ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com’s Heather Dinich

North Carolina kicker Casey Barth literally got swept up in the moment.

Upon kicking his team’s 21-yard game-winning field goal for a stunning 20-17 victory over Virginia Tech last Thursday night in hostile Lane Stadium, Barth was hoisted into the air by center Lowell Dyer and consumed by celebration.

On Friday, after having had some time to digest the magnitude of the win, Barth summed it up succinctly:

“I think it saved our season,” he said.

	Scott Halleran/Getty Images
	Casey Barth was carried off the field following Thursday’s win over Virginia Tech.

It very well might have.

After opening the season with three straight conference losses and feeling the pressure to stop a downward spiral, North Carolina (5-3, 1-3 ACC) did the seemingly impossible and marched into one of the nation’s most difficult places to win on a Thursday night and stunned the Hokies. Now the Tar Heels have increased their chances of finishing the season with a bowl game and a respectable record in Butch Davis’ third season.

“I think the guys needed the win -- skip the records and all that -- just on a personal level,” said safety Deunta Williams. “We put in so much hard work during the offseason, and for it not to manifest during the season, it was tough for guys to understand that. For us to go down there against a ranked opponent, a very good team, and just us against the world and no help from anyone at all but us, we come out with the win, it was more of a confidence builder, self-esteem builder, all of that good stuff. We really needed that.”

And Davis, Barth said, had a lot to do with giving the team the confidence it needed to actually pull it off.

“He has the stats, that last year we beat a lot of good, ranked teams, and obviously we have the athletes to do it,” Barth said. “He told us we definitely have the ability to beat them, we just have to put our best effort out there.”

They did, in all three phases of the game -- for all four quarters -- and that was the difference. Offensive coordinator John Shoop won the chess match against Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster, and the return of several healthy players helped him do it. Williams said UNC’s defense, which was humbled two weeks ago in the second half of a nationally televised loss to Florida State, was playing for pride as much as anything else.

The plan, Williams said, is to keep it up, but it doesn’t get any easier, as UNC will host its rival, Duke, on Saturday in another key Coastal Division game. The Blue Devils have won their past three conference games, including two on the road, and control their own destiny heading into Chapel Hill.

North Carolina, though, knocked off a team that just weeks ago was still in the running for the national title. And the Tar Heels did it in Lane Stadium, where the Hokies entered the game with a 9-2 record on Thursday nights.

“It wasn’t just a fluke or anything like that, especially playing against Virginia Tech,” Williams said. “It would be different if you were playing against someone who was less talented, but overall I think it was a good team and -- it’s not the first time we’ve done that, but it was the first complete game that we’ve played in all three stages, besides the ECU game, that we all came together and won as a team.”

And when that happens, it’s easy to get carried away.

“It was awesome,” Barth said. “I’ve never really experienced anything like that. It was one of the best moments of my life.”

Posted by ESPN.com’s Heather Dinich

Here are a few things worth keeping an eye on in the ACC this week (by the way, these are never ranked in order of interest, just generally 10 things to watch):

1. Clemson running back C.J. Spiller. He’s on the verge of becoming the first player in ACC history with 2,500 rushing yards, 1,000 receiving yards and 1,500 kickoff return yards. And, he just might accomplish all three on Saturday against Boston College. Spiller enters the game with 2,434 rushing yards, 986 receiving yards and 1,471 kickoff return yards. Last year, he gained a career high 242 all-purpose running yards in Clemson’s 27-21 win over BC.

2. BC’s quarterback surprise. Boston College coach Frank Spaziani has been quiet about which quarterback he’s leaning toward for Saturday’s game against Clemson, as both Justin Tuggle and Dave Shinskie have had success against lesser opponents. It’s go-time now, though, and one will have to emerge against better competition.

3. Duke’s non-quarterback controversy. So Thaddeus Lewis is the starter, coach David Cutcliffe has made that clear. But Sean Renfree has also proven he’s worth talking about, and can come off the bench to direct a come-from-behind win. Definitely worth watching.

4. Miami’s run defense against Georgia Tech’s spread-option offense. It’s the key to this game, and it was the cause of the Canes’ demise last year. If Clemson could figure out a way to limit Jonathan Dwyer to 66 yards and seven three-and-outs, then Miami should figure out a way to slow it down, too, especially considering it had a bye week to prepare for it. This will be an interesting test for first-year coordinator John Lovett.

5. The trenches in Blacksburg. Virginia Tech’s offensive line will face a talented defensive front in Nebraska, and how it blocks will determine whether Ryan Williams and David Wilson can continue the fancy footwork they had against Marshall last week.

6. Florida State’s improvement level. It’s not just the secondary that will be tested by BYU quarterback Max Hall. The Cougars will challenge the Noles in every phase of the game, and they’ll have to get better blocking from their offensive line, get the running game going, tackle better and make fewer mistakes. Bottom line: They can’t play like they did last Saturday and win.

