ACC PREVIEWS
Thursday, Sept. 2
USF (0-0, 0-0 AAC) at NC State (0-0, 0-0 ACC)
7:30 p.m.; ACCN
NCSU leads series, 2-1
Last meeting: NCSU, 49-17 (2014)
Head Coaches:
USF – Jeff Scott (1-8 in second season at USF and overall)
NC State – Dave Doeren (55-46 in ninth season at NC State; 78-50 in 11th season overall)
Notes:
Head coach Dave Doeren’s NC State squad becomes the first ACC football team to hit the playing field for the 2021 season when it welcomes USF, led by former Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott • The Wolfpack won two of three previous games versus the Bulls, beginning with a 14-0 victory in the 2005 Meineke Car Care Bowl in Charlotte, N.C. • NC State also claimed the most recent meeting between the teams in 2014 in Tampa as WR Bra’Lon Cherry rushed for two touchdowns and caught a third to account for the Wolfpack’s first three scores in the 49-17 road win • USF won the only previous meeting in Raleigh by a 41-10 score on Sept. 27, 2008 • The Bulls entered that contest as the nation’s 13th-ranked team • This year’s game is the first of a home-andhome series between the programs, with the Wolfpack slated to visit Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium again in September 2024.
Friday, Sept. 3
#10 North Carolina (0-0, 0-0 ACC) at Virginia Tech (0-0, 0-0 ACC)
6 p.m.; ESPN
VT leads series, 24-13-6
Last meeting: UNC, 56-45 (2020)
Head Coaches:
North Carolina – Mack Brown (84-56-1 in 13th season at North Carolina; 259-132-1 in 33rd season overall)
Virginia Tech – Justin Fuente (38-26 in sixth season at Virginia Tech; 64-49 in 10th season overall)
Notes:
North Carolina’s win in Chapel Hill last October snapped a four-game Virginia Tech winning streak in the series, which was first played in 1895 • RB Michael Carter ran for a career-high 214 yards and two touchdowns, and QB Sam Howell threw three touchdown passes to lead the Tar Heels • The most recent meeting in Blacksburg between the teams in 2019 saw the Hokies claim a 43-41 decision in a six-overtime marathon that stands as the longest game in ACC history • QB Quincy Patterson’s two-point conversion run in the sixth OT provided the game-winning points for the home team • Virginia Tech is 13-3 versus the Tar Heels in ACC play • Nineteen games in the series have been played at neutral sites, including the 1997 Gator Bowl (a 42-3 UNC win) • North Carolina cities Charlotte, Raleigh and Winston-Salem have played host to the game • Virginia sites have included Danville, Richmond, Roanoke and Norfolk.
Friday, Sept. 3
Duke (0-0, 0-0 ACC) at Charlotte (0-0, 0-0 C-USA)
7 p.m.; CBSSN
Duke leads series, 1-0
Last meeting: DU, 53-19 (2020)
Head Coaches:
Duke – David Cutcliffe (74-88 in 14th season at Duke; 118-117 in 20th season overall)
Charlotte – Will Healey (9-10 in third season at Charlotte; 22-31 in sixth season overall)
Notes:
This will be the second meeting between the programs on the gridiron and will mark Duke’s first-ever game versus the 49ers in Charlotte • The Blue Devils posted a 53-19 win in last year’s inaugural matchup in Durham as RBs Mataeo Durant and Deon Jackson both delivered a pair of touchdown runs • The game, played on Oct. 31, wound up being the next-to-last of the season for the 49ers, who did not play again until Dec. 6 due to pandemic-related cancelations and finished the year 2-4 • This year’s game will be the first of two in-state non-conference games to open the season for Duke, which is set to play host to North Carolina A&T on Sept. 10 • Charlotte is 0-3 in previous meetings versus ACC teams, losing 70-14 at Louisville in the 2016 season opener and dropping a 52-10 decision at Clemson in 2019 before falling to the Blue Devils last year • The 49ers are kicking off their ninth college football season.
