ACC News and Notes
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.- 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).
- 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.
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 players 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 iwth 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.
Share
Contributors
