2023 SCHEDULE – WEEK 9
THURSDAY, OCT. 26 TIME, TV SIRIUSXM APP/WEB
Syracuse at Virginia Tech 7:30 p.m., ESPN 133, 134, 193, 194 955 or 956
Series: Syracuse leads series, 11-8; Last meeting: Syracuse, 41-36 (2021)
ESPN: Matt Barrie (play-by-play), Dan Mullen (analyst), Harry Lyles Jr. (sideline)
SATURDAY, OCT. 28 TIME, TV SIRIUSXM APP/WEB
No. 4 Florida State at Wake Forest Noon, ABC 137, 138, 193, 194 955 or 956
Series: Florida State leads series, 30-9-1; Last meeting: Wake Forest, 31-21 (2022)
ABC: Bob Wischusen (play-by-play), Robert Griffin III (analyst), Kris Budden (sideline)
UConn at Boston College Noon, ACCN 389 or 390 979 or 980
Series: Boston College leads series, 12-1-2; Last meeting: UConn, 13-3 (2022)
ACCN: Chris Cotter (play-by-play), Mark Herzlich (analyst), Sherree Burruss (sideline)
Clemson at NC State 2 p.m., The CW 94, 205, or 391 968 or 981
Series: Clemson leads series, 60-29-1; Last meeting: Clemson, 30-20 (2022)
The CW Network: Tom Werme (play-by-play), James Bates (analyst), Treavor Scales (sideline)
Virginia at Miami 3:30 p.m., ACCN 159, 206, or 390 969 or 980
Series: Miami leads series, 12-8; Last meeting: Miami, 14-12 (4OT) (2022)
ACCN: Jorge Sedano (play-by-play), Orlando Franklin (analyst), Marilyn Parker (sideline)
No. 20 Duke at No. 18 Louisville 3:30 p.m., ESPN 137, 138, 193, 194 955 or 956
Series: Louisville leads series, 3-0; Last meeting: Louisville, 62-22 (2021)
ESPN: Sean McDonough (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst), Molly McGrath (sideline)
Pitt at No. 14 Notre Dame 3:30 p.m., NBC/Peacock 85 or 129 85 or 129
Series: Notre Dame leads, 50-21-1; Last meeting: Notre Dame, 45-3 (2020)
NBC: Jac Collinsworth (play-by-play), Jason Garrett (analyst), Zora Stephenson (sideline)
No. 17 North Carolina at Georgia Tech 8 p.m., ACCN 137, 138, 193, 194 955 or 956
Series: Georgia Tech leads, 32-22-3; Last meeting: Georgia Tech, 21-17 (2022)
ACCN: Wes Durham (play-by-play), Tim Hasselbeck (analyst), Taylor Tannebaum (sideline)
ACC NOTES
The ACC Board of Directors voted on Sept. 1 to formally admit the University of California, Berkeley (Cal), Southern Methodist University (SMU) and Stanford University to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Cal, SMU and Stanford will join the ACC as full members with full voting participation effective July 1, 2024 (SMU) and Aug. 2, 2024 (Stanford and Cal). The decision followed the submission of letters of application from all three institutions.
The additions of Cal, SMU and Stanford enhance and strengthen the ACC academically, athletically and financially as well as create a true national conference that spans coast to coast. The incoming universities enrich the league’s competitiveness in all sports and further demonstrate the ACC’s commitment to broad-based programs for both women and men. More than 2,200 student-athletes from Cal, SMU and Stanford will join the nearly 10,000 current ACC student-athletes competing at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics.
GREATNESS IS WHAT WE DO
The ACC announced its new creative campaign, “ACCOMPLISH GREATNESS,” a multi-part brand campaign highlighting the vast success of the ACC’s athletics and academics alike. The campaign launched ahead of the ACC’s official college football season on Week 1. The series will continue with multi-sport spots highlighting the ACC’s incredible accomplishments in all sports throughout the academic year.
FOUR ACC TEAMS RANKED IN TOP 25 IN WEEK 9
For the eighth week this season, the ACC had four teams ranked in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 poll, led by Florida State at No. 4. North Carolina (No. 17), Louisville (No. 18), and Duke (No. 20) round out the ACC teams in the top 25. Miami is also receiving votes.
Four ACC teams were ranked in the USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll this week, nearly mirroring the AP Poll. Florida State (No. 4) remained in the top five, while North Carolina (No. 17) and Louisville (No. 18) were in the top 20. Duke fell to No. 21. Miami and Clemson also received votes in the coaches poll for the third consecutive week.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
The ACC has been solid in non-conference play this season, going 33-13 (.717) overall in non-conference play over the first eight weeks. The ACC has two nonconference games this week.