Friday, Sept. 3
ODU (0-0, 0-0 C-USA) at Wake Forest (0-0, 0-0 ACC)
7 p.m.; ACCN
First meeting
Head Coaches:
Old Dominion – Ricky Rahne (0-0 in first season at Old Dominion and overall)
Wake Forest – Dave Clawson (40-45 in eighth season at Wake Forest; 130-125 in 22nd season overall)
Notes:
Wake Forest, seeking its sixth consecutive bowl-game season under head coach Dave Clawson, faces Old Dominion for the first time • Clawson coowns the school record for bowl victories (3), is tied for third-most wins in school history (40), and has led Wake Forest to a five-year period (2016-20) of success that had been unmatched since the 1940s • Old Dominion will be making its debut under head coach Ricky Rahne, former offensive coordinator at Penn State • Rahne has been at the helm of the program for almost two years, but the Monarchs’ entire 2020 season was wiped out due to the pandemic • The game versus the Demon Deacons will be ODU’s first since a loss to Charlotte on Nov. 30, 2019 • One of the games wiped from last season’s slate was a scheduled Wake Forest road trip to face the Monarchs • That contest has been rescheduled for 2023.
Saturday, Sept. 4
Colgate (0-0, 0-0 Patriot) at Boston College (0-0, 0-0 ACC)
Noon; ACC Network
First meeting
Head Coaches:
Colgate – Stan Dakosty (0-0 in first season at Colgate and overall)
Boston College – Jeff Hafley (6-5 in second season at Boston College and overall)
Notes:
Boston College’s first-ever meeting against Colgate kicks off a run of four consecutive nonconference games for the Eagles to open the 2021 season • BC’s six victories under Jeff Hafley last season were the most for any first-year head coach in college football in 2020 • Colgate, a member of the Patriot League, is coming off an 0-2 spring season that was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic • This fall’s opener will mark the head coaching debut of Stan Dakosty, a Colgate alum and long-time Raiders assistant who has been on the sidelines for seven of Colgate’s 10 Patriot League championships • Boston College has won four consecutive season openers since dropping a 17-14 decision to Georgia Tech in Ireland to open the 2016 campaign • This will be the first year since 2018 (at home vs. UMass) that the Eagles have opened with a non-ACC game.
Saturday, Sept. 4
#14 Miami (0-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. #1 Alabama (0-0, 0-0 SEC)
3:30 p.m.; ABC
Alabama leads series, 14-3
Last meeting: Alabama, 34-13 (1993)
Head Coaches:
Miami – Manny Diaz (14-10 in third season at Miami and overall)
Alabama – Nick Saban (165-23 in 16th season at Alabama; 256-65-1 in 27th season overall)
Notes:
Miami takes on defending national champion Alabama in a matchup of preseason top-15 teams in the weekend’s first Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium • The teams will be meeting for the 18th time on the gridiron but for the first time since Alabama’s 34-13 win in the 1993 Sugar Bowl that decided the national championship • Miami and Alabama both entered that game unbeaten and ranked 1-2 nationally • This year’s game will mark the eighth straight in which at least one of the teams has been ranked among the nation’s top four, and third consecutive game in which both have been nationally ranked • Two of Miami’s three wins came in back-to-back years (1954 and 1955, both at home), and the third came by a 33-25 score in the 1990 Sugar Bowl • Alabama owns the longest active winning streak in college football (14 straight).
Saturday, Sept. 4
UMass (0-0) at Pitt (0-0, 0-0 ACC)
4 p.m.; ACCN
First meeting
Head Coaches:
UMass – Walt Bell (1-15 in third season at UMass and overall)
Pitt – Pat Narduzzi (42-34 in seventh season at Pitt and overall)
Notes:
The Panthers face the Minutemen in football for the first time, but the programs have one strong connection • Current Pitt offensive coordinator Mark Whipple was the head coach at UMass from 1998 to 2003 and again from 2014 to 2018 • Whipple guided the Minutemen to the FCS national title in 1998 • UMass has competed for the last six years as an FBS independent after leaving the MAC following the 2015 season • Pitt is opening its football season at home for the 11th consecutive year • In his first six seasons at Pitt (2015-20), head coach Pat Narduzzi has directed the Panthers to 29 victories in ACC play, the conference’s third-highest win total during that span • Pitt trailed only Clemson (46) and Miami (32) during that span • The Panthers open with four consecutive non-conference games, with a road trip to Tennessee on Sept. 11 followed by home games versus Western Michigan and New Hampshire.
