This Week in the Atlantic Coast Conference
Saturday, Oct. 30 Time, TV Sirius XM App/Web
Miami (3-4, 1-2) at No. 17 Pitt (6-1, 3-0) Noon, ACCN 133 193 955
Series: Miami leads series, 28-11-2; Last meeting: Miami, 31-19 (2020)
ACCN: Chris Cotter (play-by-play), Mark Herzlich (analyst), Jalyn Johnson (sideline)
Virginia Tech (3-4, 1-2) at Georgia Tech (3-4, 2-3) Noon, RSN 137 194 956
Series: Virginia Tech leads series, 10-7; Last meeting: Virginia Tech, 45-0 (2019)
RSN: Tom Werme (play-by-play), James Bates (analyst), Wiley Ballard (sideline)
Florida State (3-4, 2-2) at Clemson (4-3, 2-2) 3:30 p.m., ESPN 133 193 955
Series: Florida State leads series, 20-13; Last meeting: Clemson, 45-14 (2019)
ESPN: Mark Jones (play-by-play), Robert Griffin III (analyst), Quint Kessenich (sideline)
Boston College (4-3, 0-3) at Syracuse (4-4, 1-3) 3:30 p.m., RSN 137 194 956
Series: Syracuse leads series, 32-22; Last meeting: Boston College, 16-13 (2020)
RSN: Evan Lepler (play-by-play), Charles Arbuckle (analyst), Rebecca Fiorentino (sideline)
Duke (3-4, 0-3) at No. 13 Wake Forest (7-0, 4-0) 4 p.m., ACCN 85 85 85
Series: Duke leads series, 58-40-2; Last meeting: Wake Forest, 39-27 (2019)
ACCN: Wes Durham (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), Taylor Davis (sideline)
Louisville (4-3, 2-2) at NC State (5-2, 2-1) 7:30 p.m., ACCN 133 193 955
Series: Louisville leads series, 7-3; Last meeting: Louisville, 34-20 (2019)
ACCN: Dave O’Brien (play-by-play), Tim Hasselbeck (analyst), Kelsey Riggs (sideline)
North Carolina (4-3) at No. 11 Notre Dame (6-1) 7:30 p.m., NBC 137 194 956
Series: Notre Dame leads, 19-2; Last meeting: Notre Dame, 31-17 (2020)
NBC: Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Drew Brees (analyst), Kathryn Tappen (sideline)
Virginia (6-2) at No. 25 BYU (6-2) 10:15 p.m., ESPN2 137 194 956
Series: Virginia leads, 3-2; Last meeting: BYU, 41-33 (2014)
ESPN2: Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Kirk Morrison (analyst), Dawn Davenport (sideline)
What to Watch in Week 9
• UNC QB Sam Howell is just four touchdown passes shy of Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence’s ACC record for touchdown passes through three seasons.
• NC State QB Devin Leary has attempted 175 consecutive passes without an interception. Only 11 players in ACC history have attempted 200 or more consecutive passes without an interception.
• Pitt’s Kenny Pickett and Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong are tied for the ACC lead with 23 touchdown passes, which ties for fifth in the country.
• Syracuse RB Sean Tucker leads the nation with 1,060 rushing yards and 1,2983 all-purpose yards.
• NC State can become the ACC’s fourth bowl eligible team with a win this weekend vs. Louisville. Wake Forest, Pitt and Virginia are already bowl eligible.
• The ACC has five of the top 10 plays in the country in total touchdowns – UVA’s Brennan Armstrong (1st, 28), Pitt’s Kenny Pickett (3rd, 26), North Carolina’s Sam Howell (5th, 23), Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman (5th, 23) and Louisville’s Malik Cunningham (8th, 21).
• Wake Forest PK Nick Sciba has a current streak of 24 consecutive field goals made. He set the NCAA record for most consecutive field goals made with 34 in 2018-19.
• Since taking over at quarterback in Week 3, Syracuse’s Garrett Schrader had accounted for 19 touchdowns, including 12 rushing scores.
