ACC WEEK 8 PREVIEWS
Saturday, Oct. 23
#16 Wake Forest (6-0, 4-0 ACC) at Army (4-2)
Noon; CBSSN
Wake Forest leads series, 11-5
Last meeting: Army, 21-13 (2016)
Head Coaches:
Wake Forest – Dave Clawson (46-45 in eighth season at Wake Forest; 136-125 in 22nd season overall)
Army – Jeff Monken (53-41 in eighth season at Army; 91-57 in 12th season overall)
Notes: Wake Forest stands 6-0 for the second time in program history and the first time since 1944 • The Demon Deacons became the first ACC team to earn bowl eligibility with their overtime win at Syracuse on Oct. 9, and their sixth consecutive season of bowl eligibility is the third-longest active streak in the ACC • Wake Forest is facing Army for the first time since the Black Knights won 21-13 at Winston-Salem on Oct. 30, 2016, as Ahmad Bradshaw scored on an 11-yard quarterback keeper early in the fourth quarter and RB Darnell Woolfolk added another rushing TD with just less than three minutes to play • The win by the Black Knights snapped a nine-game Wake Forest winning streak in the series • The Deacons are 5-4 all-time versus Army in games played at West Point, winning five of the last six meetings since the Black Knights prevailed in each of the first three games in the series (1945, 1962 and 1963).
Saturday, Oct. 23
Clemson (4-2, 3-1 ACC) at #23 Pitt (5-1, 2-0 ACC)
3:30 p.m.; ESPN
Series tied, 2-2
Last meeting: CU, 52-17 (2020)
Head Coaches:
Clemson – Dabo Swinney (144-35 in 14th season at Clemson and overall)
Pitt – Pat Narduzzi (47-35 in seventh season at Pitt and overall)
Notes: Clemson and Pitt meet for just the fifth time and the first time ever in back-to-back years • The Tigers won big last November behind a 403-yard passing performance by Trevor Lawrence in his return from a two-game absence • Clemson forced five turnovers, including four interceptions, two by junior CB Mario Goodrich • It was the Tigers’ second straight series victory following a 42-10 win in the 2018 ACC Championship Game • The schools first met in the 1977 Gator Bowl, with Pitt winning by a 34-3 margin • QB Matt Cavanaugh passed for four touchdowns and 387 yards before a record crowd of 72,289 and a national television audience in leading Panthers • The teams next met as ACC members at Death Valley in November of 2016, where PK Chris Blewitt’s late field goal lifted Pitt to a stunning one-point win over the second-ranked and previously unbeaten Tigers.
Saturday, Oct. 23
UMass (1-5) at Florida State (2-4, 2-2 ACC)
Noon; ACCN
First meeting
Head Coaches:
Florida State – Mike Norvell (5-10 in second season at Florida State; 43-25 in fifth season overall)
UMass – Walt Bell (2-20 in third season at UMass and overall)
Notes: Each team enters Saturday’s game off an open date, and each hopes to continue the momentum it built prior to last weekend • Following an 0-4 start, FSU owns wins over Syracuse and North Carolina in its last two outings to even its ACC record at 2-2 • UMass’ 27-13 victory over visiting UConn on Oct. 2 marked the Minutemen’s first time in the win column since the 2019 season • The Seminoles will be the third ACC team that UMass has faced this season • The Minutemen, coached by former Florida State offensive coordinator Walt Bell, dropped a 51-7 decision at Pitt to open the season on Sept. 4 and lost 45-28 to Boston College at home the following weekend • This Saturday’s game will be the next-to-last nonconference test for Florida State • The Seminoles will play four straight ACC games, beginning with an Oct. 30 road trip to Clemson, before closing out the regular season at rival Florida on Nov. 27.
Saturday, Oct. 23
Boston College (4-2, 0-2 ACC) at Louisville (3-3, 1-2 ACC)
4 p.m.; ACCN
BC leads series, 7-6
Last meeting: BC, 34-27 (2020)
Head Coaches:
Boston College – Jeff Hafley (10-7 in second season at Boston College and overall)
Louisville – Scott Satterfield (15-15 in second season at Louisville; 66-39 in ninth season overall)
Notes: Louisville holds a 4-3 edge in ACC games versus the Eagles since joining the conference in 2014, but Boston College has won three of the last four meetings, including last season’s 34-27 win at Chestnut Hill • Backup QB Dennis Grosel threw for two touchdowns after starter Phil Jurkovec was hurt, and RB David Bailey ran for two scores before being forced to leave the game due to an injury • The programs split six non-conference games between 1986 and 1998 • The Cardinals are 4-2 versus the Eagles in Louisville, including a 41-39 win in 2019 on PK Blanton Creque’s 41-yard field goal with 1:02 remaining in the game • WR Seth Dawkins had eight catches for 170 yards for the Cardinals, who snapped a nine-game ACC losing streak and went on to finish 8-5 overall and 5-3 in the ACC under then first-year head coach Scott Satterfield.
