Virginia wide receiver Kris Burd, offensive guard Austin Pasztor, and safety Rodney McLeod headline a list of nine players named as the ACC Football Players of the Week, announced by the conference on Monday. Burd, the Receiver of the Week, caught nine passes for 112 yards to help the Cavaliers defeat Maryland, 31-13. Pasztor, the Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week, had six knockdown blocks to help the Virginia offense amass a season-high 527 yards. McLeod, the Defensive Back of the Week, had three interceptions in the second half to secure the win.

NC State’s Terrell Manning, the Linebacker of the Week, had 11 tackles, a sack, three pass breakups, and three quarterback knockdowns in the 13-0 win over North Carolina, the first time the Wolfpack has shut out the Tar Heels in 51 years. Wil Baumann, the Specialist of the Week, downed four punts inside the North Carolina 10-yard line.

Florida State’s Anthony McCloud (Defensive Lineman of the Week) and Nick O’Leary (Rookie of the Week) helped the Seminoles defeat Boston College 38-7. Miami’s Jacory Harris (Offensive Back of the Week) and Tyler Horn (Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week) were key performers in the Hurricanes’ 49-14 win over Duke.

OFFENSIVE BACK – Jacory Harris, Miami, Sr., QB, 6-4, 195, Miami, Fla.

Harris threw three touchdowns in Saturday’s 49-14 win over Duke. Harris orchestrated scoring plays on the first four possessions of the game for the Canes. The signal-caller was 14-of-20 (70%) for 202 yards and passed for three scores. Harris became the second Miami quarterback to pass for 8,000 or more yards in his career. Harris entered the game with 7,895 passing yards and collected 202 against Duke to end with 8,097 yards. With his three touchdown passes, Harris moved into a fourth-place tie in ACC history with 68 career touchdown passes.

RECEIVER – Kris Burd, Virginia, Sr., WR, 6-1, 200, Matoaca, Va.

Kris Burd caught nine passes for 112 yards in Virginia’s 31-13 win at Maryland. It was the seventh 100-yard receiving day of his career. The nine receptions were a season high and the 112-yard performance was his second best game this season.

CO-OFFENSIVE LINEMAN – Austin Pasztor, Virginia, Sr., OG, 6-7, 305, Langton, Ontario

The senior offensive guard was nearly flawless in Virginia’s 31-13 victory at Maryland. Pasztor played 83 plays and graded out at 93 percent. He had six knockdown blocks as the Cavaliers rushed for 220 yards (4.9 yards per carry) and threw for 307 yards while rolling up a season-high 527 yards. Pasztor and the Cavalier line did not allow a sack as quarterback Michael Rocco attempted 36 passes. It marked the second straight game the unit has not allowed a sack.

CO-OFFENSIVE LINEMAN – Tyler Horn, Miami, Sr., OL, 6-4, 305, Memphis, Tenn.

Tyler Horn helped lead the Miami offense to 467 yards of total offense in a 49-14 win over Duke. The senior center directed an offensive line that did not allow a sack and saw quarterback Jacory Harris pass for three touchdowns and 202 yards. The Canes put up another 265 on the ground, including four scores. With the work of the line, running back Lamar Miller gained 147 yards to go over 1,000 for the season.

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN – Anthony McCloud, Florida State, Jr., NG, 6-2, 311, Thomasville, Ga.

McCloud posted a season-high five tackles (4 solos, 1 assist) from his nose guard position as the Seminoles held BC to 94 yards on 39 carries. Florida State ranks third in the nation in rushing defense. McCloud registered a tackle for loss and a forced fumble, dropping Boston College tailback Rolandan Finch for a six-yard loss on the second drive of the game. FSU recovered at the BC 2 and jumped out to a 7-0 lead it never relinquished. In addition to stuffing the run, McCloud’s ability to push the pocket contributed to FSU limiting BC to 207 total yards.

LINEBACKER – Terrell Manning, NC State, Jr., LB, 6-3, 233, Laurinburg, N.C.

Manning had a huge game for the Wolfpack, which shut out UNC for the first time in 51 years. Manning, a junior form Laurinburg, N.C., played 59 snaps and had 11 total tackles, a sack for 12 yards, three pass breakups and three quarterback knockdowns. Manning had three stops on third down and one stop on fourth down, all in the game’s final 20 minutes.

DEFENSIVE BACK – Rodney McLeod, Virginia, Sr., S, 5-11, 180, Oxon Hill, Md.

