WEEK 13 ACC PREVIEWS
Friday, Nov. 26
North Carolina (6-5, 3-4 ACC)) at #24 NC State (8-3, 5-2 ACC) 7 p.m.; ESPN
UNC leads series, 68-36-6
Last meeting: UNC, 48-21 (2020)
Head Coaches:
North Carolina – Mack Brown (90-61-1 in 13th season at North Carolina; 265-137-1 in 33rd season overall)
NC State – Dave Doeren (63-49 in ninth season at NC State; 86-53 in 11th season overall)
Notes: Rivals meet for the 111th time in a Black Friday evening regular-season finale • The Wolfpack had captured three in a row in the series and nine of the previous 12 meetings prior to UNC’s wins each of the last two seasons • RB Javonte Williams rushed for 160 yards and three touchdowns to help the No. 14 Tar Heels beat the No. 23 Wolfpack last season in Chapel Hill in the first meeting with both rivals ranked in the AP Top 25 since 1993 • Current NC State head coach Dave Doeren is 4-4 versus the Tar Heels • Mack Brown is 7-5 versus NC State as head coach at UNC • Brown’s teams split 10 games versus the Wolfpack during his first tenure with the Tar Heels (1988-97), dropping the first five and winning the next five • NC State also defeated Brown’s second Texas team by a 23-20 score in the 1999 season opener in Austin • UNC holds a 37-31 edge in ACC games and is 30-16-4 all-time versus the Wolfpack in Raleigh.
Saturday, Nov. 27
Miami (6-5, 4-3 ACC) at Duke (3-8, 0-7 ACC) 12:30 p.m; RSN
UM leads series, 14-4
Last meeting: UM, 48-0 (2020)
Head Coaches:
Miami – Manny Diaz (20-15 in third season at Miami and overall)
Duke – David Cutcliffe (77-96 in 14th season at Duke; 121-125 in 20th season overall)
Notes: While Miami has won 14 of 18 previous meetings versus the Blue Devils, Duke had won the previous two head-to-head matchups, before the Hurricanes rolled to a 48-0 victory last season at Wallace Wade Stadium • RB Cam’Ron Harris rushed for 96 yards and two touchdowns while Brevin Jordan, Dee Wiggins, and Mike Harley each caught touchdown passes for the Hurricanes, who were playing their first game in three weeks due to postponements • Last year’s game was a last-minute addition after the Hurricanes’ scheduled game at Wake Forest was postponed due to COVID-19 issues within the Demon Deacons’ program • Duke was initially slated to play Florida State that same weekend, but the Seminoles were also dealing with COVID-19 issues and unable to play • The Hurricanes are 8-2 in all-time road trips to Duke and 13-3 in ACC games against the Blue Devils.
Saturday, Nov. 27
#1 Georgia (11-0, 8-0 SEC) at Georgia Tech (3-8, 2-6 ACC) Noon; ABC
UGA leads series, 68-41-5
Last meeting: UGA, 52-7 (2019)
Head Coaches:
Georgia Tech – Geoff Collins (9-24 in third season at Georgia Tech; 24-34 in fifth season overall)
Georgia – Kirby Smart (63-14 in sixth season at Boston College and overall)
Notes: After a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia Tech and Georgia resume their ‘Clean, Old Fashioned Hate” rivalry in Atlanta • This will be the 115th meeting in a series that was first played in Athens on Nov. 4, 1893 • The Yellow Jackets and Bulldogs own the 19th most-played rivalry in the FBS • The Bulldogs own a three-game winning streak in the series, including a 52-7 victory at Bobby Dodd Stadium in the teams’ most recent meeting two years ago • The winning team has scored at least 30 points in 10 of the last 12 meetings in the series • Before the pandemic necessitated last year’s schedule arrangements, the teams had met on the gridiron every year since 1925 (95 consecutive years) • Georgia leads 37-26-4 all-time in games versus the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta • Georgia Tech’s last win at home over the Bulldogs was a dramatic 41-34 double-overtime victory to close out the 2013 regular season.
Saturday, Nov. 27
Virginia Tech (5-6, 3-4 ACC) at Virginia (6-5, 4-3 ACC) 3:45 p.m.; ACCN
VT leads series, 59-38-5
Last meeting: VT, 33-15 (2020)
Head Coaches:
Virginia Tech – JC Price (interim – 0-1 in first season at Virginia Tech and overall)
Virginia – Bronco Mendenhall (36-37 in sixth season at Virginia; 135-80 in 17th season overall)
Notes: Virginia Tech has won 16 of 17 ACC meetings in the Commonwealth Cup rivalry, including last season’s 33-15 victory in Blacksburg • RB Khalil Herbert ran for 162 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown to lead the home team • The Hokies are 23-19-3 versus the Cavaliers in Charlottesville, though Virginia claimed the most recent meeting at Scott Stadium by a 39-30 score in the 2019 regular-season finale to clinch the program’s first berth in the ACC Football Championship Game • Saturday’s game will be the 103rd in the series, which was first played in 1895 and has been played consecutively since 1970 • The teams have met at campus sites since 1964, but the series includes 23 neutral site meetings, which produced an 11-11-1 split • Seventeen games were played in Roanoke • The Virginia cities of Richmond and Norfolk have each hosted three games.