7. North Carolina’s replacements. The Tar Heels have to hold it together after losing starting center Lowell Dyer and tight end Zack Pianalto for the next three to four weeks. Ed Barham or Christian Wilson will take over for Pianalto and Cam Holland will fill in again for Dyer. The Tar Heels will need to pave the way for Shaun Draughn and Ryan Houston, and give T.J. Yates some time to play like he did in the fourth quarter against Connecticut.

8. Upset watch in College Park -- again. James Madison almost did it last week before losing in overtime. Middle Tennessee did it last year. The Terps’ defense has struggled mightily in its first two games, and now will be without its top cornerback, Nolan Carroll, for the rest of the season. Can Maryland avoid an embarrassing home loss?

9. NC State cornerback Rashard Smith. He’s a true freshman who earned the starting job against Murray State and is slated to start again against Gardner-Webb. He is the first true freshman to start for NC State in the secondary since 2001, when Marcus Hudson (now with the San Francisco 49ers) started four games. Smith played just 24 snaps last week, but made three tackles and a tackle for loss. He now has two tackles for loss this season.

10. Number of sacks Virginia allows. The Cavaliers returned four starters to their offensive line, and it was supposed to be the one dependable aspect of the offense early in the season. Last week against TCU, though, Virginia allowed eight sacks, the most since giving up nine to Florida State in 1997. Virginia allowed just 16 sacks all of last year. Southern Miss has five so far this season. The Golden Eagles are in the midst of a seven-game winning streak and have not allowed more than 100 yards rushing during that span.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Heather Dinich

It wasn't a very revealing week in the ACC, but the conference did pick up some wins. Here are a few things we can gather from the Week 2 performances:

1. Georgia Tech’s offense can be defended. Clemson had outgained Georgia Tech 319-91 in total yards into the fourth quarter since falling behind 24-0. B-back Jonathan Dwyer -- the ACC’s reigning player of the year -- was held to just 66 yards on 18 carries. After the first quarter, the Tigers committed to stopping the option, and Georgia Tech was unable to score a touchdown for the rest of the game.

2. The ACC is resilient. It wasn’t always pretty (more like Ugly Betty), but the ACC did what it had to do to bounce back from last week’s losses. Wake Forest responded from its loss to Baylor against a tough Stanford team, Duke rebounded from its loss to Richmond on the road against Army, Maryland was able to stave off James Madison after its loss to Cal, and both Virginia Tech and NC State took out its aggression from Week 1 losses to the SEC and beat up on Marshall and Murray State, respectively. Florida State also got a win after losing to Miami.

3. Clemson looks like a true threat in the Atlantic Division. Despite its loss to Georgia Tech, the Tigers had no shame in their second-half performance on Thursday night, as they came back from a 24-point deficit to lead 27-24 lead in the fourth quarter. The coaching staff made a comeback, along with the team, and did a better job of getting the ball to their playmakers than their predecessors did. Unlike last year in Atlanta when the Tigers were embarrassed by Alabama, this team didn’t quit on coach Dabo Swinney. Clemson’s performance, coupled with Florida State’s poor play, leaves the door wide open for the Tigers.

4. UNC desperately needs to keep its blockers healthy. The Tar Heels were noticeably weaker up front without starting center Lowell Dyer (shoulder) and offensive guard Jonathan Cooper (ankle), and they missed the blocking of fullback Bobby Rome, who stayed home with H1N1 symptoms. They weren’t able to get anything going on the ground and finished with just 35 rushing yards. T.J. Yates was sacked six times and UNC was held scoreless with just 134 yards of total offense through three quarters.

5. Duke has a winning backup quarterback. For all of the questions and inexperience surrounding backup quarterbacks in the ACC this year, look no further than Durham for a dependable No. 2. In his first collegiate action, Sean Renfree came off the bench in the second half to complete 7 of 8 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns to lead Duke to a come-from-behind 35-19 win over Army. With Duke trailing 10-7 midway through the third period, Renfree threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Brett Huffman on his first collegiate pass to give the Blue Devils the lead -- their first of the 2009 season. On Duke's next possession, Renfree engineered a nine-play, 78-yard drive that ended with a 31-yard touchdown to Donovan Varner for a 21-13 lead early in the final period.

Posted by ESPN.com's Heather Dinich

So there were three noon starts in the ACC today, and at halftime in each of those three games, the ACC is trailing. Congrats to Duke, though, for scoring the lone touchdown so far. Duke trails Army on the road, 10-7, Wake is struggling at home with Stanford, 14-3, and UNC is in a defensive game and trailing Connecticut, 3-0. UNC is really missing starting center Lowell Dyer and offensive guard Jonathan Cooper. The Heels have minus-5 yards rushing in the first half, and no doubt not having those guys up front has something to do with it, but so does UConn's defense.