2023 SCHEDULE – WEEK 8
SATURDAY, OCT. 21 TIME, TV SIRIUSXM APP/WEB
Boston College at Georgia Tech Noon, ACCN 109, 121, 193, 194 955 or 956
Series: Georgia Tech leads series, 7-4; Last meeting: Boston College, 41-30 (2021)
ACCN: Chris Cotter (play-by-play), Mark Herzlich (analyst), Sherree Burruss (sideline)
Pitt at Wake Forest 3:30 p.m., ACCN 109, 193, or 380 955 or 970
Series: Pitt leads series, 2-0; Last meeting: Pitt, 45-21 (2021)
ACCN: Jorge Sedano (play-by-play), Orlando Franklin (analyst), Marilyn Payne (sideline)
Virginia at No. 10 North Carolina 6:30 p.m., The CW 121, 194, or 383 956 or 973
Series: North Carolina leads series, 66-58-4; Last meeting: North Carolina, 31-28 (2022)
The CW Network: Tom Werme (play-by-play), James Bates (analyst), Treavor Scales (sideline)
No. 16 Duke at No. 4 Florida State 7:30 p.m., ABC 82 or 83 83 or
Series: Florida State leads series, 21-0; Last meeting: Florida State, 56-35 (2020) MadDogSports
ABC: Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Holly Rowe (sideline)
Clemson at Miami 8 p.m., ACCN 108, 109, 193, 202 955 or 965
Series: Clemson leads series, 7-6; Last meeting: Clemson, 40-10 (2022)
ACCN: Wes Durham (play-by-play), Tim Hasselbeck (analyst), Taylor Tannebaum (sideline)
Open: Louisville, NC State, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
ACC NOTES
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 8
For the seventh time this season, the ACC had at least four teams ranked in the Associated Press (AP) Top 25 poll, led by Florida State at No. 4. North Carolina (No. 10) joined FSU in the top 10 for the first time this season, while Duke (No. 16) and Louisville (No. 21) round out the ACC teams in the top 25. Clemson and Miami also received votes in this week’s poll. Four ACC teams were ranked in the USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll this week, nearly mirroring the AP Poll. Both Florida State (No. 4) and North Carolina (No. 10) were in the top 10, while Duke moved up one spot to No. 17. Louisville remained in the top 25 at No. 21, while Clemson and Miami also received votes in the coaches poll for the second 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 seven weeks. The ACC does not have a nonconference game this week.
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 9-43 overall versus the two Power 5 conferences.
THEN THERE WERE TWO
Entering Week 8 of play, the ACC still has two teams that remain unbeaten in Florida State (6-0) and North Carolina (6-0).
The ACC is one of just two conferences in the FBS with multiple undefeated teams, joining the Big Ten (3).
BOWL-ELIGIBLE TEAMS
Heading into Week 8 (Oct. 15-22), there are 20 bowl-eligible teams in FBS, highlighted by three teams from the ACC in Florida State, Louisville, and North Carolina.
The ACC’s three bowl-eligible teams to date are tied for the second-most of any FBS conference along with the SEC (Alabama, Georgia, Missouri) and the Pac-12 (Oregon State, USC, Washington) and behind only the Big Ten (Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State) with four teams.
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 seven weeks of the season, the ACC had five games on ABC’s “Saturday Night Football” as well as a total of 24 appearances on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2.
In addition to the games already played, the ACC will be featured in a top-20 matchup on ABC this week, as No. 16 Duke will play at No. 4 Florida State on ABC’s “Saturday Night Football”.
Overall, the ACC will have had six games on ABC’s “Saturday Night Football” – the most of any FBS conference – as well as 25 appearances on ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 over the first eight weeks of the season. To date, 18 ACC contests are scheduled for national ABC broadcasts, with 12 different league programs featured.