Saturday, Oct. 23
Syracuse (3-4, 0-3 ACC) at Virginia Tech (3-3, 1-1 ACC)
12:30 p.m.; RSN
SU leads series, 10-8
Last meeting: SU, 31-17 (2016)
Head Coaches:
Syracuse – Dino Babers (27-40 in sixth season at Syracuse; 64-56 in 10th season overall)
Virginia Tech – Justin Fuente (41-29 in sixth season at Virginia Tech; 67-52 in 10th season overall
Notes: The teams meet for only the second time as ACC members and for the first time in more than five years • Syracuse upset the No. 17 Hokies 31-17 at the Carrier Dome in the most recent meeting on Oct. 15, 2016, as QB Eric Dungey accounted for 417 yards and two touchdowns • The victory was the Orange’s first over a ranked opponent since 2012 • The game was also the first time Syracuse had faced the Hokies since a 51-7 Virginia Tech win at Blacksburg in 2003 • The programs met for the first time in 1964 (a 20-15 home win by the Orange at old Archbold Stadium), but the last 17 series meetings have taken place since 1985 • Virginia Tech closes out a season-opening stretch in which six of its first seven games were scheduled at home • The Hokies will play four of their final five games on the road following Saturday’s contest, with the Nov. 13 game versus Duke the only one remaining at Lane Stadium.
Saturday, Oct. 23
#18 NC State (5-1, 2-0 ACC) at Miami (2-4, 0-2 ACC)
7:30 p.m.; ESPN2
Miami leads, 10-5-1
Last meeting: UM, 44-41 (2020)
Head Coaches:
NC State – Dave Doeren (60-47 in ninth season at NC State; 83-51 in 11th season overall
Miami – Manny Diaz (16-14 in third season at Miami and overall)
Notes: The teams meet for the second consecutive season and for the seventh time in ACC play • Miami’s Manny Diaz, who spent six seasons as an NC State assistant from 2000-05 under former head coach Chuck Amato, faces the Wolfpack for the second time as a head coach himself following last season’s 44-41 Hurricanes’ win in Raleigh • Miami QB D’Eriq King accounted for 535 yards and five touchdowns, including a go-ahead 54-yard touchdown pass to WR Mike Harley in the closing minute • The Hurricanes have won the last three series meetings to take a 4-2 edge in conference matchups • The teams met seven times in Miami between 1939 and 1971 prior to the Hurricanes’ first visit to Raleigh in 1981 (a 14-6 Miami win) • The series history prior to Miami joining the ACC also includes a 46-23 win by the Hurricanes in
the 1998 Micron PC Bowl.
Saturday, Oct. 23
Georgia Tech (3-3, 2-2 ACC) at Virginia (5-2, 3-2 ACC)
7:30 p.m.; ACCN
GT leads, 21-20-1
Last meeting: UVA, 33-28 (2019)
Head Coaches:
Georgia Tech – Geoff Collins (9-19 in third season at Georgia Tech; 24-29 in fifth season overall)
Virginia – Bronco Mendenhall (35-34 in sixth season at Virginia; 134-77 in 17th season overall)
Notes: Georgia Tech, which owns an all-time 19-17-1 edge in ACC play over the Cavaliers, seeks to win in Charlottesville for the first time since 2013 • Virginia won the most recent game between the schools by a 33-28 score in at Scott Stadium in 2019 as QB Bryce Perkins threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and RB Wayne Taulapapa ran for two touchdowns • The first six games of what is now an ACC Coastal Division rivalry were played in Atlanta (between 1965 and 1983), and all were Georgia Tech wins • Virginia closed the gap by winning seven of nine from 1987 through 1995, and neither side has won more than three years in a row since • Each of the last three series meetings have been decided by less than a touchdown, including Georgia Tech’s 30-27 overtime win in 2018 • Virginia is 13-4-1 all-time in home games versus the Yellow Jackets.