The ACC is tied for the second-most non-conference wins among all FBS conferences with 33 victories.
The ACC has eight non-conference Power 5 wins, the most among all FBS conferences.
Eight of the ACC’s 33 non-conference wins have come against the Big Ten and the SEC (8-5 combined record), with the ACC recording four wins over each of the two conferences. The rest of FBS is 9-44 overall versus the two Power 5 conferences.
TOUGHEST IN THE LAND
The ACC has the highest strength of schedule as a conference in the SportSource Analytics conference rankings (53.07) among all FBS conferences.
The ACC has 26 wins against teams with a .500 record or better, the most among all Power 5 Conferences.
ONE SCORE IN ACC PLAY
42.3 percent of the ACC’s conference games (11-of-26) have been decided by one score or less this season, the second-highest among all Power 5 conferences.
SEMINOLES STAND STRONG
Florida State is 7-0 overall and 5-0 in ACC play to start the season, the Noles’ best start since 2014 when they started 13-0 and posted a perfect 8-0 ACC record.
The Seminoles are one of just nine undefeated teams remaining in FBS this season (counting James Madison, which is in its second year of transition to the FBS level).
BOWL-ELIGIBLE TEAMS
Heading into Week 9 (Oct. 23-28), there are 30 bowl-eligible teams in FBS, including three teams from the ACC in Florida State, Louisville, and North Carolina.
Two teams in the Duke Blue Devils (5-2) and Miami Hurricanes (5-2) are one win away from becoming bowl eligible, while five other teams are two wins away.
With Louisville’s 33-20 win over then-No. 10 Notre Dame (Oct. 7) in Week 6, the Cardinals became the first ACC team and one of just five teams to become bowl eligible in the first six weeks of the season along with Georgia, Michigan, USC, and Oklahoma.
Since 2017, the ACC has averaged 10 bowl-eligible teams each year, including a high of 11 teams in 2018. Last season, the ACC had nine teams play in a bowl game.
ACC ON ABC/ESPN
During the first eight weeks of the season, the ACC had six games on ABC’s “Saturday Night Football” as well as a total of 26 appearances on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2.
In addition to the games already played, the ACC will be featured in three games on ABC and ESPN this week, Week 9, as No. 4 Florida State will play at Wake Forest on Saturday, Oct. 28, at noon ET on ABC. Syracuse and Virginia Tech will play Thursday night on ESPN (7:30 p.m.), while No. 20 Duke and No. 18 Louisville will play on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Overall, the ACC will have had six games on ABC’s “Saturday Night Football” – the most of any FBS conference – as well as 32 appearances on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 over the first 10 weeks of the season. To date, 19 ACC contests are scheduled for national ABC broadcasts, with 13 different league programs featured.
In Week 10 (Nov. 2-4), the ACC will have one game on ABC – either Florida State at Pitt OR Notre Dame at Clemson on Saturday, Nov. 4 – and a total of three games on either ESPN or ESPN2.
DOING IT ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL
Louisville and Miami rank in the top 25 nationally in both total offense and total defense, two of just six teams to rank in the top 25 for both in all of FBS.
Louisville is 18th in total offense (460.7 ypg) and 25th in total defense (317.9 ypg), while Miami is 10th in total offense (481.9 ypg) and 21st in total defense (313.6 ypg). n Miami also ranks in the top 25 nationally in both scoring offense (15th; 36.3 ppg) and scoring defense (25th; 19.1 ppg).
TALKING OFFENSE
Entering Week 9 of the 2023 season, the ACC has four teams that rank in the top 25 in total offense this season – North Carolina (5th, 499.7 ypg), Miami (10th, 481.9 ypg), Louisville (18th, 460.7 ypg), and Florida State (24th, 445.1 ypg).
Three ACC quarterbacks rank in the top 25 in total offense this season, as North Carolina’s Drake Maye is third in all of FBS with an average of 350.0 total yards per game. Georgia Tech’s Haynes King is seventh at 315.3 total yards per contest, while Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke ranks 22nd at 291.0 yards per game.
Four ACC teams rank in the top 30 nationally in scoring offense – Florida State (5th, 41.6 ppg), Miami (15th, 36.3 ppg), North Carolina (18th, 35.9 ppg), and Louisville (28th, 34.1 ppg) – the second-most of any Power 5 conference.
The ACC has seven teams ranked in the SportSource Analytics relative scoring offense percentage rankings – Florida State (3rd, 173.23%), Miami (14th, 149.12%), North Carolina (19th, 143.96%), Clemson (26th, 131.19%), Duke (27th, 130.80%), Georgia Tech (28th, 130.38%), and Louisville (29th, 129.03%) – the most of any conference in FBS.