In Week 9 (Oct. 28), the ACC will have an ESPN Thursday Night primetime game with Syracuse at Virginia Tech (7:30 p.m./ESPN), while five games on Saturday, Oct. 28, have been put on a six-day flex and could end up on ABC and ESPN.
TALKING OFFENSE
Entering Week 8 of the 2023 season, the ACC has four teams that rank in the top 25 in total offense this season – Miami (7th, 501.8 ypg), North Carolina (8th, 501.3 ypg), Louisville (17th, 464.0 ypg), and Florida State (24th, 449.3 ypg).
The four teams in the top 25 are tied for the third-most of any FBS conference behind the Big 12 and Pac-12.
Three ACC quarterbacks rank in the top 26 in total offense this season, as North Carolina’s Drake Maye is tied for third in all of FBS with an average of 347.7 total yards per game. Georgia Tech’s Haynes King is 13th at 308.8 total yards per contest, while Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke ranks
26th at 291.0 yards per game.
Three ACC teams also rank in the top 15 nationally in scoring offense, led by Florida State at seventh at 42.2 points per game. Miami (37.7 ppg) is 13th in all of FBS, while North Carolina (37.3 ppg) ranks 15th nationally.
The ACC trio is tied with the SEC for the second-most of any conference in the top-15 in scoring this season and behind only the Pac-12 with four teams.
DISCUSSING DEFENSE
On the other side of the ball, the ACC has five teams ranked in the top 26 in total defense – Clemson (5th, 261.8 ypg), Duke (16th, 298.5 ypg), Miami (18th, 308.3 ypg), and Louisville (22nd, 317.9 ypg), and Pitt (26th, 325.3 ypg).
The five teams are tied with both the Big Ten and the SEC with the most teams in the top 26 in total defense this season.
The ACC also has four teams in the top 27 in FBS in scoring defense. The Duke Blue Devils rank fourth at 9.8 points per game allowed, while Florida State (23rd, 18.3 ppg), Miami (25th, 19.0 ppg), and Clemson (27th, 19.3 ppg) also rank in the top 27 nationally.
The four teams in the top 27 are the second-most of any conference in the FBS behind only the Big Ten (7).
NC State linebacker Payton Wilson leads the ACC and ranks fourth nationally in tackles per game with an average of 11.6 per contest and is tied for fourth with 81 total tackles this season. Joining him in the top 25 nationally in total tackles is Virginia Tech’s Keli Lawson with 59 total stops this season, which is tied for 22nd overall.
NCAA ACTIVE CAREER LEADERS
Entering Week 8 of the season, the ACC has several current standout student-athletes who are among the top five in active career leaders in all of FBS football.
The Tigers’ Shipley leads all active players in the FBS in career all-purpose yards per game at 120.43. He has totaled 3,613 all-purpose yards in his career – 2,370 rushing, 4548 receiving and 785 kick return yards – over 30 games played.
Florida State’s Verse is second among active players in FBS in career tackles-for-loss per game at 1.19 and third in total sacks per game at 0.64.
Virginia’s Kameron Butler is tied for third overall in career sacks with 22.5 overall.
North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye ranks in the top five of two career statistical categories, as the Tar Heel is fourth in total offense per game at 302.3 yards per contest and fifth in career passing efficiency at 158.53.
NC State’s Payton Wilson ranks fifth in total tackles with 345 career stops and in tackles per game at 8.41 per contest.
Syracuse’s Marlowe Wax and Duke’s DeWayne Carter are tied for fourth among all active FBS players with seven career forced fumbles, while North Carolina’s Antavious Lane is tied for second in career interceptions with 11.
The Orange’s Trebor Pena ranks fourth among all FBS players with a career kickoff return average of 27.0 yards.
PREVIEWING WEEK 8
For the second consecutive week, Week 8 will see five key ACC matchups, highlighted by a top-25 match on ABC’s “Saturday Night Football”.
Boston College and Georgia Tech both return from an open week to continue their winning ways with a noon ET (ACCN) kickoff in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday afternoon.
