Despite some sporadic play from the name-brand schools, there was enough high-end play to get us to the ACC Players of the Week:
Quarterback of the Week
This was a pretty easy one. Cam Ward of the Miami Hurricanes lived up to the hype in the week one in the win over Florida in Gainesville. He was 26-for-35 for 385 yards and three touchdowns. Ward became the first Miami quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns in a season opener since Ken Dorsey in 2001.
Running Back of the Week
Treshaun Ward from Boston College gave the voters reason to wait until Tuesday to make their decision. The Eagles dominated Florida State Monday night in Tallahassee. He had 138 all-purpose yards. Ward had 77 yards rushing and 61 yards receiving. He also had one receiving touchdown.
Receiver of the Week
KC Concepcion of North Carolina State is this week’s winner. He had three touchdown receptions in the win over Western Carolina. It was the second-most touchdown receptions of any receiver in week one. He had nine total receptions for 121 yards.
Offensive Lineman of the Week
Miami center Zach Carpenter was one of the top-rated offensive linemen in the country during week one. Miami averaged just under eight yards per play in the win over Florida Saturday, including 144 rushing yards. Not bad for a lineman making his first career start.
Defensive Lineman of the Week
North Carolina struggled on the road at Minnesota, but it wasn’t because of the defense. And for that, Tar Heel Jahvaree Ritzi gets this nod. Ritzi had a career-high three sacks. He also had six total tacks, with five of them being solo efforts. His three sacks were the most by a North Carolina player in four years.
Linebacker of the Week
Syracuse had a big home win for first-year head coach Fran Brown. Part of that was the play of Marlowe Wax. He had two tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble. He also had six total tackles in the win over Ohio. Wax is now in second place in school history in forced fumbles.
Defensive Back of the Week
That goes to Jaden Harris of Miami. He had seven tackles, one tackle for loss, and his first career interception.
Specialist of the Week
Going four for four in field goals gets you this recognition. North Carolina’s Noah Burnette connected from 29, 52, 42, and 45 yards out. That accounted for 12 of the Tar Heels’ 19 points. He also had the PAT on the one UNC touchdown.
Rookie of the Week
This goes to Eli Holston, the freshman quarterback from Pitt. He was 30 of 40 passing for 336 yards and three touchdown passes in his college football debut. That gets him a 75% completion rate and the ACC honor.
