LIBERTY GOES TO 5-0, STIFLES SYRACUSE
Shedro Louis has touchdown runs of 75 and 52 yards as the Flames defeat an ACC opponent for the first time.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Seldom-used running back Shedro Louis scored on touchdown runs of 75 and 52 yards, and quarterback Malik Willis passed for a score and ran for another as the Flames stayed undefeated with Saturday's victory at the Carrier Dome.
It was Liberty's first win against an Atlantic Coast Conference team.
Louis, a third-string sophomore, rushed for a career-high 170 yards for the Flames (5-0). Liberty, which averaged 250 yards on the ground entering the game, had 258 yards rushing in the first half and 338 for the game. In a 24-0 shutout win at Liberty a year ago, Syracuse (1-4, 1-3 ACC) held the Flames to minus-4 yards on the ground.
Louis' previous game high was 57 yards against North Alabama earlier this season. His longest run from scrimmage was 30 yards in the same game. Entering the contest, Louis had just 23 carries for 140 yards in his career.
Willis completed 16 of 20 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown, and added 58 yards on the ground. DJ Stubbs had four receptions, including a 36-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Peytton Pickett, who added 115 yards rushing, scored on a 16-yard run. Alex Barbir had a 20yard field goal.
Rex Culpepper, a redshirt senior making just his second college start for the injured Tommy DeVito, was 19 of 40 for 211 yards passing and three touchdowns for Syracuse, which is off to the program's worst start since 2008. He was sacked three times, bringing to 24 the number of times Orange quarterbacks have been tackled for a loss, the most in the nation. Syracuse also hurt itself with 10 penalties.
Taj Harris and Anthony Queeley had career highs with nine and five receptions, respectively, and one touchdown apiece. Tight end Aaron Hackett scored on a 12-yard pass from Culpepper.
No. 1 Clemson 73, Georgia Tech 7
ATLANTA — Trevor Lawrence brushed off the first interception he has thrown this season and passed for a career-high 404 yards and five touchdowns as Clemson overwhelmed Georgia Tech, the largest margin of victory ever in an ACC game.
Lawrence completed 24 of 33 passes. All of his scoring passes came in the Tigers' dominant first half. Clemson led 52-7 at halftime and kept adding to the lead in the second half, even with second- and third- (and maybe fourth-) stringers on the field.
Lawrence left the game after Clemson's first possession of the second half.
Clemson (5-0, 4-0 ACC) outgained Georgia Tech 671 yards to 204. The Tigers compiled an equally lopsided 29-7 advantage in first downs.
The second-longest streak of passes without an interception in ACC history (367) ended late in the first quarter when Zamari Walton picked off a pass by Lawrence. N.C. State's Russell Wilson set the ACC record with 379 consecutive passes without an interception in 2008 and '09.
No. 13 Miami 31, Pittsburgh 19
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — D'Eriq King threw four touchdown passes for Miami.
Will Mallory caught two of King's scoring passes as the Hurricanes (4-1, 3-1) bounced back from a 42-17 loss at top-ranked Clemson last week.
The Panthers (3-3, 2-3) lost their third straight and were without senior quarterback Kenny Pickett, who suffered an ankle injury against Boston College last week. Pickett leads the nation with 1,389 passing yards but didn't travel with the team to south Florida.
Redshirt freshman Joey Yellen replaced Pickett, completing 22 of 46 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown.
Alex Kessman kicked four field goals for the Panthers and became Pitt's all-time leader with 57. Kessman surpassed Chris Blewitt, who had 55 field goals from 2013-16.
No. 4 Notre Dame 12, Louisville 7
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Kyren Williams ran for 127 yards and Ian Book had a 13-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter that gave Notre Dame the lead for good.
Williams carried the ball 25 times and had his third 100-yard game of the season as the Irish (4-0, 3-0 ACC) won their 22nd straight at Notre Dame Stadium.
It came against an inspired 3-4 Louisville defense that spent most of the afternoon on the field. Notre Dame controlled the clock for more than 36 minutes, including a gameending 14-play drive that burned the final 7:55.
Book completed 11 of 19 for 107 yards and ran 12 times for 47 yards.
The loss was the fourth straight for the Cardinals (1-4, 0-4), who got 134 yards passing and 48 rushing from Malik Cunningham. Javian Hawkins, the nation's No. 3 rusher coming into the game, was limited to 51 yards on 15 carries.
The Irish, who outgained the Cardinals 339-234, controlled the clock for 21:57 of the first half, but led just 6-0 on Jonathan Doerer's field goals of 32 and 30 yards.
The Cardinals opened the second half with an 83-yard touchdown drive as Cunningham rushed three times for 26 yards and completed all five of his passes for 52 yards, including a 29-yarder to a wide-open Hawkins at the Irish 1. Cunningham followed with a 1-yard TD pass to Marshon Ford to make it 7-6.
The Cardinals tried an onside kick but were penalized for an illegal block. After the re-kick, Book drove the Irish 56 yards in eight plays, going the final 13 yards on a cross-field scramble on a thirdand-8, escaping the tackle of Chandler Jones and getting into the end zone to put the Irish up 12-7.