Pitt will travel to Wake Forest on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET (ACCN), as the Panthers snapped a four-game skid with a 38-21 win over then-No. 14 Louisville at home last weekend, while the Demon Deacons are looking to end a three-game skid at home this week, where they are 22-5 overall since the 2019 season.
North Carolina will look to not only remain unbeaten this season but also extend its road winning streak to eight straight games with a road contest at Virginia on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. (The CW). UVA is looking to pick up its second straight win following an open week last week.
The top-20 matchup between No. 16 Duke and No. 4 Florida State on Saturday (7:30 p.m./ABC) will highlight the ACC schedule, with both teams playing to stay atop of the ACC regular-season standings. However, it will not be an easy task for the Blue Devils, who have never beaten the Seminoles (21-0) on the gridiron. FSU has won 12 straight games dating back to last season, the third-longest streak in FBS to date.
Clemson will return to the field following an open week to take on Miami on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET (ACCN). Both teams are looking for a key conference win to get back into the top half of the ACC standings midway through the conference season.
STREAKIN’
The ACC has two teams riding winning streaks of six games or more entering Week 8 of the season, in Florida State and North Carolina.
School ……………………………………..Winning Streak
Florida State………………………………………………….12
North Carolina…………………………………………………6
In addition to the Seminoles’ 12-game overall winning streak, which is the third-longest winning streak and FBS to date, the Noles have won seven straight ACC conference games heading into play this weekend.
Wake Forest has won 12 straight non-conference games, the second-longest streak behind only Georgia and the Bulldogs’ 20-straight non-conference wins.
Louisville has posted an ACC-best eight-game home win streak following the Cardinals’ win over Notre Dame, the ninth-best in the FBS to date.
North Carolina has won seven straight road games, tied for the the third-longest streak behind Georgia (13) and Michigan (8).
AROUND THE ACC
Boston College: Quarterback Thomas Castellanos ranks third in the nation for rushing yards by a quarterback with 512. With 1,143 passing yards, he is one of three QBs in the country with 1,000 passing yards and 500 rushing yards thus far this season. He is tied for the FBS lead in QB rushing touchdowns with seven rushing scores.
Clemson: Clemson defensive end T.J. Parker recorded his fourth sack of the season in the fourth quarter of the home win over Wake Forest last time out. He has recorded at least one sack in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. Parker leads all freshmen nationally in tackles-for-loss and with 8.5 on the season. Through six games, he is already approaching Myles Murphy’s true freshman school record of 12.0 TFLs and more than halfway to the school record for any freshman (true or redshirt) set by Michael Dean Perry in 1984 with 15.0.
Duke: Due to an injury to starting quarterback Riley Leonard, redshirt freshman quarterback Henry Belin IV made his first career start and finished 4-of-12 passing for 107 yards with two touchdowns versus NC State. He also rushed five times for 28 yards and was sacked just once for the game. His 69-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jalon Calhoun was the longest passing touchdown of the season for the Blue Devils.
Florida State: Florida State is No. 4 in this week’s Associated Press Top 25, marking the seventh consecutive week FSU has been ranked in the top five, the program’s longest streak since 2013-14 when Florida State was in the top five for 27 consecutive polls. With the win last week over Syracuse, the Seminoles extended their winning streak to 12 games, the longest active streak in the ACC and the third-longest active streak in the country. FSU has scored at least 30 points in 12 straight games, the longest active streak in the ACC, the second-longest active streak in the nation, and the second-longest streak in ACC history, trailing only FSU’s 17 games from 2012-14. During its streak, Florida State has outscored its opponents 506-219.
Georgia Tech: Quarterback Haynes King leads the conference in points responsible per game at 18.0, total points responsible for with 180, and is tied for the ACC lead with 16 passing touchdowns. He is also second in the ACC in total offense at 308.8 yards per game, third in passing yards per game at 271.8, and fourth in total passing yards on the season with 1,631.
