Week 11 in the ACC featured blowouts just about across the board. Here's a look around at what went down.
No. 2 Florida State 59, Wake Forest 3 - The ultimate result was a pretty foregone conclusion, just like the NFL odds with the Broncos played the Jaguars. The Seminoles aren't out of the woods yet in terms of locking up that No. 2 spot in the BCS rankings. Shaky performances against teams of Wake Forest's caliber can put doubts in voters' minds, so it was important for Florida State to take care of business in a big way here, which it did. At 7-0 in the league and with the tiebreaker over Clemson, the 'noles now have the division locked up.
North Carolina 46, Virginia 14 - The Tar Heels are showing a lot of late life after that 1-5 start. They've now won three straight and proved they can get the ground game going by racking up 201 yards against the Hoos. Quarterback Marquise Williams was good enough in place of the injured Bryn Renner, finishing 15-of-28 passing for 185 yards and a couple of scores. But he wasn't anything that should intimidate Pitt in a couple of weeks. The key for the Panthers will be slowing that resurgent running game.
Syracuse 20, Maryland 3 - These two programs took wildly different roads to their 5-4 records. The Terps raced out to that 5-1 start with all kinds of offense while the Orange scuffled as they struggled to find their guy behind center. Now Maryland can't score and Syracuse has won three of four to put itself in position to earn an unlikely bowl berth. It won't be easy, as Florida State, Pitt and Boston College stand in the way of that elusive sixth victory for bowl eligibility, but at least the prospect of holiday football isn't so far off now. Maryland should have a little easier draw with Virginia Tech, BC and N.C. State left, but the Terps are 1-4 in the league and have lost three straight, so they're going to have to turn it around soon.
Virginia Tech 42, No. 11 Miami 24 - It's pretty amazing the difference one win can make. A week ago, the Hokies had lost two straight, and their hopes of an ACC title game berth pretty slim. Now, they hold the tiebreaker on Georgia Tech and Miami with scuffling Maryland and Virginia teams the only hurdles left. Duke still has to take another loss somewhere, but things are looking a lot better for Frank Beamer and Co. now.
Duke 38, N.C. State 20 - Don't let that score fool you. Duke's offense stunk on ice. Quarterback Aaron Boone threw three picks and the offense managed a pedestrian 321 yards of offense. It was only by the grace of two pick-sixes and a kickoff return for a touchdown that the Blue Devils got the points they needed to win this one comfortably. Nevertheless, they're still in this four-way race and control their own destiny. Miami, Wake Forest and that suddenly-dangerous Tar Heel team await, so the offense is going to have to step it up a notch. But it's all right there for them.
