CLEMSON – The Clemson Insider takes a deep dive into this weekend’s matchups in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Clemson welcomes only its second ever team from the west coast into Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Florida State looks to continue its winning streak against another unusual foe in SMU.
A ranked-on-ranked matchup between No. 15 Louisville and No. 16 Notre Dame is going to be one to follow on Saturday and could have lasting impacts on the conference championship game. NC State looks to right the ship against a Northern Illinois opponent who took down Notre Dame three weeks ago.
Friday
Virginia Tech (2-2, 0-0 ACC) vs No. 7 Miami (4-0, 0-0 ACC), 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Latest Line: MIA -17
Notes: Last week, Miami quarterback Cam Ward became the first ACC quarterback to throw for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns in the first four starts of his career in the last 25 years with another dominant outing at South Florida.
Saturday
Western Kentucky (3-1) vs Boston College (3-1), noon, ACC Network
Latest Line: BC -13
Notes: BC quarterback Thomas Castellanos ranks eighth in all of FBS in passing efficiency at 193.2. He also ranks 10th in all of FBS in yards per pass attempt with an average of 10.41 yards per pass and ranks 13th nationally in all of FBS with 10 passing touchdowns on the season. He ranks 15th in points responsible for with a total of 66 points on the year.
Northern Illinois (2-1) vs NC State (2-2), noon, The CW
Latest Line: NCSU -7.5
Notes: Though Northern Illinois lost their first game of the season last time out, they are still riding high after going into South Bend and beating Notre Dame earlier this month. NC State is smarting from last week’s smack down by Clemson in Death Valley.
Holy Cross (1-3) vs Syracuse (2-1), noon, ESPN+/ACC Extra
Latest Line: SYR -28.5
Notes: The Orange looks to bounce back after being shut down by the Stanford last week in the dome. Syracuse managed just 26 rushing yards in last week’s loss.
#15 Louisville (3-0) vs #16 Notre Dame (3-1), 3:30 p.m., Peacock
Latest Line: ND -7
Notes: Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough ranks sixth in all of FBS in passing efficiency at 197.1. He ranks sixth in all of FBS in yards per pass attempt with an average of 11.18 yards per pass. He also ranks eighth in all of FBS in passing yards per completion with an average of 16.35 yards per completion and ranks 15th nationally in QBR rating (82.7) on the season per ESPN.
Louisiana (2-1) vs Wake Forest (1-2), 3:30 p.m., ACC Network
Latest Line: WAKE -3.5
Notes: Wake Forest looks to snap a two-game losing streak in non-conference play.
North Carolina (3-1, 0-0 ACC) vs Duke (4-0, 0-0), 4 p.m., ESPN2
Latest Line: DUKE -2.5
Notes: Duke is trying to get to start a season 5-0 for the first time since 1994. UNC on the other hand is trying to bounce back after losing 70-50 to James Madison last week in Chapel Hill.
Stanford (2-1, 1-0 ACC) vs Clemson (2-1, 1-0 ACC), 7 p.m., ESPN
Latest Line: CLEM -21.5
Notes: Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney, in his 17th season at the helm of the Tigers’ program, has recorded 172 wins overall. His 172 wins are just one behind legendary Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden for the most overall wins by a head coach while coaching at an ACC member school. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik has exploded the past two weekends for a total of 11 touchdowns. In three matchups so far Klubnik has thrown for 729 yards and 8 touchdowns with only 1 interception. Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels has thrown for 562 yards with 4 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Daniel’s is also their leading rusher with 163 yards on 23 carries. The Tigers matchup with the Cardinals for only the second time in programs history.
Florida State (1-3) vs SMU (3-1), 8 p.m., ACC Network
Latest Line: SMU -6
Notes: Mustangs host Florida State for the school’s first-ever ACC football at Gerald Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas. his ACC first for the Mustangs comes one weekend after fellow new members Stanford and California played their first ACC games on the road in Week 4. Stanford was victorious on a late field goal at Syracuse on September 20, while Cal fell to the Seminoles in Tallahassee, Florida, on September 21, giving the Golden Bears their first loss of the season. Since Florida State joined the ACC in1992, there have been nine additions to the conference as full-time members, including the three this season, and the Seminoles have been the first ACC game for five of those with four coming on the road. The Seminoles are 3-1 in those matchups, with the fifth coming this Saturday at SMU.
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