DISCUSSING DEFENSE
On defense, the ACC has five teams ranked in the top 30 in total defense – Clemson (7th, 276.1 ypg), Miami (21st, 313.6 ypg), Duke (24th, 315.9 ypg), Louisville (25th, 317.9 ypg), and Pitt (26th, 321.7 ypg) – tied for the second-most of any Power 5 conference.
NC State linebacker Payton Wilson leads the ACC and ranks third nationally in tackles per game with an average of 11.6 per contest and is seventh overall with 81 total tackles this season. Joining him in the top 25 nationally in total tackles is North Carolina linebacker Cedric Gray who is tied for 16th nationally at 10.0 tackles per game and 20th overall with 70 total tackles on the year.
The ACC also has four teams in the top 35 in FBS in scoring defense – Duke (5th, 13.9 ppg), Florida State (21st, 18.6 ppg), Miami (25th, 19.1 ppg), and Clemson (32nd, 19.7 ppg).
Six ACC teams rank in the top 25 in red zone defense – Duke (2nd, 61.1%), Louisville (4th, 64.3%), Syracuse (8th, 66.7%), Florida State (12th, 69.6%), North Carolina (19th, 73.1%), and Wake Forest (t-21st, 73.7%) – tied for the most of any FBS conference.
PREVIEWING WEEK 9
Week 9 of the 2023 season will see all 14 ACC teams back in action, highlighted by six conference matchups, including a top-20 matchup between No. 20 Duke and No. 18 Louisville.
Syracuse and Virginia Tech both return to action following a bye week on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) in Blacksburg, Virginia. The Orange will look to snap a three-game skid, while VT will look to pick up its third ACC win of the year.
On Saturday, Boston College is seeking its fourth consecutive victory when the Eagles step out of ACC play to host UConn (Noon ET/ACCN), while No. 4 Florida State puts its undefeated record on the line on the road at Wake Forest in a pivotal ACC matchup (Noon ET/ABC).
Clemson and NC State (2 p.m. ET/The CW) will both be looking to bounce back from an ACC loss in their last outings, while Virginia heads to Miami (3:30 p.m./ ACCN) on a two-game winning streak and coming off the program’s first-ever road win over a nationally-ranked top10 opponent last week at North Carolina.
The top-20 matchup between No. 20 Duke and No. 18 Louisville on Saturday (3:30 p.m./ESPN) will highlight the ACC schedule, with both teams looking to stay in contention for a trip to the ACC Football Championship Game on Dec. 2 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Pitt will take on yet another top-25 opponent with a road game at No. 14 Notre Dame (3:30 p.m./NBC) in nonconference play, while No. 17 North Carolina and Georgia Tech will meet in Atlanta (8 p.m./ACCN) with both suffering ACC losses at home last week.
AROUND THE ACC
Boston College: The Eagles rushed for 308 yards last week in the road win at Georgia Tech and surpassed 300 yards on the ground for the second week in a row. BC last rushed for 300 or more in back-to-back games in 2017, with games against Connecticut and Syracuse. Quarterback Thomas Castellanos scored on a 12-yard run in the final minute of the second quarter and added a 43-yard score on fourth-and-1 in the fourth. He has nine rushing touchdowns on the season. Castellanos is one of four FBS quarterbacks with multiple 100-yard rushing games and the only Power 5 quarterback with multiple 100-yard rushing games.
Clemson: Clemson tight end Jake Briningstool recorded a career-high 126 yards on five receptions with two touchdowns, his first career multi-touchdown game, last week versus Miami. His 126 receiving yards broke Clemson’s school record for single-game receiving yards by a tight end, surpassing Jordan Leggett’s 122 yards against Florida State in 2016. He became the third Clemson player to score two receiving touchdowns in a game this season, joining Tyler Brown and Antonio Williams, and became the first Clemson tight end to catch multiple touchdowns in a game since Davis Allen at Wake Forest last season.
Duke: With starting quarterback Riley Leonard exiting the game early at Florida State due to injury, junior running back Jaquez Moore rushed for a career-best 110 yards on 16 carries with one score in the loss. He posted his first career 100-yard rushing game and added a 42-yard touchdown score, his longest rush of the season. The touchdown marked his third rushing touchdown of the year
Florida State: With his two-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter that gave FSU its first lead of the game in the home win over Duke last week, quarterback Jordan Travis passed 2000 Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke for FSU’s total offense record. He ended the game with 330 total yards and has 9,548 yards for his career. Travis tied a career-high with 27 completions for 268 yards and a pair of touchdowns. On the ground, Travis ran for a season-high 62 yards and a third score. With his three touchdowns, Travis has accounted for multiple touchdowns in 14 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the country, and tied with 2013 Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston for the Florida State record. Travis is one of five ACC players over the last 20 years with a streak of 14 or more games: Trevor Lawrence (17), Kenny Pickett (16), Deshaun Watson (14), and Winston (14).
