If Matt Colburn was running like he had something to prove on Saturday, it’s because he did.
The Wake Forest senior had originally committed to play at Louisville, but his scholarship offer was rescinded by coach Bobby Petrino just 48 hours before national signing day in 2015. Now a member of the Deacons, Colburn got some sweet revenge by torching the school that snubbed him for a career-high 243 rushing yards and three touchdowns in leading his team to a 56-35 win against the Cardinals.
For his efforts, Colburn was named the ACC’s co-Running Back of the Week.
“I think after my freshman year, I just wanted to get rid of the whole revenge narrative because if it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t be at Wake,” Colburn said after the game. “… But it definitely is personal and it’s really just the icing on the cake just to go out like this and to get our season rolling again.”
Colburn did his damage on just 20 carries for a 12.3 yard average per carry. His eighth career 100-plus yard game gave him more yards on the ground than any back on Louisville’s roster has gained all season.
He was one of three Deacons to earn mention on the ACC’s weekly honor roll Monday.
Sophomore Carlos “Boogie” Basham was named Defensive Lineman of the Week after recording four tackles, including two for a loss, and recovering a fumble for a touchdown just before halftime. Senior safety Cameron Glenn, who forced the fumble Basham returned for the score, earned Defensive Back of the Week honors for a performance that also included 13 tackles in Wake’s first ACC win of the season.
Duke’s Deon Jackson shared the Running Back of the Week award with Colburn by setting a school single-game record and becoming just the third player in conference history to record more than 400 all-purpose yards in Saturday’s loss at Pittsburgh.
Jackson totaled 403 yards on 162 rushing yards, 89 receiving yards and 152 yards on kickoff returns. He had three plays of scrimmage of 50 yards while joining Clemson’s Tobias Palmer in 2012 and Wake Forest’s John Leach in 1993 as the only ACC players in the 400-yard club.
Also earning recognition this week is the NC State duo of Kelvin Harmon and Germaine Pratt.
Harmon is the league’s Receiver of the Week after catching 11 passes for 247 yards and two touchdowns in the Wolfpack’s 51-41 loss at Syracuse on Saturday. His yardage total was the second-highest in the FBS this season nationally and ranked only behind Torry Holt’s 255 yards against Baylor in 1998 on his school’s all-time list.
Pratt, meanwhile was selected as Linebacker of the Week for making a career-high 16 tackles, including 2.5 sacks. The senior is the ACC’s leader in tackles at 10.4 per game.