Louisville: Quarterback Jack Plummer finished 29-of-52 for 336 yards passing with one touchdown and two interceptions last week in the road loss at Pitt. He was also sacked four times for 48 yards. Plummer has completed a touchdown pass in all seven of his games at Louisville and nine straight games going back to his career at California. Plummer has two 300-yard passing games this season, while his 29 completions and 52 attempts were both the most by a Louisville player since Jawon Pass was 30-of-54 passing versus Wake Forest in 2018.
Miami: Miami’s Jacolby George had six catches for 125 yards and scored two touchdowns against North Carolina. The 125 receiving yards surpassed his previous career-high of 94 yards in the win over No. 23 Texas A&M earlier this year. On the season, George is second on the team with 29 catches for 462 yards and five touchdowns. He has caught at least two passes in each game this season, including a season-high six passes twice.
North Carolina: In just his second game of the season, Devontez Walker compiled six catches for 132 yards and three touchdowns in the Tar Heels’ 41-31 victory over Miami. With his three receiving touchdowns in a game, Walker became the first Tar Heel with three touchdown catches since Josh Downs against Wake Forest in 2022. Walker had a 20-yard run and 56-yard touchdown reception, making him the first Tar Heel to have a 50-yard reception and a 20-yard rush in the same game since Johnny White against Clemson in 2011. White had a 51-yard reception and a 26-yard rush.
NC State: NC State placekicker Brayden Narveson drilled a 57-yard field goal for the Wolfpack’s lone points in a road loss to Duke last week. The 57-yard field goal was a career-long for Narveson and is now the longest field goal in program history, breaking Damon Hartman’s previous best of 56 yards set in 1990. This season, Narveson is 8-of-10 in field goal attempts.
Pitt: Pitt quarterback Christian Veilleux threw for 200 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start to lead the Panthers to a 38-21 home win over previously unbeated Louisville. He was 12-of-26 passing overall. After starting 0-for-5, Veilleux completed 12 of his next 21 passes. His first completion was a 46-yard touchdown to Bub Means that tied the game at 7-7 at the 2:37 mark of the first quarter.
Syracuse: Running back LeQuint Allen Jr. recorded his fourth career 100 yard rushing game and third of the season last week at Florida State. He finished the contest with 110 rushing yards on 19 carries. He added three receptions for 16 yards and finished with 126 all-purpose yards for the game. This season, Allen Jr. has rushed for 511 yards and seven touchdowns for the Orange, posting 100-yard rushing games versus Colgate (Sept. 2), Army (Sept. 23), and Florida State (Oct. 14).
Virginia: Since returning from an injury in the season opener, quarterback Tony Muskett has completed 39-of-60 (65 percent) pass attempts for 479 yards and five touchdowns over Virginia’s last two games. He has thrown for over 200 yards in each of the last two games and totaled three touchdowns – two passing and one rushing – in the win over William & Mary two weeks ago.
Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech defensive end Antwaun Powell-Ryland entered the game last week versus Wake Forest with 3.0 sacks on the season. The redshirt freshman picked up 4.0 sacks against the Demon Deacons, tying the school records held by J.C. Price (Miami, 1995), Morgan Roane (William & Mary, 1985), and Bruce Smith (William & Mary, 1984 and Duke, 1983). He also picked up 4.5 tackles-for-loss, which tied the most TFLs in a game since 1987 with Woody Barron (Miami, 2016) and Barry Booker (Virginia, 2007). Overall, VT’s 13.0 tackles-for-loss last week versus the Deacs where the most since picking up 14.0 against Florida State in Tallahassee on Sept. 3, 2018.
Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons’ wideout Taylor Morin had a game-high seven receptions in the road contest at Virginia Tech last week, moving him up the all-time career receptions chart in Wake Forest history. His 148 pass receptions moved him into the top 10. Morin has hauled in 26 passes this season, including at least one reception in all six of the Demon Deacons games this year.
