCU, meanwhile, will return home to face Iowa State on Saturday night.

Notre Dame dominates Wake Forest

Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book rushed for three touchdowns and threw for two more in his first start of the 2018 season, as the Irish cruised to a 56-27 road win over Wake Forest on Saturday.. In Book’s last significant action, he completed 14 of 19 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns in the Fighting Irish’s Citrus Bowl victory over LSU in January.

In addition to his efforts through the air, Book also carried the ball 10 times for 43 yards and three touchdowns in the win. The 56 points scored also marked the most for the Irish in a true road win since 2003. Defensively, Notre Dame held Wake Forest to a season-low 398 yards. The Demon Deacons entered the game having gained at least 500 yards in each of their first three contests.

Notre Dame returns home next week to face no. 7 Stanford, while Wake Forest will host Rice as the Demon Deacons look to end a two game skid.

UNC holds on to beat Pitt 

North Carolina outscored Pitt 17-0 in the third quarter and held on for a 38-35 win over the Panthers on Saturday at Kenan Stadium.

With the win, the Tar Heels improved to 10-3 all-time against Pitt, including wins in each of the past six meetings between the schools. In 11 of those games, the margin of victory was 10 points or fewer, and the past eight meetings between the two have been decided by a total of just 31 points.

UNC quarterback, Nathan Elliot had a career night passing for 313 yards and two touchdowns. With the win, the Tar Heels avoided their first 0-3 start since 2003, won their home opener for the sixth time in seven years under head coach Larry Fedora and also won their ACC opener for the third time in the past four seasons.

UNC will look to continue the momentum as the Tar Heels travel to No. 16 Miami on Thursday. Pitt will also visit the Sunshine State to face No. 13 UCF, whose Week 3 game against North Carolina was canceled due to Hurricane Florence.

Virginia cruises behind impressive defensive performance

Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins put on a show against Louisville on Saturday, throwing for 197 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 78 yards and a score in a 27-3 victory over the Cardinals.

The UVA defense also showed up in a big way, allowing only 213 total yards in the victory — Louisville’s first regular season game without a touchdown since 2010.  (The Cardinals also did not find the end zone in a loss to LSU in the 2016 Citrus Bowl.)

With the win, the Cavaliers have now opened the season 3-1 for the second straight season. UVA will face NC State next week, as Louisville looks to get back on track against FSU.

Vote for the Play of the Week!

Week 4 was filled with memorable plays in the ACC and Big 12. Here were two of our favorites. Make sure you vote for the best in the poll below!

  1. Texas wide receiver, Collin Johnson makes a spectacular diving touchdown catch against TCU

2. Boston College’s Zach Allen makes an acrobatic interception against Purdue.

 

 

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