Duke earns spot in ACC title game
Duke coach David Cutcliffe and his players talked openly all season about winning a division title and earning a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.
On Saturday, the No. 24 Blue Devils made the once-thinkable goal a reality complete with Cutcliffe being carried off the field as his players celebrated with Duke fans in their rival’s stadium.
Ross Martin kicked a 27-yard field goal with 2:22 left for a 27-25 win at North Carolina, clinching the Coastal Division championship with the Blue Devils’ eighth straight victory. Duke faces No. 2 Florida State in next weekend’s ACC title game in Charlotte, where the heavy underdog Blue Devils will go for their first league crown since 1989.
“It’s easy to look forward to next week,” left guard Dave Harding said, “but right now I think it’s OK to kind of revel in what we’ve just done.”
Anthony Boone threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns to Jamison Crowder for the Blue Devils (10-2, 6-2 ACC), who also secured the long-suffering program’s first 10-win season. DeVon Edwards returned a kickoff for a 99-yard touchdown and had the game-sealing interception with 13 seconds left to turn away the Tar Heels (6-6, 4-4).
That play started the celebration on the Duke sideline. Minutes after Boone’s kneel down closed it out, defensive linemen Sydney Sarmiento and Justin Foxx had hoisted Cutcliffe on their shoulders, giving the sixth-year coach a great view of his Blue Devils mingling with celebrating fans in a corner of UNC’s Kenan Stadium.
“It was pretty special, a great moment,” Cutcliffe said. “I don’t mind these Gatorade baths. Our equipment people have to kind of figure out how to launder all that stuff I’m wearing.”
Cutcliffe inherited a program that had gone 2-33 in the three seasons before his arrival and hadn’t had a winning record or reached a bowl since 1994.
He got the Blue Devils back to a bowl last year. Now his Blue Devils eligible for a bowl in consecutive seasons for the first time are going for more.
“He’s the first one to really come here when the team was in the dumps and say, ‘I’m going to change this program around,”‘ Boone said of Cutcliffe. “And people were laughing at him. It all goes back to him.”
Florida State 37, Florida 7: Jameis Winston threw three touchdown passes to Kelvin Benjamin, and No. 2 Florida State moved a step closer to playing for the national championship with a 37-7 victory against rival Florida.
The Seminoles improved to 12-0 for the first time since 1999 and likely will earn a spot in the Bowl Championship Series title game by beating Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game next Saturday.
Northwestern 37, Illinois 34: Northwestern quarterback Trevor Siemian threw for 414 yards and four touchdowns and Christian Jones caught 13 balls for 182 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Wildcats past Illinois 37-34 in the finale for both teams.
Siemian was 31-44 and didn’t throw an interception.
The win ended a seven-game losing streak for Northwestern (5-7, 1-7 Big Ten).
Syracuse 34, Boston College 31: Terrel Hunt hit tight end Josh Parris with an 8-yard touchdown pass with 6 seconds remaining, and Syracuse stunned Boston College 34-31 to become eligible for the postseason for the third time in four years.
Virginia Tech 16, Virginia 6: Trey Edmunds took a short pass 26 yards for a first-half touchdown and Eric Kristensen kicked three field goals as Virginia Tech beat Virginia for the 10th consecutive time, 16-6.