ACC FOOTBALL QUICK HITS
• Five different ACC players lead the nation in a major statistical category. Louisville QB Malik Cunningham leads in rushing touchdowns (13), Pitt WR Jordan Addison leads in receiving touchdowns (10), Syracuse RB Sean Tucker leads in rushing yards (1,060) and all-purpose yards (1,298); Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong leads in passing yards (3,220) and total yards of offense (3,397); Wake Forest place-kicker Nick Sciba leads in field goal percentage (12-for-12, 1.000).
• Six pivotal conference matchups and two intriguing non-conference battles highlight Week 9 of the ACC football schedule. In non-conference games, North Carolina plays at No. 11 Notre Dame and Virginia travels to No. 25 BYU. The ACC’s two AP ranked teams – No. 13 Wake Forest and No. 17 Pitt – look to remain unbeaten in conference play as both face league opponents at home.
• At the halfway point of the ACC schedule, 16 of the league’s 28 games have been decided by one possession (8 points or fewer). The next closest conference has 12
games decided by one possession. Last week, three ACC games went down to the wire with Virginia outlasting Georgia Tech, 48-40, Miami pulling out a 31-30 win over
NC State and Syracuse scoring late for a 41-36 win at Virginia Tech.
• No. 13 Wake Forest (7-0, 4-0) looks to keep its perfect record intact when it welcomes Duke (3-4, 0-3) to Winston-Salem on Saturday at 4 p.m. on ACC Network. Wake Forest is off to a 7-0 start for the first time since 1944 and is seeking its first 8-0 start in school history against the rival Blue Devils. Wake’s No. 13 ranking is the highest for the Demon Deacons since 1947 when they rose to No. 11. Duke had won five of the previous six games between the in-state rivals prior to Wake’s
current two-game series win streak.
• No. 17 Pitt (6-1, 3-0) hosts Miami (3-4, 1-2) at Heinz Field on Saturday at noon on ACC Network. Miami is 15-6 all-time in road games versus the Panthers and 6-2
in ACC meetings, including wins in each of the last three. Pitt’s Kenny Pickett has asserted himself as one of the best players in the country as the sixth-year senior has 23 touchdown passes and just one interception. Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke was the ACC Rookie of the Week after passing for 325 yards and four touchdowns against NC State last Saturday.
• Virginia Tech (3-4, 1-2) travels to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech (3-4, 2-3) at noon on RSN. Virginia Tech has won six of its eight meetings versus Georgia Tech in
Atlanta since joining the ACC in 2004, including a 45-0 shutout victory two seasons ago.
• Winners of three straight, Florida State (3-4, 2-2) travels to Clemson (4-3, 3-2) looking to end a five-game losing skid to the Tigers. The game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN. FSU’s last win in the series came in 2014. The programs combined to win 11 straight ACC Atlantic Division titles from 2009-19.
• Syracuse (4-4, 1-3) hosts Boston College (4-3, 0-3) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on RSN. The Eagles seek their third consecutive win at the Dome in this long-standing
rivalry after posting a 16-13 victory last season. The Eagles hold a 5-4 edge in ACC games in the series, which was first played in 1924 and saw the teams meet every year from 1971 through 2004. Syracuse is Boston College’s second-most played football opponent of all-time behind Holy Cross (82 meetings).
• Looking to return to the win column, NC State (5-2, 2-1) welcomes Louisville (4-3, 2-2) to Carter-Finley Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on ACC Network. The Cardinals are coming off a 28-14 win over Boston College, while the Wolfpack fell to Miami by one point. Louisville has won four of six games versus the Wolfpack since joining the ACC, including a 34-20 victory in Raleigh in the most recent meeting two seasons ago.
• No. 11 Notre Dame (6-1) welcomes North Carolina (4-3) to South Bend for the 22nd meeting between the two schools, but for the first time in back-to-back years since 1965-66. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. on NBC. The Fighting Irish have won 19 of the previous 21 series games, including a 31-17 victory last November in Chapel Hill that helped secure a spot in the ACC Football Championship Game in Notre Dame’s lone year of conference membership.
• In a late Saturday evening contest, Virginia (6-2) plays at No. 25 BYU (6-2) at 10:15 p.m. on ESPN2. Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall returns to BYU, where he led the Cougars to a 99-43 record and bowl games for 11 consecutive seasons from 2005-15.
