For all the greatness this season has given us in the ACC, upsets have not been part of it. There were two clear top teams in the league – is anyone else losing really considered an upset? – and they had two combined losses, with both being to the same Notre Dame team. And coming into Week 12, with Clemson and North Carolina playing Miami and Georgia Tech, respectively, this surely didn’t seem like the week. But how about them Bees? The Yellow Jackets flew into Chapel Hill and pulled off the stunning upset of the No. 12 Tar Heels. There were other games, and we’ll get into takeaways down below, but that game deserved some special attention in the lead.

Florida State 49, Louisiana 17

Another week, another demolition for the Seminoles, this time against an overmatched Sun Belt team in the Ragin’ Cajuns. A fun statistic coming out of this game is that ULL’s quarterback Chandler Fields actually passed for more yards than Jordan Travis, but that’s been typical of Florida State’s offense lately. Instead, the Seminoles chose again to simply run the opposing defense into the ground, this week for 251 yards and five touchdowns. A measuring stick game is coming next week against Florida, but for now Florida State clearly looks like the team to beat in that matchup.

Virginia Tech 23, Liberty 22

The losing streak is over for the Hokies! Virginia Tech was able to step up when it needed to, most notably on Liberty’s last drive of the game, where the Hokies forced a fumble by quarterback Johnathan Bennett. In addition, they didn’t beat themselves in this game, either, finishing with minimal penalties and zero turnovers. This may have not been the ideal start to his tenure for Brent Pry, but defeating a good Liberty team on the road has to give the fan base some hope as the season wraps up.

Pittsburgh 28, Duke 26

Despite out-gaining the Panthers, Duke couldn’t make it back to Durham with a win in a game with plenty of mistakes for both sides. The Blue Devils were given short fields on multiple occasions due to two picks thrown by Kedon Slovis, but couldn’t take advantage on either ensuing drive, finishing with zero points off of turnovers. In addition, Pitt recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown, which proved to be the difference in the game. Despite all this, Duke had a chance to tie the game with a two-point conversion, but couldn’t convert a trick play. With the victory, Pitt clinches a winning season yet again, and Pat Narduzzi seems to have fully returned to 7-5 form.

Notre Dame 44, Boston College 0

As soon as reports surfaced that all five of Boston College’s offensive linemen were battling sickness this week, smart money would have guessed the Eagles would have trouble pulling off their second consecutive ranked upset. And smart money would have been right. Notre Dame jumped out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back, moving forward behind a devastating rushing attack that would gain 281 yards on the night. On Boston College’s side, four turnovers in the first half didn’t help the Eagles’ case, and the team’s rushing woes continued, this time gaining just 56 yards on 1.6 yards per carry. An expected loss, for sure, but still disappointing in Chestnut Hill.

Clemson 40, Miami 10

The Hurricanes had eight yards in the first half. Total. Sometimes it’s just one of those days. Clemson’s defense was nearly impenetrable all afternoon, but Miami also didn’t help itself, either, turning the ball over twice and committing three times as many penalties. Clemson reverted back to old habits in this game, withering away on offense in the second half, but a strong opening period from DJ Uiagalelei especially meant the game was never in doubt. In a game some thought might be the highlight of conference play ended up being yet another blowout for the league.

Louisville 25, NC State 10

Before the start of the game, most pundits expected a defensive slugfest, especially given the uncertainty at quarterback for both teams. And after a scoreless first quarter, it was clear the game would be headed in that direction. The Wolfpack trotted out their fourth quarterback of the season in Ben Finley, and while he didn’t play poorly, he wasn’t going to win NC State the game, either. On Louisville’s side, Brock Domann didn’t have a particularly strong outing, but running back Jawhar Jordan certainly did, returning a kickoff for a 98-yard touchdown and adding nearly 100 yards on the ground in a game Louisville controlled from start to finish. Don’t look now, but the Cardinals have a chance for eight wins after starting out 0-3 in ACC play.

Georgia Tech 21, North Carolina 17

We should have known this game was going to be weird because it had a kickoff time of 5:30 p.m. EST. North Carolina jumped out to a 17-0 lead, and you’d be forgiven if you thought this game would be another classic Tar Heels blowout. But the Yellow Jackets — as they have all season — showed fight until the very end, even with the tag-team backup quarterback duo of Zach Gibson and Taisun Phommachanh. We finally found out what happens when North Carolina’s offense isn’t firing on all cylinders, and it isn’t pretty. Drake Maye threw his first interception in five games, and Josh Downs had a brutal drop in the end zone that would’ve given the Tar Heels the lead. And the defense — while playing well for much of the game — couldn’t stop Georgia Tech when it mattered most, allowing the team to run out the clock for the win. An absolute shocker in Chapel Hill by all accounts.

Wake Forest 45, Syracuse 35

The Orange finally found their stride on offense, but unfortunately Syracuse can’t seem to have two good things at once in the back half of this season. Wake Forest – and especially Sam Hartman – got back on track offensively at home, with its quarterback throwing for four touchdowns and no interceptions. In addition, the Demon Deacons had a balanced attack overall, rushing for over 200 yards as well. Garrett Shrader threw for over 300 yards for the Orange, but was only able to find the end zone once through the air. Overall, Wake Forest simply outscored Syracuse, and the battle of teams that had fallen off in recent weeks was won by the Demon Deacons.