CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Mark Fletcher Jr. punched in the go-ahead 2-yard touchdown on fourth down with 7:49 left and No. 1 Miami’s defense followed with a critical takeaway on a struggle-filled Saturday night to hold off North Carolina 38-35 and avoid a seismic upset. Marquise Lightfoot stripped UNC's Billy Edwards Jr. from behind for a critical takeaway after Fletcher's score. Miami added Darian Mensah's TD throw to Malachi Toney to make it a two-possession game. Edwards threw for a season-high 341 yards to go with four touchdowns for UNC, which had a shot at a huge win under NFL coaching icon Bill Belichick.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Steve Angeli hit little-used tight end Noah Meyers on a 2-yard scoring strike with 17 seconds to go and Syracuse defeated No. 19 SMU 30-27. The Orange (4-4, 2-4 ACC) got the ball on their own 32-yard line with 3:36 remaining while trailing 27-23. Angeli led Syracuse on an 11-play drive capped by Meyers’ first touchdown for Syracuse. It was Syracuse’s first win over a ranked team since Nov. 30, 2024. Angeli was 21 of 34 and 200 yards. Kevin Jennings threw for two scores and Kendrick Raphael ran 14 yards for what appeared to be a game-winner for SMU (6-2, 4-2) with nine minutes to go.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) — Ty Clark III scored on three short runs, Gio Lopez threw a touchdown pass and Connor Calvert kicked three field goals as No. 14 Wake Forest posted a 51-7 runaway win over Virginia to stretch its winning streak to five. Wake Forest (7-1, 4-1 ACC) posted the second biggest margin of victory over the Cavaliers (4-5, 2-4 ACC) in the 54-game history of the series. In their last four games, the Demon Deacons have surrendered three touchdowns while scoring 187 points. The Cavaliers have lost their last three.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Freshman running back Damon Ferguson ran for a season-high 185 yards and two touchdowns as Pittsburgh eased past Georgia Tech 34-11. The Panthers snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory to improve to 6-3 overall and become bowl-eligible. Holden Gernier passed for 180 yards passing and a touchdown to win for the first time as a starter. Georgia Tech fell to 2-6 with the loss. Georgia Tech's Alberto Mendoza struggled, passing for just 81 yards before being replaced in the fourth quarter by Grady Adamson. Georgia Tech hosts Louisville next week. Pitt is off until Nov. 13 when it welcomes Florida State to Acrisure Stadium.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Tait Reynolds threw a pair of touchdown passes, his first in more than a month, as Clemson jumped out to an early lead and held off a late rally, defeating Florida State 36-24 on Saturday. The freshman quarterback had not thrown a touchdown pass in four games, but he connected with Christian Bentancur and Olsen Patt-Henry on first-half touchdown passes as Clemson led 23-10 after 30 minutes. Reynolds sealed the win with a weaving 79-yard touchdown run on third-and-12 with 3:17 left for Clemson (5-3, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference). He completed 18 of 32 passes for 189 yards.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Lincoln Kienholz threw for 250 yards, two touchdowns and rushed for another score to lead Louisville to a 52-24 win over Stanford. Louisville recorded its first win over the Cardinal and extended Stanford’s road losing streak to 15 games, the longest active skid in the FBS. The Cardinals scored on back-to-back turnovers and outscored Stanford 21-7 in the third quarter to break the game open. Stanford led twice in the second quarter and tied the score at 24 in the third quarter before the hosts pulled away by scoring 28 unanswered points. Tre Richardson caught 10 passes for 140 yards for Louisville, which amassed 545 yards of offense.
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Nate Sheppard ran for three of his school-record five touchdowns in the first half as Duke rolled past Boston College 47-2 on Saturday. Sheppard gained 97 yards on 20 carries. He had touchdown runs of 1, 2, 54, 4 and 1 yards, helping keep the defending Atlantic Coast Conference champions in the title hunt. The Blue Devils (6-2, 3-2 ACC) produced the second-largest winning margin in an ACC game in team history. They’ve won two in a row after the first meeting with Boston College in four years. Walker Eget threw for 201 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Hasley for the final first-half touchdown that led to a 27-2 lead. Boston College (4-4, 2-3), which had a two-game winning streak end, was held to 213 yards of total offense.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — C.J. Bailey threw two touchdown passes, Davion Gause had 104 rushing yards, and N.C. State won its first game after firing Dave Doeren, defeating California 31-10. Doeren, the winningest coach in school history, was with the Wolfpack for 14 seasons. N.C. State broke the game open in the third quarter after California had tied the game 10-10 at the half. Bailey, who finished 13 of 25 passing for 192 yards, threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Chance Robinson in the third quarter and Cal did not score in the second half.