ACC FALL UNITY WEEK
• For the second consecutive year, the ACC is hosting a Fall Unity Week, Oct. 23-30. ACC Unity Weeks are an initiative of the ACC’s Committee for Racial and Social
Justice (CORE – Champions of Racial Equity) and have been developed in conjunction with its 15 member institutions.
• Unity Week includes all home ACC contests Oct. 23 through Oct. 30. At football games, both teams will line up arm-in-arm on their side of the field on the hash marks from 20-yard line to 20-yard line, while the Unity video is played and the Unity Statement is read.
• ACC Unity Statement: We, the ACC, are committed to seeing each other as equals and treating each other with respect and dignity at all times; recognizing that our
differences don’t divide us, but they make us stronger.
IN THE RANKINGS
• Three ACC teams are ranked in this week’s USA Today AFCA Coaches Top 25 Poll – No. 13 Wake Forest, No. 19 Pitt and No. 25 NC State. Virginia is also receiving votes.
• In the AP Top 25, Wake Forest is No. 13 and Pitt is No. 17. NC State and Virginia are receiving votes. Wake’s No. 13 ranking is the highest for the Deacons since 1947 when they were No. 11 (highest in school history). 2021 SUBWAY ACC FCG SET FOR 8 P.M.
• The 2021 Subway ACC Football Championship Game will kick off at 8 p.m. on ABC on Saturday, Dec. 4, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game will feature the winner of the Atlantic Division vs. the winner of the Coastal Division.
• This is the 12th time in the last 13 years that the game has been held in primetime. Twelve different teams have competed in the game, including a different Coastal Division team every year from 2013-19. Last season, No. 3 Clemson defeated No. 2 Notre Dame – which played in the ACC in 2020 as a full football member due to the COVID-19 pandemic – by a score of 34-10 in the most-viewed ACC Championship Game of all time.
WAKE’S HARTMAN NAMED WALTER CAMP NATIONAL
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation National Player of the Week after passing for five touchdowns and rushing for another in 16th-ranked Wake Forest’s 70-56 win over Army. Hartman threw for a career-best 458 yards (23-of-29), tied a school-record with five passing scores and rushed for 22 yards and one touchdown as the Demon Deacons remained unbeaten (7-0). Hartman is the first Wake Forest player to earn Walter Camp National Player of Week honorees since the award began in 2004.
ACC – THE CONFERENCE OF QUARTERBACKS
• The ACC led all conferences with three players on the Davey O’Brien weekly Great 8 for games of Oct. 23, including Pitt’s Kenny Pickett, Virginia’s Brennan Armstrong and Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman.
• The ACC led all conferences with three players named Manning Award Stars of the Week for games of Oct. 23, including Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke, Syracuse’s Garrett
Schrader and Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman.
• Syracuse QB Garrett Schrader was responsible for five touchdowns in Syracuse’s comeback win over Virginia Tech. He ran for three scores and 174 yards on the ground, before leading a pair of scoring drives to overcome a 9-point deficit, with two touchdown passes in the game’s final 2:28. He threw for 236 yards, on top of his 174 on the ground, to post 410 yards of total offense on the day. The 174 yards on the ground are four shy of his career best and rank tied for 21st in ACC history for most rushing yards in a game by a quarterback.
• Virginia QB Brennan Armstrong had 495 yards of total offense in leading UVA to a 48-40 win over Georgia Tech. He rushed a team-high 12 times for 99 yards including two scores and completed 29 of 43 pass attempts for 396 yards and four TDs.
• Miami QB Tyler Van Dyke had the best performance of his career in Saturday’s win over No. 18 NC State. Van Dyke set career marks in nearly every category, including passing yards (325), completions (25) and touchdowns (25), connecting on 75.8% of his passes and throwing zero interceptions in an upset over the Wolfpack at Hard Rock Stadium.
• QB Kenny Pickett fueled Pitt’s 27-17 win over Clemson, throwing for 302 yards on 25-of-39 passing (64%) with two TDs and zero interceptions. Pickett compiled these impressive numbers against a Tigers defense that ranked among the nation’s stingiest, surrendering just 12.5 points per game.
