Week 8 featured many tough battles for Northeast teams. Syracuse went to Death Valley to face top-five Clemson, Boston College faced No. 13 Wake Forest, and Penn State hosted Minnesota in a white-out game. Let’s look at how Northeast college football did this weekend.
No. 5 Clemson edges No. 14 Syracuse, 27-21
Sean Tucker may have been pleased with his performance, but the team suffered a road loss where he only had five carries. The Orange’s game plan was to be pass-first with Garrett Shrader, which was executed poorly as he passed for 167 yards, with a touchdown and one pick. Shrader ran with the ball 21 times, which made no sense considering they have one of the best running backs in college football. Even though Clemson turned the ball over four times, running back Will Shipley (27 carries, 172 yards, two touchdowns) led the Tigers to their eighth victory of the season, staying undefeated. Syracuse returns to upstate New York on Saturday, where they have a noon game against Notre Dame.
No. 13 Wake Forest routs Boston College, 43-15
Last season, the Demon Deacons defeated Boston College in Chestnut Hill, clinching a spot in last year’s ACC Championship Game. However, this season is different with Clemson dominating the Atlantic Division once again. Quarterback Sam Hartman passed for 313 yards and five touchdowns, while taking one in on the ground for six total touchdowns. Despite a strong day from wide receiver Zay Flowers, where he had ten receptions for 135 yards and a touchdown, that wasn’t enough offense for the Eagles to keep up with Wake Forest. Boston College will look to stay undefeated in its all-time series against UConn as they travel to Rentschler Field this Saturday.
No. 16 Penn State dominates in white-out game vs. Minnesota, 45-17
Penn State improved to 6-1 after a blowout victory at home against the Golden Gophers. Sean Clifford passed for 295 yards and four touchdowns, but threw a pick. Nicholas Singleton rushed for 79 yards and two touchdowns. All four passing touchdowns by Clifford were to four different receivers. The defense was led by Jayir Brown with an interception off Athan Kaliakmanis. Minnesota running back Mohamed Ibrahim ran for 102 yards and a touchdown in the Gophers’ loss. The Nittany Lions have a huge home game on Saturday with a noon game against No. 2 Ohio State.
Army doubles UL Monroe’s score in win, 48-24
The Black Knights once again focused on the running game, with 62 total carries and four passing attempts. However, Army was dominant once again, combining for 441 yards and six touchdowns, which includes Jemel Jones rushing for 96 yards and three scores. UL Monroe evened out their offense with both passing and rushing. Quarterback Chandler Rogers passed for 164 yards, two touchdowns, and one pick. Andrew Henry rushed in the other touchdown, while Calum Sutherland kicked their point total to 24. Army is on bye this week, setting up for a huge rivalry matchup against Air Force to begin November.
Louisville earns home victory against defending ACC Champions Pittsburgh, 24-10
The reigning ACC Champions are not off to a strong start, with a 4-3 record and a loss to Louisville on Saturday. Despite having one of the top running backs in college football in Israel Abanikanda, the Panthers were only able to score one touchdown in the loss, coming in the first quarter by Abanikanda. A field goal by Ben Sauls brought Pitt the lead after three quarters, but two touchdowns and a field goal in the fourth quarter, none of them answered by Pitt, gave the Cardinals the win. Pitt quarterback Kedon Slovis passed for 158 yards and two interceptions. Abanikanda, along with the only touchdown, rushed for 129 yards. They had four turnovers in total, including four fumbles with two lost. Despite an interception, Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham passed for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Pitt will travel to Chapel Hill to take on No. 21 North Carolina in a tough matchup that includes the next two games against top 25 teams.