The Cavalier defensive back had three interceptions (all in the second half in an 18-minute span) in Virginia’s 31-13 victory at Maryland. McLeod’s first pick came at the Virginia 27-yard yard line after Maryland had driven to the UVa-30 with the Cavaliers holding a 21-13 advantage. UVa went on to score a TD following the turnover. Both of McLeod’s fourth-quarter interceptions came on fourth-down plays, one at the VA 23-yard line and the other at the VA-4 yard line. McLeod also led the Cavaliers in tackles with seven. He becomes the first ACC player this season to record three interceptions. McLeod becomes the first Cavalier to intercept three passes in a game since Anthony Poindexter (current assistant coach) against NC State in 1996. He becomes the fourth BCS player this season to record three interceptions in a single game.

SPECIALIST – Wil Baumann, NC State, Fr., P, 6-4, 185, Wilmington, N.C.

The Wolfpack’s freshman punter was invaluable in the victory over the Tar Heels. Baumann, from Wilmington, N.C., punted seven times for an average of 37.9 yards. He had five punts inside the UNC 20-yard line, four of which were downed at or inside the 10 (two downed at the 10, two at the 7). North Carolina’s average starting field position on its 13 possessions was its own 21.

ROOKIE – Nick O’Leary, Florida State, Fr., TE, 6-4, 240, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

The true freshman led the Seminoles with a career-high 87 receiving yards on three receptions, which also matched his previous single-game best. O’Leary’s 58-yard reception of an EJ Manuel pass set up Florida State’s third score, good for a 21-0 lead against Boston College. It was the longest reception by an FSU tight end since Lonnie Johnson’s 78-yard catch in 1993. O’Leary also had a 23-yard reception which set up FSU’s final touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter.

“We’re certainly hard at work trying to get ready to play a very good North Carolina football team,” N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien said with his Pack coming off a 34-0 loss at Florida State. “This is a great game. Glad to be part of it. Excited about the fact it’s at home. Look forward to kickoff starting 12:30 on Saturday.”

QUESTION: Coach, what kind of problems does Giovani Bernard present for your defense, the things he can do?

COACH O’BRIEN: Well, he has very good quickness. He has good vision. When you have a line that has three guys that are 6’7”, a couple 6’3”, 6’2”, guys all 300 pounds, he gets behind them and he pops out.
The thing he has, he has breakaway speed. He runs away from people, great cuts, has good vision. It will be a great challenge for our team.

QUESTION: What about his ability to catch passes out of the backfield?

COACH O’BRIEN: Well, that’s always a plus. I think Coach Shoop does a good job of using him in that capacity. He’s a complete player and has done a good job so far this year.

QUESTION: I know you have tried to put the Florida State loss behind you and move on immediately. Do you sense this week they’ve been doing that or is that one of those easier said than done kind of things?

COACH O’BRIEN: No, they put it behind them on Sunday. It’s easy when you have an opponent like North Carolina coming in here to forget everything else except what we have to get done for this Saturday.

QUESTION: In terms of looking at the Carolina game, do you feel like you are still at that point, how much of a gap is there between the two programs? Is it really as close as the past couple scores have indicated or do you sense because of the way you have been playing recently you’re headed in different directions?

COACH O’BRIEN: I have no idea. I mean, I don’t understand what you’re asking. I think we’ll compete very good here on Saturday.

QUESTION: Coming off that game last week, point of emphasis about how you played against UVA.

COACH O’BRIEN: Goes back to the fundamentals. Certainly we have to protect the quarterback, that has to be number one. That will be a challenge with their front four. They do a great job of putting pressure on the quarterback. Brown, he’s the number one sacker and number one tackler. He does a great job rushing the passer, too.
Those things each and every week, whether you win or lose, you have to move on to the last week and learn from the last. Hopefully we’ve learned our lesson and move on to the next game.

QUESTION: Learned your lesson in terms of the pass protection?

COACH O’BRIEN: Yes.

QUESTION: Coach, you guys had been running the ball effectively in recent games. It obviously didn’t happen. Was that a function of the way the game went or Florida State’s defense?

COACH O’BRIEN: I think a combination of Florida State’s defense. They’re fourth in the nation against the run, number one defense in the conference. When you get to a certain point, you’re forced to throw the football, they know what you’re doing, it compounds a lot of problems that you can have against a defense that’s like that. We couldn’t establish anything early in the first quarter. I think that was a bad thing for us.

QUESTION: Was this a step back?

COACH O’BRIEN: No. I mean, we still have to get better. The previous two weeks we played awfully well, the previous two games. So you have to count it as a setback. There’s still a lot of football left. You have these things back and forth during the season.
Whether it’s a long-term problem, we’re going to start finding out here on Saturday.