Coastal Round Up: Week 2

Week 2 is now in the rear-view mirror, and what a weekend of College Football it was! We saw several Group of 5 teams take down Power 5 opponents, with the most notable being and un-ranked Marshall and Appalachian State entering South Bend, ID and College Station, TX respectively and shocking the home fan bases with wins over 8 Notre Dame and 6 Texas A&M. 1 Alabama narrowly escaped Austin, TX with a win on a last second FG. 21 BYU took down 9 Baylor in 2OT, 20 Kentucky took down 12 Florida, among others with the Week 3 poll being shaken up quite a bit. All seven Coastal teams saw action this week, continuing their march towards the right to be named Coastal Champion. Join us as we take another in-depth look at how each teamed fared and see who is up next on the schedule.

Virginia Tech (1-1) defeats Boston College (0-2) 27-10

The Hokies, after falling to ODU last week, were looking to bounce back as they opened up ACC play for the fist time in Lane Stadium Saturday night against in-conference foe BC. HC Brent Pry had preached cleaning up the mistakes from last week, and it does appear, for the most part, the sloppy play was corrected as the Hokies did not turn the ball over and had only 5 penalties vs. last week's 15. The Hokies Defense was on full display, limiting BC to just 155 total yards of offense, of this just four yards rushing on 26 attempts. BC QB Phil Jurkovec was sacked five times going 15-28 for 135 yards with one TD. The BC Offense would struggle the whole game, with just one FG complementing WR Jaden William's 17 yard receiving TD in the third quarter. Zay Flowers, arguably BC's most talented WR, was limited to just four receptions for 79 yards. Armani Chapman for the Hokies intercepted BC on the second play of the game to set up a one yard Jalen Holston rushing TD. QB Grant wells went 16-25 for 140 yards and one TD. RB Keshawn King was again impressive, breaking a long 65 yard TD run in the second quarter before going down with an injury. Kaleb Smith was the leading WR for the Hokies with three receptions for 50 yards and one TD. Connor Blumrick was also more active in the Offense this week with five catches for 46 yards. K William Ross went 2/2 on FGs for the Hokies with a long of 49 yards. Hokies defensive end TyJuan Garbutt played arguably the best game of his career, registering three tackles, all for loss including one sack and a forced fumble with four QB hurries. Brent Pry recorded his first career win as Virginia Tech's HC. The Hokies will look to add to this as they face a weak Wofford team in Lane this coming Saturday.

Up Next vs. Wofford (0-2) Sat 09/17

13 Miami (2-0) defeats Southern Mississippi (0-2) 30-7

While the score may not indicate it, some in-game adversity hit Miami for the first time this season. They responded accordingly in Miami Gardens, FL Saturday. The Hurricanes trailed for most of the second quarter before a pair of third quarter TDs, barely two minutes apart, changed the game. RB Henry Parrish rushed for 109 yards with one TD late in the first half as Miami scored the game's final 27 points. Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke was 21-30 for one TD and one INT. RB Thaddius Franklin Jr. scored on a seven yard TD run in the third quarter, with Van Dyke connecting with WR Key'Shawn Smith for a 35 yard flea-flicker TD on Miami's next offensive snap, with the lead never in question after that going up 24-3. The Golden Eagles, after a 32 yard TD pass from QB Zach Wilcke to WR Jason Brownlee in the second quarter, would be limited in production by the Hurricane's Defense managing only 122 yards on their next seven drives, five of which ended in punts, one with an INT in the end zone and the other with a fumble. Southern Miss RB Frank Gore Jr., son of the Miami Hall of Famer Frank Gore, was held in check with seven carries for 10 yards and two catches for 16 yards. Wilcke went 16-27 for 207 yards, with Brownlee having five of these receptions for 102 yards. Miami will face their first true test of the season this Saturday, can they prove that The U is indeed back? Time will tell.

Up Next vs. 24 Texas A&M (1-1) Sat 09/17

23 Pittsburg (1-1) falls to 15 Tennessee (2-0) 34-27 in OT

This top 25 matchup lived up to all the hype as former Virginia Tech transfer QB Hendon Hooker led the Vols past Pitt in OT. The Vols allowed a game-tying TD pass from Pittsburg backup QB Nick Patti with 2:23 to go but answered to win it on a 28 yard TD pass from Hooker to WR Cedric Tillman on Tennessee's first possession of the OT period. The Panthers lost starting QB Kedon Slovis to an undisclosed injury at the end of the first half and Patti spent the final quarter-plus effectively on one leg after twisting his knee while getting sacked. Pitt blocked a punt, forced a fumble, and recovered a Tre Flowers muffed punt with 7:28 to go in the fourth quarter. The Panthers methodically moved the ball deep into Tennessee territory before Patti found WR Jared Wayne for a four yard TD past on fourth-and-goal to tie it at 27 with 2:23 to play. The Panthers finally ran out of chances in OT. Nick Patti finished 9-20 for 79 yards for the Panthers, driving Pitt inside the 10 but the Vols fourth sack forced Patti to an incomplete pass and the game was over. Slovis finished 14-24 for 195 yards with one TD and one INT before exiting the game. Pitt RB Israel Abanikanda ran for 154 yards and one TD. WRs Gavin Batholomew and Jared Wayne totaled for 12 receptions, 166 yards, and two TDs for the Panthers. Vols QB Hooker went 24-27 for 325 yards and two TDs. Vols WR Cedric Tillman caught nine receptions for 162 yards and 1 TD. Pittsburg will look to regroup and move forward after this heartbreaking loss.