• Louisville QB Malik Cunningham rushed 16 times for 133 yards in a win over Boston College. Cunningham is the third Louisville quarterback to rush for three touchdowns in a game, joining Lamar Jackson (six times from 2016-17) and Benny Russell (1965). His 31 career rushing touchdowns are tied for sixth in ACC history.
• Nine different quarterbacks from ACC schools have started at least one game in the NFL this season – most of any conference. Those players come from seven different schools, including BC’s Matt Ryan (Falcons), Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars), Duke’s Daniel Jones (Giants), Florida State’s Jameis Winston (Saints), Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater (Broncos) and Lamar Jackson (Ravens), NC State’s Jacoby Brissett (Dolphins) and Russell Wilson (Seahawks) and Virginia Tech’s Tyrod Taylor (Texans).
AROUND THE ACC
• Boston College: Boston College has scored a touchdown on its opening possession in four of its seven games this season (Colgate, UMass, Temple, NC State). Against the Wolfpack, the Eagles covered 75 yards on 10 plays, capped off by an eight-yard touchdown pass from Dennis Grosel to Trae Barry.
• Clemson: LB James Skalski recorded a career-high 18 tackles in the loss to Pitt, which tied for the third-most by an FBS player in a single game this season.
He was one tackle shy of Clemson’s season high set by teammate Baylon Spector (19) vs. NCSU.
• Duke: RB Mataeo Durant finished with 152 rushing yards on 43 carries and scored his ninth rushing touchdown of the season against Georgia Tech. The 43 total carries broke the single-game program record, previously held by Art Bosetti with 42 against South Carolina in 1970.
• Florida State: According to ESPN Stats & Info, FSU is the third ACC team to start 0-4 and then win the next three. The Seminoles can even their record with a win
at Clemson this weekend.
• Georgia Tech: Georgia Tech PK Jude Kelley is 3-for3 on onside kick attempts this season, including two perfectly executed onside kicks in the final two minutes
of the Yellow Jackets’ narrow 48-40 defeat to Virginia.
• Louisville: RB Trevion Cooley rushed for 112 yards on 13 carries for his first 100-yard rushing game of his career. Cooley and QB Malik Cunningham became the
first Louisville teammates to rush for 100 yards in the same game since Malik Williams and Lamar Jackson did so against Syracuse on Nov. 18, 2017.
• Miami: RB Jaylan Knighton enjoyed another strong performance in Saturday’s win over No. 18 NC State. Knighton totaled a career-high 166 all-purpose yards, including 83 receiving yards and a 53-yard touchdown catch, to go along with a career-best 21 carries for 83 yards.
• North Carolina: In the win over Miami, WR Josh Downs had a career-high 11 receptions for 96 yards and scored a receiving touchdown for the eighth-straight game going back to last year’s Orange Bowl. He extended his streak to seven-straight games with eight or more catches, the longest such streak in college football since Fresno State’s Davante Adams in 2013.
• NC State: WR Emeka Emezie became NC State’s all-time receptions leader in the win over BC. He now has 203 career catches, which ranks 22nd in ACC history.
• Pitt: In the last 15 years, Pitt’s Kenny Pickett is the third ACC quarterback to throw for multiple touchdowns in seven consecutive games, joining Jameis Winston (2013) and Sam Howell (2019).
• Syracuse: RB Sean Tucker carried the ball 20 times for 112 yards and one touchdown in Syracuse’s win over Virginia Tech. He also caught two passes for 14 yards. It’s the sixth-straight game he has run for 100-plus yards, setting a new program record for consecutive 100-yard games. He also became the first running back in the nation to cross the 1,000-yard mark this season.
• Virginia: QB Brennan Armstrong amassed 495 yards of total offense in leading UVA to a win over Georgia Tech. He rushed a team-high 12 times for 99 yards including two scores. His 45-yard rush was the longest by a Cavalier this season.
• Virginia Tech: Freshman RB Malachi Thomas had 21 carries for 151 yards and three TDs – his first collegiate TDs – in the loss to Syracuse. He recorded VT’s first individual 100-yard rushing game of the season and became Tech’s first true freshman to record one since 2019.
• Wake Forest: Wake Forest scored 70 points against Army although only possessing the ball for 17 minutes. That averages out to four points for every minute of possession.
