By Eric Avissar, sports staff writer

Even while hosting, the Maryland Terrapins faced a tall order taking on the white-hot Clemson Tigers. With a 35-17 lead in the third quarter, it appeared the Terps were well on their way to pulling out their biggest upset of the season. However, quarterback Tajh Boyd led a brilliant Clemson offense to put up 39 second half points en route to a 56-45 victory.

Boyd, who has emerged as one of the ACC’s premier quarterbacks as a redshirt sophomore, threw for 270 yards and four touchdowns (three in the second half). The real difference maker may have been wide receiver Sammy Watkins, who caught eight passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Watkins also showed off his devastating speed on an 89-yard kickoff return for a touchdown that proved to be the game-winner. Saturday night was also an evening to remember for running back Andre Ellington, who ran for 212 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.

After regularly doubling and sometimes tripling up on opponents rushing yard totals, Georgia Tech was equaled blow for blow with Virginia. Both teams ran for 272 yards, but it was the hosting Cavaliers who won where it mattered most, beating the Yellow Jackets, 24-21. The hosting fans that stayed at the game were rewarded on their homecoming with the field getting rushed in jubilation of pulling off arguably the biggest ACC upset this season.

Running back Perry Jones ran for 149 yards for the Wahoos, while Georgia Tech quarterback Tevin Washington was the game’s only other 100 yard rusher. Head coach Mike London admitted his team’s victory was keyed by their changed mindset to adversity after giving up 14 points in 98 seconds to tie the game. Once they went up 10 points at halftime, the only Jackets response was a Washington touchdown run.

Maryland head coach Randy Edsall made the controversial decision to sit original starting quarterback Danny O’Brien for the game. As a result, he likely created a legitimate quarterback controversy in College Park after C.J Brown threw for three touchdowns and ran for 162 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Despite only managing three second half points and failing to run the ball effectively, the Miami Hurricanes were able to bounce back from last week’s loss, and hold onto a 30-24 win at North Carolina. Quarterback Jacory Harris played arguably his best game of the season, completing 20 of 30 passes for 267 yards and three touchdowns, all of which were needed to hold on for the win.

Running back Lamar Miller was the ACC’s leading rusher heading into the weekend, but had his worst game of the season rushing 16 times for only 29 yards. The Tar Heels were much more successful with their ground attack, as freshman Giovani Bernard ran for 110 yards and touchdown, becoming the first UNC running back to run reach the century mark in five consecutive games since 1984.

The Florida State Seminoles took their first step towards climbing out of an 0-2 hole to begin ACC play with a victory over Duke, 41-16. Quarterback E.J. Manuel started in his first full game back as starting signal-caller since suffering a rib injury against Oklahoma. Manuel threw for 239 yards and two touchdowns. Most of Manuel’s damage was inflicted upon the Blue Devils in the first quarter, throwing three passes for 50 yards or more.

The Duke Blue Devils are now 1-1 in ACC play after opening conference play with a win away at Boston College. If head coach David Cutcliffe is going to lead Duke to its first bowl appearance since 1994, he will in all likelihood need to win next week against Wake Forest at home. With a record of 3-3, it would be a huge surprise to see Duke get three wins against a remaining schedule of two games against ranked opponents at home and the rest on the road.