Georgia Tech: Quarterback Haynes King recorded 150 rushing yards in the loss to Boston College last week. His 150 yards on the ground were a career-high, the most by a Yellow Jacket since Hassan Hall had 157 rushing yards against Pittsburgh on Oct. 1, 2022, and the most by a Yellow Jacket quarterback since Tobias Oliver had 215 rushing yards at Virginia Tech on Oct. 25, 2018. King’s 71-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was not only the longest play of the season for the Yellow Jackets but also the longest rush of his career and the longest rush by a Georgia Tech quarterback since TaQuon Marshall’s 78-yard touchdown run versus Virginia on Nov. 4, 2017.
Louisville: Louisville has won eight consecutive home contests after losing to Florida State on Sept. 16, 2022. The eight-game home winning streak is tied for the seventh-longest in the country. The Cardinals are looking for their first nine-game home winning streak since the 2015 and 2016 seasons. The Cards are looking for their second-straight win over opponents ranked in the Associated Press Poll for the first time since defeating West Virginia and Florida in 2011, as they host No. 20 Duke this Saturday.
Miami: Miami freshman quarterback Emory Williams made his first career start in place of the injured Tyler Van Dyke last week versus Clemson Williams completed 24-of-33 passes for 151 yards with one touchdown and one interception, hitting wide receiver Colbie Young in the end zone to cut Clemson’s lead to 17-14 and then driving the Canes into field goal range where Andy Borregales tied it with a 38-yarder to send it to overtime.
North Carolina: Running back Omarion Hampton rushed for 112 yards on 19 carries versus Virginia last week, which marked the fifth game of his career and the third of the season in which he rushed for over 100 yards. He is the first Tar Heel to rush for 100 yards in back-to-back games since Sam Howell in 2021 when he rushed for 101 and 104 yards against Notre Dame and Wake Forest. Hampton is the first UNC running back to tally three 100- yard games in a season since Ty Chandler in 2021. Hampton leads the ACC in rushing with 770 yards and an average of 110.0 rushing yards per game.
NC State: NC State’s KC Concepcion is the first true freshman in school history ever to post more than one 100-yard game in a season – and he has two in just seven games this year. The last freshman to have multiple 100- yard games in a season was Koren Robinson in 1999 with five, but he had redshirted the previous campaign. The Wolfpack’s leading receiver in 2023, Concepcion ranks sixth in the ACC with 5.3 catches per game. He’s led or tied the team in catches in five of the seven games on the season.
Pitt: Pitt quarterback Christian Veilleux is set to make his third career start when Pitt plays at Notre Dame this week. Veilleux is coming off a career performance, throwing for 302 yards and two touchdowns on 28-of45 passing at Wake Forest.
Syracuse: Syracuse’s strength of schedule through its first seven games ranks 12th in the nation according to ESPN’s College Football Power Index (FPI) and has the most difficult schedule to date of any team in the ACC. All three of Syracuse’s losses have come against teams ranked in the top 20 of ESPN’s FPI, which measures teams’ true strength on a net points scale; expected point margin vs. average opponent on a neutral field.
Virginia: UVA running back Mike Hollins scored the Cavaliers’ first three touchdowns, two in the first quarter and his third with 3:56 left in the third quarter. He has six total touchdowns for the season (5 rush, 1 receiving) and 13 for his career (12 rush, 1 receiving). His three touchdowns in a game were the most by a Cavalier since Bryce Perkins scored three against Duke in 2019. The three rushing scores are the most by a UVA running back since Wayne Taulapapa against Florida State in 2019.
Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech transfer wide receiver Jaylin Lane has scored a touchdown in every home game this season. Two weeks ago, he made a significant mark during the win over Wake Forest, recording his first 100-yard receiving game as a Hokie, and added his first two-touchdown performance to the list of accolades as well. He hauled in three receptions for 102 yards and averaged 34 yards per catch, which all started with an electric 75-yard touchdown in the second quarter in which he outraced everyone to the end zone.
Wake Forest: Wake Forest is coming off the program’s first-ever win over Pitt, a 21-17 victory at home in the closing seconds of the game. The Demon Deacons hold a 23-5 (.821) record in home contests since the start of the 2019 season, which included a program-record 11-game winning streak spanning from the 2020 to 2022 seasons. The 81.5 percent win rate at home ranks second in the ACC since 2019, behind only Clemson.
