ACC Football: Winners and Losers from Week 6

The ACC had some very competitive games slated for Saturday and while some teams easily managed a victory, others faltered under the pressure.

Saturday featured many in-conference games for the ACC, and solidified some positioning in the rankings. There were upsets, blowouts and nail-biters, but at the end of the day the only thing that matters for these teams is whether the outcome of the game is placed in the win column or the loss column.

This week in ACC football featured winners such as Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Clemson and NC State.

The losers in the ACC This week were Miami (FL), Maryland, Louisville, Florida State and Boston College.

Winner: Clemson Tigers

The Clemson Tigers continued to win as they hosted the Boston College Eagles on Saturday. 

The story of the game was Clemson's quarterback Tajh Boyd, who played an excellent game for the Tigers in a victorious effort. The sophomore quarterback threw for a touchdown and ran for another to help the Tigers improve to 6-0 on the season, marking this the team's best start in 11 years.

The final score of the game was 36-14 in favor of the Tigers, but though they were winners on the field, they could face some trouble in their upcoming games because of injury.

Boyd left the game in the third quarter with what SB Nation listed as a hip injury. The severity of the injury is unknown at this moment, but if No. 8 Clemson wants to climb higher in the rankings, they will need Boyd on the field. 

The Tigers are winners on the field this week, but everyone's eyes will be on the MRI of star player Tajh Boyd in hopes that he will play next week. 

Winner: Virginia Tech Hokies

The Virginia Tech Hokies went into Saturday on a sour note losing to Clemson last week in blowout fashion, but were confident in their team as they faced the Miami Hurricanes.

The Hokies came out with the lead but let Miami catch up and surpass the Hokies to take a four-point lead with under three minutes left in the game.

Logan Thomas went under center and led the Hokies to victory with a game-winning touchdown on fourth-and-one with under a minute to play. Thomas' 19-yard run solidified the victory for the Hokies as they almost fell two weeks in a row.

The Hokies are now 5-1 on the season and overcame their crushing defeat at the hands of Clemson to an impressive last-minute victory over the high-powered Hurricanes. 

Virginia Tech is a winner this week, and remains a contender to be ACC's Coastal Division champion.

The Hokies sit at 1-1 in conference, but are going to climb back up in the rankings after being No. 21 this weekend. 

Winner: North Carolina Tar Heels

Despite a slow start in Chapel Hill, the North Carolina Tar Heels downed Louisville in a close game by a score of 14-7.

The Tar Heels' scores came from Tailback Giovani Bernard and receiver Dwight Jones. The Heels were held scoreless in the first half, but shook off their dust and won the game. 

The Tar Heels are winners because this marked their eighth straight victory over a non-conference opponent. North Carolina also remains in the hunt for the ACC title with a 1-1 record in conference and a 5-1 record overall.

Bernard became the first North Carolina player to rush for at least 100 yards in four straight games, with 109 against the Cardinals. 

Winner: Wake Forest Demon Deacons

In arguably the most shocking game in the ACC this week, Wake Forest stunned the Seminoles of Florida State in a nail-biting victory.

Wake Forest defeated the 'Noles by a score of 35-30, thanks to an all around well-played offensive effort.

Running back Josh Harris broke off multiple long runs for the Demon Deacons while Tanner Price threw for three touchdown passes. Harris ended the game with 136 yards on the ground and torched the Seminole defense all day Saturday.

The Demon Deacons went into the game a heavy underdog, but now are on top in the ACC with an impressive 4-1 record and even more impressive 3-0 in conference record.

The Demon Deacons are showing the conference that they are a force to be reckoned with. The Seminoles could not stop the Demon Deacons and could not muster up a late comeback either.

After knocking off the 23rd-ranked Seminoles, Wake Forest is sure to climb into the rankings later this week.

Winner: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Georgia Tech continues to impress as they improved their record to 6-0 on Saturday and a perfect 3-0 versus ACC opponents.

Georgia Tech held on in a tight game to beat Maryland 21-16.

The Yellow Jackets cruised through the first three quarters and headed into the fourth with a 21-3 lead. The Terrapins mustered up a fourth-quarter comeback but could not surpass the powerful Yellow Jackets.

The Yellow Jackets are on top of the ACC and ranked 13th in the country. They are hopeful to break the Top 10 in the rankings with this impressive victory.

Georgia Tech is a winner this week, just because they remain perfect on the season. They could have won the game in a more dominant fashion but because of many penalties against the Yellow Jackets, their powerful offense was slowed down.

Facts are facts, but wins are even better. 

The Yellow Jackets are happy to enter Week 7 in first place in the ACC and perfect on the season.

Loser: Maryland Terrapins

The Maryland Terrapins were on the losing end of a tightly played game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

The Terrapins were held to only three points through three quarters and ended the game on a failed fourth quarter comeback attempt. The final score was 21-16.

The Terrapins are losers this week because after an electric start to the season with a victory over the Hurricanes, they have been anything but consistent.

The team is only 1-1 in the ACC, and still have a chance, but their overall record of 2-3 is not what they want if they want to be considered for a good bowl game this year—or even a shot at the ACC crown.

Loser: Miami Hurricanes

The Miami Hurricanes fell to the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday in a nail-biting loss.

The Hurricanes played a very good game on the offensive end and kept it close, but due to a last-minute Virginia Tech touchdown drive, the Hurricanes were stunned to see a comeback effort falter in the last minute.

The Hurricanes valiant effort was mostly due to an impressive second-half offensive effort where they were only stopped once, when they could not score with under a minute left to play. 

The Hurricanes have been anything but consistent this year and due to so many problems internally with the organization. They are facing many problems in the long run.

The Hurricanes are losers this week and fall to a dismal 2-3 on the season and a very unimpressive 0-2 ACC record.

If the Hurricanes want to be anywhere close to the ACC championship game, they will have to turn these close losses into wins and play all four quarters of the football game.

Loser: Florida State Seminoles

The biggest loser in the ACC this week is the Florida State Seminoles.

The Seminoles came into Saturday ranked 23rd in the nation and will find themselves out of the Top 25 next week due to an impressive effort by Wake Forest.

The Seminoles now fall to 0-2 in ACC play and are 2-3 overall. They have been faced with many controversies on the field this year, and just seem to come up short in their losses.

Florida State was stunned by the Demon Deacons, going into the game as 10-point favorites they fell short by five, 35-30.

The Seminoles will have to dig deep to find themselves, and to try to add some victories to their season. After being the highest ranked ACC team in the beginning of the season, they have done nothing but falter and now will be out of the Top 25.