Saturday, Sept. 4
Syracuse (0-0, 0-0 ACC) at Ohio (0-0, 0-0 MAC)
7 p.m.; CBSSN
Syracuse leads series, 2-0
Last meeting: SU, 38-0 (1921)
Head Coaches:
Syracuse – Dino Babers (24-36 in sixth season at Syracuse; 61-52 in 10th season overall)
Ohio – Tim Albin (0-0 in first season at Ohio; 25-8 in fourth season overall)
Notes:
The 2021 opener marks the first meeting between the programs in exactly 100 years • The Orange won the previous two matchups by a combined 111-0 • The Orange shut out Ohio 73-0 in 1916 and blanked the Bobcats again 38-0 in 1921 • Both of those games were played in Syracuse • This year’s game is the first of a home-and-home set, with Ohio scheduled to visit Syracuse in 2014 • Syracuse sixth-year head coach Dino Babers will face the Bobcats for the first time since his two-year stint in the MAC at Bowling Green (2014-15) • Meanwhile, the Bobcats will be under the watch of first-year head coach Tim Albin, the program’s long-term offensive coordinator who was promoted following veteran Frank Solich’s retirement in July • In his only previous head coaching stint, Albin posted a 25-8 record at Northwestern Oklahoma State (1997-99) and led the program to the NAIA national title his final year.
Saturday, Sept. 4
#3 Clemson (0-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. #5 Georgia (0-0, 0-0 SEC)
7:30 p.m.; ABC
Georgia leads series, 42-18-4
Last meeting: UGA, 45-21 (2014)
Head Coaches:
Clemson – Dabo Swinney (140-33 in 14th season at Clemson and overall)
Georgia – Kirby Smart (52-14 in sixth season at Georgia and overall)
Notes:
Georgia and Clemson make the short trip to Charlotte for the Duke’s Mayo Classic and one of college football’s premier Labor Day weekend matchups • The third-ranked Tigers hope to improve on a 7-1 record at Bank of America Stadium that includes wins in the 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 ACC Football Championship Games • Georgia defeated Louisville in the 2014 Belk Bowl in its lone previous appearance in the venue • The most recent meeting between the Tigers and Bulldogs came at the outset of that 2014 season • RB Todd Gurley ran for 198 yards and three touchdowns and returned a kickoff 100 yards for another score to lead No. 12 Georgia to a 45-21 win over No. 14 Clemson in Athens • The schools first met in 1897 (a 24-0 Georgia win in Athens) • That game marked the first time Clemson played a game outside the state of South Carolina • The teams have met eight previous times at neutral sites.
Saturday, Sept. 4
N Illinois (0-0, 0-0 MAC) at Georgia Tech (0-0, 0-0 ACC)
7:30 p.m.; ACCN
First meeting
Head Coaches:
Northern Illinois – Thomas Hammock (5-13 in third season at Northern Illinois and overall)
Georgia Tech – Geoff Collins (6-16 in third season at Georgia Tech; 21-26 in fifth season overall)
Notes:
Georgia Tech opens at home for the first time in three seasons under head coach Geoff Collins • The Yellow Jackets meet Northern Illinois for the first time,
and the game will be the first for the Huskies against a FBS opponent from the state of Georgia • NIU is 2-8 all-time against teams from the ACC • Georgia Tech will face a MAC opponent for only the second time and the first since a 63-17 win over Bowling Green in September of 2018 • The Yellow Jackets will be playing their first Saturday night home opener in nine years • Georgia Tech is slated to play four of its first five games in Atlanta • Georgia Tech should be young but talented as it seeks to improve on last year’s 3-7 campaign • Collins has compiled back-to-back nationally lauded recruiting classes, including 13 of the 45 highest-rated recruits in school history, according to 247Sports.
