WEEK 9 ACC PREVIEWS
Saturday, Oct. 30
Miami (3-4, 1-2 ACC) at #17 Pitt (6-1, 3-0 ACC)
Noon; ACCN
Miami leads series, 28-11-2
Last meeting: UM, 31-19 (2020)
Head Coaches:
Miami – Manny Diaz (17-14 in third season at Miami and overall)
Pitt – Pat Narduzzi (48-35 in seventh season at Pitt and overall)
Notes: 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 • QB D’Eriq King threw four touchdown passes – including a pair to TE Will Mallory – to key the Hurricanes’ 31-19 win last season at Hard Rock Stadium • Miami won 16-12 on its most recent visit to Heinz Field in 2019 on QB Jarren Williams’ 32-yard touchdown pass to WR KJ Osborn with 58 seconds remaining in the game • The schools first met on the football field in 1950 (a 28-0 Miami win) and have never gone more than eight years without playing in the nearly seven decades since • They met 11 seasons in a row as members of the Big East from 1993 through 2003 • The Hurricanes were Pitt’s first-ever opponent at Heinz Field on September 27, 2001, with Miami winning 43-21 en route to a 12-0 season and national title.
Saturday, Oct. 30
Boston College (4-3, 0-3 ACC) at Syracuse (4-4, 1-3 ACC)
3:30 p.m.; RSN
Syracuse leads series, 32-22
Last meeting: BC, 16-13 (2020)
Head Coaches:
Boston College – Jeff Hafley (10-8 in second season at Boston College and overall)
Syracuse – Dino Babers (28-40 in sixth season at Syracuse; 65-56 in 10th season overall)
Notes: The Eagles seek their third consecutive win at the Dome in this long-time rivalry after posting a 16-13 victory last season • Zay Flowers caught a 20-yard touchdown pass and Aaron Boumerhi kicked three field goals, and BC held the Orange to 240 total yards in last year’s game • RBs AJ Dillon and David Bailey combined for 414 yards rushing and five touchdowns, and QB Dennis Grosel passed for 195 yards and three more scores to lead Boston College’s 58-27 win in 2019 • 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, trailing only Holy Cross (82 meetings) • Despite Boston College’s success in recent years, Syracuse is 20-8 all-time in home games versus the Eagles.
Saturday, Oct. 30
Virginia Tech (3-4, 1-2 ACC) at Georgia Tech (3-4, 2-3 ACC)
Noon; RSN
VT leads series, 10-7
Last meeting: VT, 45-0 (2019)
Head Coaches:
Virginia Tech – Justin Fuente (41-30 in sixth season at Virginia Tech; 67-53 in 10th season overall)
Georgia Tech – Geoff Collins (9-20 in third season at Georgia Tech; 24-30 in fifth season overall)
Notes: 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 in the most recent meeting two seasons ago • QB Hendon Hooker ran for two touchdowns, and DB Caleb Farley returned an interception for a score as the Hokies handed Georgia Tech its first shutout loss in 22 years • Georgia Tech had won three straight in the series prior to that loss • The 2019 game was only the third between the teams since 2007 decided by double-digits • Seven of the 17 all-time meetings between the programs have been decided by six points or less • Prior to the Hokies joining the ACC in 2004, the two teams had met only once previously, with Georgia Tech’s 6-3 win in 1990 helping the Yellow Jackets to the national title • Severe weather conditions forced cancellation of a scheduled meeting in Blacksburg in 2000.
Saturday, Oct. 30
Duke (3-4, 0-3 ACC) at #13 Wake Forest (7-0, 4-0 ACC)
4 p.m.; ACCN
Duke leads series, 58-40-2
Last meeting: WF, 39-27 (2019)
Head Coaches:
Duke – David Cutcliffe (77-92 in 14th season at Duke; 121-121 in 20th season overall)
Wake Forest – Dave Clawson (47-45 in eighth season at Wake Forest; 137-125 in 22nd season overall)
Notes: Wake Forest, which owns a 7-0 record for the second time ever and for the first time since 1944, seeks to become 8-0 for the first time in program history • The Demon Deacons have won their last two games versus the Blue Devils, including a memorable 39-27 win in Winston-Salem in the most recent meeting in 2019 • Wake Forest PK Nick Sciba kicked field goals of 38, 34, 44 and 25 yards, running his string of successful attempts to 32 consecutive and setting an NCAA record • The Demon Deacons withstood Duke’s Damond Philyaw-Johnson’s two kickoff returns for touchdowns • Duke had won five of the previous six games between the in-state rivals prior to Wake’s current two-game series win streak • The Blue Devils hold a 35-30-1 all-time lead in ACC games and a 27-15-2 record in road games versus Wake Forest (23-15-1 in Winston-Salem).
