ACC football record book: A quick look at the rest of the records

Staff reports
·6 min read

Editor’s note: This is part of a 10-story series focusing on ACC football records.

Looking at records is fun.

For example, did you know that legendary former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, who played at N.C. State, still holds the record for most tackles per game in a season? During the 1979 season, during 11 games, Cowher averaged 17.7 tackles.

Or how about this weird statistic. In 1990, Wake Forest’s Anthony Williams set the record for longest kickoff return without a touchdown — 98 yards against Maryland. How does that happen?

Of course, some of the records are less obscure. UNC quarterback Mitch Trubisky holds the record for consecutive completions — 30 — over two games in 2016. And N.C. State quarterback Philip Rivers still holds several ACC passing records, including passing yards in a career with 13,484.

Over the past couple of weeks we dug deep into some of the most interesting or impactful ACC football records. Today, we finish the series by highlighting some of the rest — including some from our North Carolina schools.

UNC

  • AMOS LAWRENCE holds the records for most single-game rushing yards by a freshman, 286 against Virginia in 1977. DERRICK FENNER has the record for most by a sophomore, 328 against Virginia in 1986.

  • KELVIN BRYANT has the most touchdowns, six against East Carolina in 1981. That is also the record for most rushing touchdowns and most points scored in a game, 36.

  • RYAN SWITZER and ANDRE PURVIS share the record for most punt returns for touchdowns in a game with two apiece. Switzer also has the record for most returns for touchdowns in a season (five) and a career (seven).

NC STATE

  • Wolfpack quarterback RUSSELL WILSON has the mark for consecutive passes without an interception with 379.

  • MARC PRIMANTI has the record for consecutive field goals made, 27 in 1995 and 96.

  • LEDEL GEORGE found his specialty from 1990-93. He holds the record for most career punt returns, 125.

  • T.J. GRAHAM has the mark for most career kickoff return yardage, 3,153 yards from 2008-12. He also shares the record for longest scoring kickoff return, 100 yards.

DUKE

  • BEN BENNETT has the single-game passing yardage by a freshman record, 496 yards against Wake Forest in 1980.

  • CHRIS CASTOR has the record for single-game receiving yards, 283 against Wake Forest in 1982 when he was a senior.

  • JOHN TALLEY has the record for most interception return yardage for a career (2003-05) — 395 yards.

WAKE FOREST

  • GARY SCHOFIELD has the record for most single-game passing yards by a sophomore, 504 against Maryland in 1981. RUSTY LARUE has the record for most by a junior, 545 against N.C. State in 1995.

  • RILEY SKINNER has the mark for best completion percentage in a season, 72.4% in 2007.

  • WAYNE BAUMGARDNER is the single-game receiving yards by a junior record holder, with 271 against South Carolina in 1980.

  • JOHN LEACH had 411 all-purpose yards against Maryland in 1993, an ACC record.

  • ALEXANDER KINAL has the records for most punts in a season (95 in 2012) and in a career (337 from 2012-15).

  • ALPHONSO SMITH has the record for most career interceptions. From 2005-08 he picked off 21 balls.

  • Three Demon Deacons, MARCUS MCGRUDER, AARON CURRY and ALPHONSO SMITH share the record for most interceptions returned for touchdowns in a season, with three apiece. Curry and Smith each accomplished this in 2007 while McGruder did it in 2004. Smith also has the record for career interceptions returned for touchdowns with four.

GENERAL ACC RECORDS

  • Most career rushing yards — N.C. State’s TED BROWN (1975-78), 4,602 yards

  • Most single-season rushing yards — Boston College’s ANDRE WILLIAMS (2013), 2,177 yards.

  • Most single-game rushing yards — Boston College’s ANDRE WILLIAMS (2013 vs. N.C. State), 339 yards.

  • Most career passing yards — N.C. State’s PHILIP RIVERS (2000-03), 13,484 yards.