Saturday, Sept. 4
William & Mary (0-0, 0-0 CAA) at Virginia (0-0, 0-0 ACC)
7:30 p.m.; RSN
UVA leads series, 30-6-1
Last meeting: UVA, 52-17 (2019)
Head Coaches:
William & Mary – Mike London (6-9 in third season at W&M; 68-70 in 13th season overall)
Virginia – Bronco Mendenhall (30-32 in sixth season at UVA; 129-75 in 17th season overall)
Notes:
The Commonwealth schools resume a series that was first played in 1908 • This will be the 16th consecutive meeting between the teams in Charlottesville since they last met in Williamsburg in 1969 • Virginia has captured the last four meetings, most recently a 52-17 victory in the 2019 season opener • QB Bryce Perkins threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third, and Joe Reed returned a kickoff 100 yards to lead the Cavaliers • As was the case two years ago, Virginia fans will see a familiar face on the opposing sidelines • William & Mary third-year head coach Mike London again returns to Charlottesville, where he served as head coach from 2010-15 • Virginia posted a combined 27-46 record under London’s watch, but he was named the ACC Coach of the Year in 2011, when he guided the Cavaliers to an 8-5 record and a Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl appearance.
Sunday, Sept. 5
No. 9 Notre Dame (0-0) at Florida State (0-0, 0-0 ACC)
7:30 p.m.; ABC
FSU leads series, 6-4
Last meeting: UND, 42-26 (2020)
Head Coaches:
Notre Dame – Brian Kelly (81-38 in 12th season at Notre Dame; 252-95-2 in 31st season overall)
Florida State – Mike Norvell (3-6 in second season at Florida State; 41-21 in sixth season overall
Notes:
The Fighting Irish have won their last two games versus the Seminoles – a 42-13 victory on Nov. 10, 2018, and last season’s 42-26 win • Kyren Williams ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 5 Notre Dame to victory last October • Both of the recent meetings in the series were played in South Bend • Florida State owns a 2-1 edge in previous meetings at Doak Campbell Stadium, including a 31-27 victory in a 2014 showdown of top-five teams • After competing as an ACC member last season and placing atop the regular-season conference standings, Notre Dame reverts to independent status this season and will play five games against ACC teams this fall • The Fighting Irish will face Virginia Tech (Oct. 9) and Virginia (Nov. 13) on the road in addition to home games versus North Carolina (Oct. 30) and Georgia Tech (Nov. 20).
Monday, Sept. 6
Louisville (0-0, 0-0 ACC) vs. Ole Miss (0-0, 0-0 SEC)
8 p.m.; ESPN
First meeting
Head Coaches:
Louisville – Scott Satterfield (12-12 in second season at Louisville; 63-36 in ninth season overall)
Ole Miss – Lane Kiffin (5-5 in second season at Ole Miss; 66-39 in 10th season overall)
Notes:
The ACC’s five days of football to open the 2021 season concludes with Louisville facing Ole Miss in the second Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game of Labor Day weekend • The prime time matchup at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium will be carried nationally by ESPN and is the only FBS game scheduled for Monday • The Cardinals are making their second appearance in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game after falling to No. 5 Auburn 31-24 to open the 2015 season • The Rebels are also playing in the game for the second time after defeating Boise State 35-13 to open the 2014 campaign • Louisville owns a 56-40-6 all-time record in season openers, including a 1-2 mark at neutral sites • The Cardinals, who will face Ole Miss on the football field for the first time, are 21-39-1 all-time versus SEC opponents • Louisville is 1-1 all-time versus the SEC under current head coach Scott Satterfield, losing to rival Kentucky to close the 2019 regular season before defeating Mississippi State in the Music City Bowl.
