ACC Football News and Notes: Four Unbeaten Teams Remain

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The final month of the college football season is here. The ACC still has four unbeaten teams as the final month starts. Those four teams are also in the chase for spots in the championship game in early December. Five teams, Clemson, Miami, SMU, Pittsburgh, and Duke, have reached bowl eligibility, with several more within a couple of wins of that goal. Let’s take a look at this week’s matchups in the league.

The top four teams in the ACC are also the teams that are ranked in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll. Miami is at #5, up a spot from last week. They have cracked the top five for the first time since November 2017. Clemson is at #11 falling two spots despite being ranked for the 10th straight week. The dip may have been due to having a bye week. Pittsburgh is at #18, up one spot after defeating Syracuse at home last week. Pittsburgh moved into the poll three weeks ago for the first time since the 2022 season. SMU is at #20. The Mustangs are having a terrific first season in the league. They moved up two spots in the polls after getting in the polls three weeks ago. This week’s US LBM Coaches Poll ranks the same four schools.

Clemson and Miami have been ranked in the coaches poll since the season began. They are in the top 10 for the third straight week. Virginia Tech, Duke, and Louisville also received notice in the coaches poll. The league is one of three leagues in college football with multiple teams ranked in the top 10 of the poll.

As for this week’s slate of games, we begin at Miami (8-0, 4-0) as they host Duke (6-2, 2-2). The Blue Devils are playing their second straight game vs a ranked team. Last weekend they lost to SMU in overtime. The Blue Devils have won three of the last five meetings between the two. Duke leads the nation in fumbles recovered with 10. The Hurricanes may have the best QB in the league in Cam Ward. He is ranked in the Top 10 in every passing category in the country. Miami leads the country in first downs with 226 and in points per game with 46.8. Their passing offense is #2 in the nation at 366.8 yards a game.

Stanford (2-6, 1-4) heads to Raleigh, North Carolina to meet the North Carolina State Wolfpack (4-4, 1-3). This is the first time they have met in football. The Cardinals’ backup QB Justin Lawson has scored four rushing touchdowns so far. The Wolfpack have scored three defensive touchdowns this season which ranks third in the league. Quarterback CJ Bailey has thrown for 1300 yards as a true freshman. He joins Philip Rivers as the only true freshman QB to do this. This Saturday’s game marks the 19th sellout at Carter-Finley Stadium which is the longest sellout streak in school history.

Virginia Tech (5-3, 3-1) heads to Syracuse (5-3, 2-2). Both teams are looking for the sixth win that would get them bowl-eligible. The Orangemen’s defense will have to contain RB Bhayshul Tuten who ranks in the top 10 in rushing yards with 950 and rushing touchdowns with 12. Tuten is looking to become the first Hokies running back with 1,000 yards and 12 rushing TDs. The Hokies defense will have to keep Syracuse QB Kyle McCord under control. He has thrown for 300 or more yards in every game this season, a new Syracuse record. He ranks in the top four in the ACC in passing touchdowns, passing yards, yards per game, and points responsible for.

Florida State (1-7, 1-6) hosts North Carolina (4-4, 1-6). For the Seminoles, this will be their final league game on Saturday. UNC has a pretty good running back of their own in Omarion Hampton. He leads the league in rushing with 1,006 yards and rushing yards per game at 125.8. Both of those numbers have him in the top 6 in the country. He ranks second in the ACC with nine rushing TDs and has rushed for 100 yards in seven of their eight games. Florida State has won eight straight in November. In both 2022 and 2023, they were 4-0 in the month.

Clemson (6-1, 5-0) faces Louisville (5-3, 3-2) at home. The Tigers have never lost to the Cardinals having gone 8-0. With three league games left on the schedule, the Tigers are looking for their fourth undefeated conference season. Clemson is scoring a league-best 45 points a game and their defense is allowing a league-low 325.2 yards a game. The Cardinals have thrown for a league-high 1500 yards (300.6 in league play). They are also tied for the league lead with 11 passing touchdowns. Their three losses have been by one touchdown to three ranked teams, SMU, Notre Dame, and Miami.

Pittsburgh (7-0, 3-0) is at SMU (7-1, 4-1) in a battle of ranked teams in Dallas, TX. This will be the first regular-season meeting as the previous two were in bowl games. With a victory on Saturday, the Panthers would get to 8-0 for the first time since 1981. Pittsburgh’s Desmond Reid leads the league in all-purpose yards with 160.2 a game. Mustang RB Brashaw Smith is third in the league in rushing yards with 745. The Panthers defense allows just 94 rushing yards per game. That is ninth in FBS football. Both teams are in the conversation for the playoff and a win by either team gives them a 40% chance of making it.

Next week we will be back with more from the ACC.