  • Most single-season passing yards — Clemson’s DESHAUN WATSON (2016), 4,593 yards.

  • Most single-game passing yards — Clemson’s DESHAUN WATSON (2016 vs. Pittsburgh), 580 yards.

  • Most career receptions — Duke’s CONNER VERNON (2009-12) and JAMISON CROWDER (2011-14), 283 apiece.

  • Most career receiving yards — Florida State’s RASHAD GREENE (2011-14), 3,830 yards.

  • Most single-season receptions — Duke’s JAMISON CROWDER (2013), 108.

  • Most single-season receiving yards — N.C. State’s Torry Holt (1998), 1,604 yards

  • Most single-game receptions — Syracuse’s ERVIN PHILLIPS (2017 vs. N.C. State), 17.

  • Most single-game receiving yards — Duke’s CHRIS CASTOR (1982 vs. Wake Forest), 283 yards.

  • Career all-purpose yards — Clemson’s C.J. SPILLER (2006-09), 7,588 yards.

  • Single-season all-purpose yards — Clemson’s C.J. SPILLER (2009), 2,680 yards.

  • Career scoring — Florida State’s DUSTIN HOPKINS (2009-12), 466 points.

  • Single-season scoring — Florida State’s ROBERT AGUAYO (2013), 157 points.

  • Career tackles — Boston College’s LUKE KUECHLY (2009-11), 532.

  • Single-season tackles — Boston College’s LUKE KUECHLY (2011), 191.

  • Career sacks — Virginia’s CHRIS SLADE (1989-92), 40.

  • Single-season sacks — Florida State’s PETER BOULWARE (1996), 19.

THE SCHEDULE FOR THIS SERIES

MAY 24 — Duke’s DeVon Edwards scored three non-offensive touchdowns in one game, including interception returns for touchdowns on consecutive plays from scrimmage.

MAY 25 — Big Jim Tatum won the first ACC championship as coach at Maryland. He went on to coach at UNC shortly after and had turned a struggling program around. He might have broken every ACC coaching record in the book and been on par with coaches like Bobby Bowden and Dabo Sweeney had he not died suddenly in 1959.

MAY 26 — Wake Forest quarterback Rusty LaRue holds records for single-game pass attempts (78), single-game pass completions (55), total offensive plays in a game (82) and a few others from a crazy 1995 stretch where he threw for 478 yards against Duke, 501 against Georgia Tech and 545 against N.C. State.

MAY 27 — N.C. State wide receiver Torry Holt has the record for most receiving touchdowns in a game with five against Florida State, which was ranked No. 3 in the country.

MAY 28 — Don McCauley, a UNC running back from 1968-70, has the ACC record for most rushing attempts in a season with 360 in 1970. He also owns the ACC record for the most plays from scrimmage in a single season with 375 that same year. The most interesting stat associated with McCauley is that he broke the ACC record for most rushing yards in a season with 1,863 yards in 1970, a record that stood for 43 years.

MAY 29 — Duke receivers Conner Vernon and Jamison Crowder are tied for the ACC career receptions record with 283 apiece. They were teammates for a time in the early 2010s.

MAY 31 — North Carolina’s Kendric Burney has the record for most interception return yardage in a game — 170 against Miami in 2009.

JUNE 1 — N.C. State’s Ted Brown still holds the ACC career rushing record, a mark he set from 1975-78.

JUNE 1 — Is Clemson’s Travis Etienne really getting ready to pass Ted Brown? They way the NCAA keeps records, it is hard to tell.

JUNE 2 — Wake Forest’s Tanner Price has the ACC passing record by a left-handed quarterback.

JUNE 3 — The 2011 Clemson team, which became the first in ACC history to win three straight games against ranked opponents. That team had a bevy of kids from the state of North Carolina.

JUNE 3 — A quick roundup of other ACC Records held by players from North Carolina schools, and other major ACC records in general.