ACC Week 8: Under the Radar Quarterbacks Impress

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In the Atlantic Coast Conference, two quarterbacks taking up most of the attention are No. 6-ranked Miami’s (7-0, 3-0) senior Cam Ward—who at one time was the betting favorite for the Heisman Trophy—and No. 9 ranked Clemson’s (6-1, 5-0) junior Cade Klubnik, who has led the team to an undefeated start after the Tigers’ relative down year last season.

However, in a league with considerable quarterback depth, some of the under-the-radar signal callers have quietly impressed. Examples of this are found in Kevin Jennings of No. 21 SMU (6-1, 3-0), Hank Bachmeier of Wake Forest (3-4, 1-2) and CJ Bailey of NC State (4-4, 1-3).

Kevin Jennings: A Dominant Performance

The Mustangs’ sophomore signal caller continues to put together a solid season, throwing for 3 touchdowns and 322 yards on 17-of-27 passing in a 40-10 road victory over the Stanford Cardinal (2-5, 1-3).

The 3 touchdowns thrown also stretched the field, for an average of 56.7 yards per touchdown pass, including an 87-yard opening score to SMU wide receiver Moochie Dixon.

Jennings' performance saw him named to the week's Davey O'Brien Award Great Eight.

Jennings, it should be mentioned, was not SMU’s starter at the beginning of the season. He was given the starting job after head coach Rhett Lashlee benched Preston Stone to give his team a spark after the a Sept. 6 loss to BYU (7-0, 4-0 Big 12 Conference).

Jennings has been a major asset to the Mustangs’ offense, completing 66 percent of his passes for a total of 1,336 passing yards on the season. He has a host of available weapons as well, with six different receivers having reached the end zone for the Mustangs.

All this has led to the Mustangs winning eight consecutive road games dating back to last season, and becoming bowl-eligible before the end of October.

Lashlee is almost certainly thanking his lucky stars to have found an underclassman quarterback who has taken the reins so effectively, and it can only mean good things for SMU in the future.

Hank Bachmeier: Looking for a Home in the ACC

On Oct. 19, senior Bachmeier put together a gritty performance in a win against UConn (4-3), completing 21 passes on 36 attempts for 274 yards, with his lone mistake coming on an end zone interception to close out the first half.

He completed several long passes, and connected with senior wideout Taylor Morin six times for 104 yards. Together with a bend-but-don’t-break defensive performance, the Demon Deacons were able to defeat the Huskies by a score of 23-20.

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Bachmeier had an eventful college career before ending up in Winston-Salem in 2024. The one-time Boise State Bronco and Louisiana Tech Bulldog has only completed one full season in his career, in 2021.

However, this season he has been trusted by head coach Dave Clawson to lead the Demon Deacons’ offense.

In their next game on Oct. 26, Bachmeier has a chance to have a big game against a Cardinal team ranked 102nd in the country in total defense.

Although Wake Forest has struggled at times this season, with a bit of momentum on their side after a close victory, Bachmeier will look to build on his strong performance and lead Wake Forest to another win and get his team to .500.

CJ Bailey: More Than Just a Fill-in

With starter Grayson McCall sidelined due to various injuries this season, most recently in NC State’s game against Wake Forest on Oct. 9, Head Coach Dave Doeren had freshman signal caller CJ Bailey behind center.

On Oct. 19, he had an impressive stat line in a 24-23 victory over Cal (3-4, 0-4), throwing for 2 touchdowns and 305 yards on 25-of-36 passing.

Both touchdown passes came in the fourth quarter, helping the Wolfpack overcome a 23-10 deficit.

For his performance, Bailey was named ACC Rookie of the Week.

The quarterback from Miami has thrown for 1,376 yards on the season, only trailing fellow ACC counterpart Eli Holstein of No. 19 Pitt (6-0, 2-0) in that stat among freshmen nationwide.  

Although the Wolfpack have faltered at times this season, Bailey appears to be a bright spot for the team, and something that fans can look forward to in the seasons to come.

After a bye in the upcoming week, the Pack will host Stanford and their previously-mentioned struggling defense on Nov. 2. It will be a chance for Bailey to show Doeren that he can put in his faith him for the foreseeable future.

While star quarterbacks like Ward and Klubnik dominate headlines in the ACC, the performances of under-the-radar players like Jennings, Bachmeier and Bailey shouldn’t be overlooked. These signal callers have each made significant impacts on their teams and are quietly shaping the conference landscape.