Ranking the Best ACC Matchups of Week 10
This is a slim slate of games in the ACC this week. But, boy, does the conference make up for quantity with quality.
It's a distinct possibility that both divisions of the league will be decided with two massive grudge-match games this week.
North Carolina State might have lost to Notre Dame this past weekend, but the Wolfpack still have a spotless 4-0 record in the ACC. They will take on Clemson in the Atlantic Division's game of the year this weekend. Win, and it's going to be a near-insurmountable two-game lead for NCSU with three conference games left.
The defending national champion Tigers need a victory to keep their division and College Football Championship hopes alive.
Over in the Coastal Division, surprisingly 7-0 Miami will try to maintain its unblemished record when the Hurricanes take on their most difficult opponent yet in Virginia Tech. The Hokies travel to Coral Gables with the intent of wrecking the Hurricanes' 5-0 league mark and taking charge in the Atlantic.
As if those games aren't enough, suddenly surging Wake Forest travel to Notre Dame, Syracuse tries for another win over a marquee program when the Orange play at struggling Florida State, and Georgia Tech goes to Virginia.
That's it. That's all the games. But if you can't get excited about this weekend, you aren't an ACC fan.
5. Georgia Tech at Virginia
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Georgia Tech had an opportunity to pull off a major upset over Clemson this past weekend, but with Kelly Bryant back, those hopes never really got off the ground in a 24-10 loss.
Instead, the Yellow Jackets are teetering on the brink of mediocrity this season at 4-3 and 3-2 in the conference and needing a win to get back on track.
Speaking of needing a win, Virginia got off to a rousing 5-1 start this season, but the Cavaliers have come crashing back to earth in the past two weekends. Boston College's suddenly resurgent offense blitzed them for a 41-10 win. Then on Saturday, they lost 31-14 to Pittsburgh.
Now, UVA coach Bronco Mendenhall needs to rally his team.
The Hoos turned the ball over on downs five times, missed a field goal and threw an interception in the latest loss.
"After just thinking about the game for a few minutes and not seeing it, missed opportunities are the best way to describe it," Mendenhall said, according to the Augusta Free Press.
This is a pivotal game for both programs. The winner could get its season back on the right track, while the loser is going to have an even tougher time crawling out of a hole. Both teams need to get their defenses going again.
This game may not have divisional implications, but it's important nonetheless.
4. Syracuse at Florida State
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It isn't common to see Florida State at the bottom of the standings, but there sit the Seminoles in the basement of the Atlantic Division at 2-4 in the conference. They're 2-5 overall in a season that started with a competitive half against Alabama.
Once quarterback Deondre Francois went down, the rest of the season followed. But this isn't just about Francois. The 'Noles have far too much talent to be this bad.
Last Friday night, the latest jolt came when Boston College manhandled FSU 35-3. "We were awful in the game," Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher said, according to Florida State Diehards' Joe Boozell.
Freshman quarterback James Blackman got off to a strong start, but he's struggling mightily lately and can't take care of the ball.
They'll host a Syracuse team that is playing better than its 4-4 record indicates. After stunning Clemson two weekends ago, the Orange went to Miami and lost 27-19 in a rainstorm. The game could have gone either way.
Syracuse heads to Tallahassee for a winnable game as coach Dino Babers tries to turn a corner in his two-year tenure. The Orange need to win, as a season-ending trio of Wake Forest, Louisville and Boston College looks much tougher than it did a few weeks ago.
These are two teams heading in different directions, and the 'Noles need to prove that the program isn't in disarray. The only way to do that is to pull off a win.
3. Wake Forest at Notre Dame
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It's a difficult thing to steal the spotlight away from Lamar Jackson, but that's exactly what Wake Forest signal-caller John Wolford did in a 42-32 win this past weekend.
The Demon Deacons improved to 5-3 and 2-3 in league play, and it was because of Wolford, who got off to a blistering start, wound up throwing for 464 yards and four touchdowns. He added another rushing score to spearhead what looked like a minor upset.
But maybe folks should start respecting Wake. Coach Dave Clawson has done a solid job there, and this weekend is a huge test in a spot that could mean a ton to the program.
Wake is traveling to South Bend to take on a Notre Dame team that looks like one of the best one-loss teams in the nation. The Fighting Irish have a bunch of playmakers, led by quarterback Brandon Wimbush and Heisman hopeful running back Josh Adams.
Wake Forest is going to go into this game a big underdog, especially after star wide receiver Greg Dortch was ruled out for the rest of the season with an abdominal injury, and the Irish will be one of the toughest matchups of the season for Clawson's bunch. But they should be going into this game with a nothing-to-lose mentality and a lot of confidence after beating the Cardinals.
This game will be a lot more interesting than it may look on the surface.
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2. Clemson at North Carolina State
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After a dose of disappointment this past weekend with a 35-14 loss to Notre Dame, North Carolina State (6-2, 4-0) has no chance of making it to the College Football Playoff. But the Wolfpack need to regroup and realize the biggest game of their season is coming up this weekend.
They'll host the Tigers in Raleigh, with the Atlantic Division hanging in the balance. If they win this game against a Clemson team that is far from invincible, the Wolfpack would have to win just one of their three remaining ACC games to make it to the conference championship game.
Considering coach Dave Doeren entered this season on the hot seat, that would be a considerable turnaround.
Last year, a 24-17 loss to Clemson was just one of the close losses the 'Pack suffered. They want revenge. But Tigers coach Dabo Swinney isn't concerned.
"We're not worried about NC State and what their feelings are," Swinney told TigerNet.com's Nikki Hood. "Our guys know how fortunate we were to beat them last year. This is a great, great football team. This is playoff football right here."
Both teams need to round into postseason form. Though the Tigers returned to their dominant defensive ways in a 24-10 win over Georgia Tech, they weren't as good as they're used to being. The Wolfpack gave up too many big plays in a loss to Notre Dame.
This is a game full of good players wanting to win and play in meaningful games. Getting a victory this weekend is a gateway to bigger, better things.
1. Virginia Tech at Miami
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Every week lately, Miami looks like it's going to lose its first game of the season. Then, the Hurricanes find an amazing way to win.
Whether it's a last-minute, game-clinching drive or a turnover forced by one of the most opportunistic defenses in the country, there appears to be something special about these Hurricanes. They're 7-0 in coach Mark Richt's second season, and though they don't always look great doing it, they just win.
This past weekend, it was polish-on-a-pig ugly, but a 24-19 win over a bad North Carolina team kept their record spotless. Richt told the Miami Herald's Susan Miller Degnan: "I've done it too long to apologize for winning. We've won (12) in a row. That's a good thing. But you take pride in what you do, and when it's not as clean as you want it to be, it’s bothersome. It hurts."
The 'Canes had four turnovers, but none of them produced a point. That has to get better as the Hokies come to town.
Though Virginia Tech lost to Clemson in early October, the Hokies' record is unblemished other than that. Freshman quarterback Josh Jackson gets better every week, and the defense is stout. This could be a low-scoring, grind-it-out game that decides the division.
It may come down to which quarterback between Jackson and Malik Rosier makes the most plays. They're both talented, but you can tell at times they're also first-year starters.
This will be a battle between two good teams that have been far from perfect this season. If one of them breaks through and plays their best football, they will hold the upper hand in representing the Coastal Division in the ACC Championship Game.
Unless otherwise noted, stats are courtesy of Sports Reference and CFBStats.com, and recruiting data is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings.
Brad Shepard covers college football for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter at @Brad_Shepard.
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