Malik Cunningham Louisville vs. Duke 11-18-2021 Photo by William Caudill, TheCrunchZone.com

Malik Cunningham Named ACC Quarterback of The Week

Mark BlankenbakerNovember 22, 2021

The Atlantic Coast Conference Football Players of the Week have been recognized following their standout performances in last weekend’s games.

The selections are determined by a vote of a select media panel. The following are this week’s honorees:

QUARTERBACK – Malik Cunningham, Louisville, Jr., QB, Montgomery, Ala.
Passed for 303 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 224 yards and two more scores in Thursday night’s 62-22 win over Duke • Became the second player in FBS history to pass for 300 yards and rush for 200 yards in a game, joining Washington’s Marques Tuiasosopo versus Stanford on Oct. 30, 1999 • Cunningham (303/224) finished with higher totals than Tuiasosopo (302/207) in both categories • Cunningham’s 527 total yards marks the fourth-highest single-game total by a Louisville player • Second player in Louisville history to be responsible for seven touchdowns in a game (Lamar Jackson had three such games) • The 224 rushing yards fell just two yards shy of Jackson’s record for rushing yards by a UofL quarterback • Cunningham set the Louisville record for yards per carry in a game by a player with at least 10 attempts, averaging 20.4 on just 11 carries.

RUNNING BACK – Kobe Pace, Clemson, So., RB, Cedartown, Ga.
Rushed for a career-high 191 yards on 24 carries with two touchdowns in Saturday’s 48-27 win over No. 10 Wake Forest • The rushing total marked the highest by a Clemson player since Travis Etienne’s 212 yards against Wofford in 2019 • Pace joined Will Shipley (112 yards) to give Clemson multiple 100-yard rushers in a single game for the first time since 2018 • Second ACC weekly of honor of the 2021 season.

RECEIVER – Jordan Addison, Pitt, So., WR, Frederick, Md.
Led the way in Saturday’s 48-38 win over Virginia that lifted the Panthers to the Coastal Division title and a berth in the Subway ACC Football Championship Game • Hauled in four touchdown catches, including a victory-clinching 62-yard score with 2:10 left • Totaled 202 receiving yards on 14 catches • Became the first Pitt player to reach 200 receiving yards since Larry Fitzgerald in 2003 • Four TD catches tied the Pitt single-game record set by Julius Dawkins in 1981 and tied by Billy Davis in 1994 • Leads the nation with 15 touchdown receptions • Per Pro Football Focus, Addison leads the country with 18 catches of 20-plus yards.

OFFENSIVE LINEMAN – Jordan McFadden, Clemson, Jr., OT, Spartanburg, S.C.
Graded out at 92 percent with three knockdowns in Saturday’s 48-27 win over Wake Forest • Helped power Clemson’s offense to season highs in total yards (543) and rushing yards (333) • McFadden and The Tigers allowed zero sacks despite starting their seventh different offensive line combination of the season.

DEFENSIVE LINEMAN – Keir Thomas, Florida State, Sr., DE, Miami, Fla.
Named ACC Defensive Lineman of the Week for the second time after setting a career high with 3.0 tackles for loss and tying a career-high with 2.0 sacks in FSU’s 26-23 win at Boston College • Led the country with 11 QB pressures in Week 12 • Ranks sixth in the conference with 12.0 tackles for loss, including 7.5 TFL and 5.5 sacks over the past four games • Led the Seminole defense to a season-high 11.0 tackles for loss versus BC • The Eagles’ three first-half points were the fewest allowed by FSU in a road game since 2017.

LINEBACKER – Drake Thomas, NC State, So., LB, Wake Forest, N.C.
Led the Wolfpack in tackles in Saturday’s 41-17 win over Syracuse, helping NC State maintain an undefeated home record and kept alive its hopes of an Atlantic Division title • NC State held Syracuse to just 236 yards of total offense and just 66 passing yards • Intercepted his third pass of the year (tied for fourth in the ACC) and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown • While playing 60 snaps at middle linebacker, racked up eight tackles • Made 2.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and 2.0 sacks • Earned a 91.7 grade from Pro Football Focus, tops among all Power Five linebackers in Week 12 • Honored as ACC Linebacker of the Week for the second time this season.

DEFENSIVE BACK – Akeem Dent, Florida State, Fr., S, Pahokee, Fla.
Had three tackles, a pass breakup and his first career interception in Saturday’s 26-23 win at Boston College • The interception came on BC’s final drive as the Eagles sought a potential game-winning score • Extended FSU’s streak to seven games with an interception, the third-longest active streak in the nation and FSU’s longest since 2007 • Leads FSU with 12 pass breakups this season.

SPECIALIST – Israel Abanikanda, Pitt, So., KR, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Delivered one of the most crucial plays of Saturday’s 48-38 win over Virginia when he returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown • The TD broke a 14-14 tie in the second quarter, and Pitt never trailed again • It was the Panthers’ first kickoff return for a touchdown since 2018.

CO-ROOKIE – Will Shipley, Clemson, Fr., RB, Weddington, N.C.
Recorded 112 rushing yards on 19 carries with two rushing touchdowns and also threw for a touchdown in Saturday’s 48-27 win over Wake Forest • Rushed for multiple touchdowns in a fourth game this season to tie Travis Etienne (four in 2017) for the most games with multiple rushing touchdowns by a Clemson true freshman since 2000 • Threw a two-yard touchdown pass, the first by a Clemson non-quarterback since Sammy Watkins’ 52-yard touchdown pass to Andre Ellington at Florida State in 2012 • Became the first Clemson non-quarterback to both rush for a touchdown and throw for a touchdown in a game since C.J. Spiller — Shipley’s position coach — did so at NC State in 2009 • Third ACC Rookie of the Week accolade of 2021.

CO-ROOKIE – Tyler Van Dyke, Miami, Fr., QB, Glastonbury, Conn.
Fourth ACC Rookie of the Week honor in five weeks for Van Dyke, who continued his stellar first year with a standout performance in Miami’s 38-26 win over Virginia Tech • Finished with 357 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, completing 19 of 33 passing attempts • Became the only ACC quarterback in the last 15 seasons with five straight games of at least 300 passing yards and at least three touchdowns.