Up Next vs. Western Michigan (1-1) Sat 09/17

North Carolina (3-0) defeats Georgia State (0-2) 35-28

After three games the UNC Defense appears to have some issues, giving up 28 points to mediocre Georgia State team. Heels QB Drake Maye continues to be a bright spot for UNC going 19-24 for 284 yards, two TDs and one INT. He connected with WRs Kobe Paysour and Kamari Morales eight times for a total of 144 yards and a TD for each as UNC continues to see the absence of star wideout Josh Downs. Heels RB Omarion Hampton rushed 16 times for 110 yards and two TDs. The Panthers ripped off 25 straight points to grab a 28-21 lead late in the third quarter before Hampton broke a 58 yard TD scamper, later winning the game on a two yard TD plunge with 10:42 remaining. GSU QB Darren Grainger led the Panthers comeback attempt with a six yard TD pass to WR Kris Byrd, a 49 yard TD pass to WR Robert Lewis, and a final 29 yard TD pass to Lewis yet again going 16-24 for 186 total yards. UNC HC Mac Brown went for fourth-and-short on his side of the 50 twice in the first half. UNC would only make one of these attempts. It is another sloppy performance that does not bide well for the Heels, with three turnovers and 419 total yards allowed, however Maye would help UNC squeak by a strong Georgia State performance. They face a tough challenge after a week off welcoming in a winless Notre Dame team out with something to prove.

Up Next vs. Notre Dame (0-2) Sat 09/24

Duke (2-0) defeats Northwestern (1-1) 31-23

Duke continues to turn some heads with another win over a Big Ten foe. Blue Devils RB Jordan Waters ran for 91 yards and two TDs including a 42 yard run while QB Riley Leonard went 13-24 for 240 yards, one TD, and one INT. Jaylen Coleman would add another 83 yards on the ground and a short TD scamper. Duke WRs Jalon Calhoun and Eli Pancol would both have over 100 yards receiving each on eight combined receptions. Leonard found WR Jordan Moore with a score scoring pass early in the fourth quarter to give Duke a 28-16 lead with Duke DB Brandon Johnson securing a late INT in Wildcat territory to set up a Charlie Ham 18 yard FG with 1:18 remaining in the game. Johnson would end the game by falling on a fumble with 12 seconds remaining. Northwestern QB Ryan Hillinksi went 36-60 for 435 yards, two TDs, and one INT. RB Evan Hull had 17 carries for 65 yards and one TD. He would also catch 14 receptions for 213 yards and one score. The Wildcats got within 21-10 by halftime and twice cut the lead to five points in the second half, however the Blue Devils outlasted the Wildcats and gave HC Mike Elko his first road game win. Can the winning streak continue for Duke?

Up Next vs. North Carolina A&T (0-2) Sat 09/17

Virginia (1-1) falls to Illinois (2-1) 24-3

The Cavaliers struggled on the road Saturday. QB Brennan Armstrong struggled to find his receivers going just 13-32 for 180 yards with two INTs. Cavaliers RBs combined for just 42 rushing yards on 29 carries. WR Lavel Davis Jr. led the Cavaliers with two receptions for 67 yards. Kicker Brendan Farrell put UVA up in the first quarter with a 42 yard FG, however that would be all the points for the rest of the contest. Illinois RB Chase Brown rushed for 146 yards on 20 carries with QB Tommy DeVito going 17-25 for 196 yards, two TDs, and one INT. Things took an early turn as DeVito threw an INT on his first pass attempt of the day when Brown fumbled after a first down run. However, the dominant Illini Defense held UVA to just 1 of 16 on third down conversions following this. HC Tony Elliot and crew will look to put this defeat in the rear view mirror and move forward.

Up Next vs. Old Dominion (1-1) Sat 09/17

Georgia Tech (1-1) defeats Western Carolina (1-1) 35-17

After a tough outing Monday against Clemson, a quick turnaround for the Yellow Jackets saw them in search of their first win of the year. They started quick out of the gate with four TDs in the first half. QB Jeff Sims went 8-17 for 100 yards and one INT. RB Dontae Smith shined with 11 carries for 102 yards and three TDs, with the GT running game being the most effective weapon on the day totaling 243 of their 343 total yards. Nate McCollum and Dylan McDuffie would both contribute with two rushing TDs. Western Carolina would keep the game competitive with QB Carlos Davis throwing two TDs in the first quarter. He finished 18-27 with 233 yards and an additional two INTs. The GT Defense would stifle any additional efforts with just one FG in the second half. This was a much needed win for the Yellow Jackets as they face a tough SEC opponent this week.

Up Next vs. 20 Ole Miss (2-0) Sat 09/17