Saturday, Oct. 30
Florida State (3-4, 2-2 ACC) at Clemson (4-3, 3-2 ACC)
3:30 p.m.; ESPN
FSU leads series, 20-13
Last meeting: CU, 45-14 (2019)
Head Coaches:
Florida State – Mike Norvell (6-10 in second season at Florida State; 44-25 in sixth season overall)
Clemson – Dabo Swinney (144-36 in 14th season at Clemson and overall)
Notes: Clemson has won the last five meetings between the teams since Florida State’s 23-17 overtime victory in 2014 • The Seminoles lead the Tigers 20-13 in all-time meetings, but Clemson holds an 11-6 edge since ending an 11-game FSU series win streak in 2003 • The teams met five times between 1970 and 1989 prior to FSU entering the ACC • FSU is 17-11 versus the Tigers in ACC play • Each side has won eight of the previous 16 meetings at Clemson • The programs combined to win 11 straight ACC Atlantic Division titles from 2009-19 • Clemson’s defense came away with four turnovers versus the Seminoles to post a 45-14 win in the most recent meeting at Death Valley in 2019 as the Tigers became the 15th FBS program to reach the 750-win plateau • Last year’s scheduled game between the teams at Tallahassee was canceled due to COVID-19 issues.
Saturday, Oct. 30
Louisville (4-3, 2-2 ACC) at NC State (5-2, 2-1 ACC)
7:30 p.m.; ACCN
UL leads series, 7-3
Last meeting: UL, 34-20 (2019)
Head Coaches:
Louisville – Scott Satterfield (16-15 in third season at Louisville; 67-39 in ninth season overall)
NC State – Dave Doeren (60-48 in ninth season at NC State; 83-52 in 11th season overall)
Notes: 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 • QB Micale Cunningham threw four touchdown passes to lead the Cardinals, who clinched bowl eligibility under then first-year head coach Scott Satterfield • Louisville improved to 3-1 all-time in road games versus the Wolfpack • Prior to back-to-back wins over Louisville in 2017 and 2018, NC State’s lone series win prior to the past two seasons had come by a 31-24 score in the 2011 Belk Bowl • The series was first played in 1951, when the Cardinals posted a 26-2 win over the visiting Wolfpack in Louisville • Saturday night’s game kicks off a run of four straight games for NC State versus Atlantic Division opponents, including back-to-back road trips to Florida State (Nov. 6) and Wake Forest (Nov. 13).
Saturday, Oct. 30
North Carolina (4-3, 3-3 ACC) at #11 Notre Dame (6-1)
7:30 p.m.; NBC
ND leads, 19-2
Last meeting: ND, 31-17 (2020)
Head Coaches:
North Carolina – Mack Brown (88-59-1 in 13th season at North Carolina; 263-135-1 in 33rd season overall)
Notre Dame – Brian Kelly (87-40 in 12th season at Notre Dame; 258-97-2 in 32nd season overall)
Notes: North Carolina and Notre Dame meet for the 22nd time but for the first time in back-to-back years since 1965-66 • The Fighting Irish have won 19 of the previous 21 head-to-head meetings, including a 31-17 victory last November in Chapel Hill that helped secure a spot in the 2020 ACC Football Championship Game in Notre Dame’s lone year of conference membership • QB Ian Book threw for 279 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 48 yards, and the Irish defense limited the Tar Heels to a lone field goal in the final three quarters • The programs first met in 1949 at Yankee Stadium, with Notre Dame winning 42-6 en route to a national championship • Notre Dame is 12-0 all-time versus the Tar Heels in South Bend, with UNC’s two series wins coming at Kenan Stadium in 1960 and 2008 • Saturday night’s game will mark just the sixth time the programs have met in the past 46 years (all since 2006).
Saturday, Oct. 30
Virginia (6-2, 4-2 ACC) at Brigham Young (6-2)
10:15 p.m.; ESPN2
UVA leads, 3-2
Last meeting: BYU, 41-33 (2014)
Head Coaches:
Virginia – Bronco Mendenhall (36-34 in sixth season at Virginia; 135-77 in 17th season overall)
BYU – Kalani Sitake (44-28 in sixth season at BYU and overall)
Notes: 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 • Mendenhall’s Cougar teams split a pair of games versus the Cavaliers in 2013 and 2014, with both sides winning at home (Virginia by a 19-16 score in 2013 and BYU by a 41-33 margin the following year) • The schools first met in the 1987 All-American Bowl at Birmingham, Alabama, with Virginia winning 22-16 • The Cavaliers won 45-40 at Provo, Utah, in 1999 behind a strong performance by RB Thomas Jones • BYU picked up its first series win in 2000 in Charlottesville, rallying to tie the score in the second half before prevailing 38-35 in overtime • Mendenhall’s 99 wins stand as the second most in BYU program history, trailing only the legendary LaVell Edwards, whose Cougar teams registered 257 victories from 1972-2000.
