David M. Hale 6y

Wake Forest offense leads ACC's All-Bowl team

As bowl seasons go, it wasn't exactly a great one for the ACC, which finished just 4-6 with losses in both New Year's Six games. But there were plenty of big individual performances, from Wake Forest's offense to NC State's defense and beyond. Here's our ACC All-Bowl team for 2017.

QB: John Wolford, Wake Forest

It was a record-setting performance for Wolford, who wrapped his Wake career with an impressive 468 total yards and four touchdowns in the Belk Bowl win over Texas A&M.

RB: AJ Dillon, Boston College

The Eagles frittered away a chance to topple Iowa in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl, but that wasn't on Dillon, who was superb once again, finishing with 157 yards and a touchdown.

RB: Matt Colburn, Wake Forest

There was plenty of offense to go around for the Deacons, but Colburn definitely got his share, racking up 150 yards on the ground, including a touchdown.

WR: Auden Tate, Florida State

With two of FSU's top receivers missing the game, the pressure was on Tate to step up. He didn't disappoint. Tate finished the Walk-on's Independence Bowl with five catches for 84 yards and three touchdowns.

WR: Scotty Washington, Wake Forest

The Deacons hit the trifecta (and, as we'll note, nearly grabbed the tight end spot, too) with a terrific performance by Washington, who caught nine balls for 138 yards and a touchdown.

TE: Tommy Sweeney, Boston College

Yes, Cam Serigne was worthy of consideration here, too, but we couldn't pass up on Sweeney, who set career highs in catches (7) and yards (137) and hauled in a touchdown for BC.

OL: Will Richardson, NC State

QB Ryan Finley was exceptional for the Wolfpack in a win over Arizona State, and the success of the offensive line was a big reason why. Richardson didn't allow a pressure in the game, and NC State racked up 482 yards of total offense.

OL: Ryan Anderson, Wake Forest

We can't have a bunch of Wake skill position players on the list and not include a lineman. Anderson had three knockdown blocks against Texas A&M and didn't allow a sack as Wake racked up 646 yards of offense.

OL: Josh Ball, Florida State

The Seminoles averaged better than six yards a play in a breakout performance for the offense, and Ball graded out with an 81.5 while clearing the way for FSU runners at more than seven yards a clip when running his direction.

OL: Wyatt Teller, Virginia Tech

The Hokies couldn't muster enough offense to upend Oklahoma State in the Camping World Bowl, but the line did its job well, blocking for a Virginia Tech offense that ran the ball 48 times for 272 yards.

C: Austin Davis, Duke

Davis proved to be the Blue Devils' top lineman, as Duke totaled 465 yards of offense in the Quick Lane Bowl, allowing just two sacks to an Northern Illinois defense that came into the game ranked among the nation's best pass-rushing units.

DL: Christian Wilkins, Clemson

While the Tigers' offense couldn't muster much of anything against Alabama, Wilkins and the defense looked stout. He recorded eight tackles from his defensive tackle position, holding the Tide to just 3.36 yards per rush.

DL: Chad Thomas, Miami

Mark Richt wasn't thrilled with the lack of holding calls, but even if Wisconsin got a little too handsy in the Capital One Orange Bowl, Thomas still looked sharp, racking up four tackles, two for a loss, one sack and a pass breakup.

DL: Trevon Hill, Virginia Tech

Don't be surprised if Hill blossoms into a star in 2018, with his Camping World Bowl performance as a jumping-off point. He recorded two tackles for loss, one sack and a QB hurry for the Hokies' D against an explosive Oklahoma State offense.

LB: Airius Moore, NC State

In a dominant win over Arizona State, Moore led the Wolfpack with 10 tackles and picked off a pass. The 10 tackles represented a season high and were just one shy of his career-best mark.

LB: Kendall Joseph, Clemson

It certainly wasn't Joseph's fault the Tigers fell short in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The senior linebacker finished off a stellar career with a terrific 10-tackle performance, including one tackle for loss and a forced fumble.

LB: Trevon Young, Louisville

The Cardinals' season ended on a down note, but Young finished strong. The Louisville linebacker racked up 9.5 tackles in a loss to Mississippi State, including three tackles for loss and a sack.

LB: Joe Giles-Harris, Duke

After racking up a whopping 117 tackles in the regular season, Giles-Harris finished off a stellar season with eight tackles against Northern Illinois, including one for a loss, while also adding two QB hurries.

S: Jarius Morehead, NC State

Like Wake's offensive outburst, there were big games all over the NC State defense, with Morehead turning in a spectacular performance, racking up five tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery.

S: Nate Andrews, Florida State

Andrews wrapped up his extensive FSU career with bowl MVP honors and eight tackles in a win over Southern Miss, in which the Eagles managed just 129 yards through the air.

CB: Stanford Samuels, Florida State

The highly recruited defensive back came into his own in Florida State's bowl win, racking up five tackles -- including a season-high four solo stops -- with one tackle for loss and a forced fumble.

CB: Essang Bassey, Wake Forest

OK, so there were a few big plays in the Belk Bowl, and Texas A&M's offense was explosive. But Bassey made his share of plays, too, with nine tackles and three pass breakups in the win.

K: Alex Spence, Clemson

Much maligned after he took over the job midseason, Spence was the only ACC kicker to connect on multiple field goals of 40 yards or more. He also accounted for all of Clemson's points in the loss to Alabama.

P: Zach Feagles, Miami

After struggling down the stretch, Feagles looked sharp in Miami's loss to Wisconsin. He punted four times, including a 54-yarder, and Miami netted 41.5 yards per punt to lead all ACC teams in their bowl games.

Returner: Joe Reed, Virginia

Aside from Reed's opening kick return, the bowl game went horribly for Virginia. But let's focus on the positives. Reed took the opening kick 98 yards for a score. He added two other decent returns, but the Cavaliers mustered virtually nothing else after his touchdown.

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