Saturday, Nov. 27
Florida State (5-6, 4-4 ACC) at Florida (5-6, 2-6 SEC) Noon; ESPN
UF leads series, 36-26-2
Last meeting: UF, 40-17 (2019)
Head Coaches:
Florida State – Mike Norvell (8-12 in second season at FSU; 46-27 overall)
Florida – Greg Knox (interim – 0-0 in first season at Florida; 1-0 in second season overall)
Notes: The Seminoles and Gators renew another ACCSEC series that was put on hold due to the pandemic in 2021, and Florida State seeks to get back on the winning track in the Sunshine State rivalry • The Seminoles had won five straight and seven of the previous eight versus the Gators prior to 2018, but Florida has turned the tables with wins in each of the last two meetings • QB Kyle Trask threw three first-half touchdown passes, including two to WR Freddie Swain, and the 11th-ranked Gators downed the Seminoles 40-17 in the most recent meeting two season ago to end a four-game, home losing streak in the series • Saturday marks the resumption of a series that was first played in 1958 and has run consecutively prior to last year • The teams met twice in both the 1994 and 1996 seasons, the second time both years in the Sugar Bowl • Florida holds a 22-11-1 edge in games played in Gainesville.
Saturday, Nov. 27
#21 Wake Forest (9-2, 6-1 ACC) at Boston College (6-5, 2-5 ACC) Noon; ESPN2
BC leads series, 14-11-2
Last meeting: WF, 27-24 (2019)
Head Coaches:
Wake Forest – Dave Clawson (49-47 in eighth season at Wake Forest; 139-127 in 22nd season overall)
Boston College – Jeff Hafley (12-10 in second season at Boston College and overall)
Notes: ACC Atlantic Division rivals meet in Chestnut Hill, continuing a series that was first played in 1941 • Wake Forest was a frequent visitor to Boston in the mid-20th century, playing two games at Fenway Park and six games at old Braves Field between 1942 through 1953 • Boston College holds a 9-6 edge in ACC games • The three meetings from 2014-16 were decided by a total of 12 points before Wake Forest broke through for a 34-10 win in 2017 • Things have tightened up again since, with the Eagles winning 41-34 in Winston-Salem in 2018 and the Demon Deacons taking a three-point win at BC in the most recent meeting in 2019 as QB Jamie Newman completed 21 of 33 passes for 243 and two touchdowns, and Wake Forest converted 17 of 24 third-down plays • The teams have split their previous 10 head-to-head meetings in Chestnut Hill.
Saturday, Nov. 27
#20 Pitt (9-2, 6-1 ACC) at Syracuse (5-6, 2-5 ACC) 7:30 p.m.; ACCN
Pitt leads series,41-32-3
Last meeting: Pitt, 21-10 (2020)
Head Coaches:
Pitt – Pat Narduzzi (50-36 in seventh season at Pitt and overall)
Syracuse – Dino Babers (28-42 in sixth season at Syracuse; 65-58 in 10th season overall)
Notes: Coastal Division champion Pitt seeks its fourth consecutive win over the Orange in the long-standing rivalry and the eighth in nine ACC meetings • The Panthers limited Syracuse to 171 total yards in last year’s 21-10 win at Heinz Field • Six of the last nine series meetings have been decided by a touchdown or less or in overtime • The Panthers have won 14 of the last 16 in the series, which was first played in 1916 • The teams have met every year since 1955, and Pitt stands as Syracuse’s most-played football opponent • The Orange defeated Pitt 11 consecutive times from 1991 through 2001 • The Orange leads 19-17-3 in games played in Syracuse, including its most recent win over the Panthers by a 27-24 score in 2017 • Recent series history also includes the 2016 game in Pittsburgh, where the teams set an FBS regulation-game record for combined points (137) in Pitt’s 76-61 victory.
Saturday, Nov. 27
Kentucky (8-3, 5-3 SEC) at Louisville (6-5, 4-4 ACC) 7:30 p.m.; ESPN2
UK leads series, 17-15
Last meeting: UK, 45-13 (2019)
Head Coaches:
Louisville – Scott Satterfield (18-17 in third season at Louisville; 69-41 in ninth season overall)
Kentucky – Mark Stoops (56-53 in ninth season at Kentucky and overall)
Notes: Kentucky has won the last two games in this in-state rivalry, including a 45-13 victory in the most recent meeting that closed out the 2019 regular season • The teams did not meet last year due to pandemic scheduling adjustments • Lynn Bowden rushed for 284 yards — an SEC single-game record by a quarterback — and a career-high four touchdowns to lead the Wildcats two seasons ago • Kentucky dominated the first six series meetings played between 1912 through 1924, posting shutout wins in each game, but Louisville has held a 15-11 edge since the rivalry resumed in 1994 following a 70-year hiatus • The schools will continue to meet on the football field through at least 2030 following an extension to their previous agreement (which was originally scheduled to run through 2022) • This will mark the seventh year the schools have met on Thanksgiving weekend.
Saturday, Nov. 27
Clemson (8-3, 6-2 ACC) at South Carolina (6-5, 3-5 SEC) 7:30 p.m.; SECN
CU leads series, 71-42-4
Last meeting: CU, 38-3 (2019)
Head Coaches:
Clemson – Dabo Swinney (148-36 in 14th season at Clemson and overall)
South Carolina – Shane Beamer (6-5 in first season at South Carolina and overall)
Notes: The Tigers and Gamecocks resume their long-standing rivalry, which saw the teams first play in 1896 • The Tigers are 53-32-3 all-time in games versus the Gamecocks in Columbia • The game was played in Columbia every year prior to 1960 • The teams will meet for the 112th time in 113 years on Saturday • Prior to last year’s cancelation due to scheduling issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Palmetto State rivalry stood as the FBS’s second-longest uninterrupted series • Clemson rolled to a 38-3 victory at South Carolina in the most recent matchup in 2019 as QB Trevor Lawrence threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns • It was South Carolina’s fewest points scored against Clemson in 30 years since a 45-0 shutout loss in 1989 • Clemson’s current six-game winning streak in the series is its
longest since winning seven in a row from 1934-40.
