Things to watch in the Atlantic Coast Conference in Week 11:
GAME OF THE WEEK
Miami at No. 4 Florida State. It’s a marquee matchup on paper, though only the Seminoles (9-0, 7-0 ACC) have looked on top of their game. FSU clinched its trip to the ACC title game with last week’s win and is positioned to make the College Football Playoff.
Meanwhile, the Hurricanes (6-3, 2-3) are coming off a loss at North Carolina State in which they failed to reach the end zone.
That turnover-filled performance as a favorite was the latest head-scratcher for a team that gave away a sure win against Georgia Tech with a combination of a coaching mistake and a last-second TD. And it drained momentum from back-to-back overtime home wins against Clemson and Virginia.
BEST MATCHUP
No. 24 North Carolina (7-3, 3-2) vs. Duke (6-3, 3-2).
The Tar Heels have an offense that can beat opponents downfield or with a power running game. The Blue Devils have a terrific defense and are in the top 10 of the Bowl Subdivision ranks in allowing only 15.7 points per game.”
North Carolina has an NFL prospect in QB Drake Maye, who ranks third in FBS with 339.7 yards of total offense per game, and a solid running back in Omarion Hampton, who is fourth nationally in rushing (118.6).
UNC is trying for a fifth straight year of keeping the Victory Bell, a cart carrying a former railroad engine bell used in the rivalry in the late 1940s. The winner typically paints the cart its shade of light or dark blue.
LONG SHOT
Georgia Tech (5-4, 4-2) visits Clemson on Saturday as a 14 1/2-point underdog as of Tuesday, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Yet the Yellow Jackets have had a knack for winning in these situations under Brent Key.
The Yellow Jackets beat ranked Pitt and UNC teams last year under Key as he closed out his time as the interim coach, then took won at then-ranked Miami in early October before running for 246 yards in the fourth quarter of a win against a ranked UNC team.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
For whatever reason, North Carolina State has all kinds of trouble playing at Wake Forest.
Saturday’s trip about 100 miles west along Interstate 40 marks the latest renewal in the longtime, in-state series. But N.C. State has won just once in Winston-Salem since 2001, a curious streak that spanned eventual NFL-bound Wolfpack quarterbacks like Philip Rivers, Russell Wilson and Mike Glennon.
N.C. State lost six straight meetings from 2003 on until winning in 2015. The Demon Deacons have won the three meetings since, including a shootout between ranked teams in November 2021 that ultimately swung the race for the now-defunct Atlantic Division title to Wake Forest.
IMPACT PLAYER
Clemson running back Phil Mafah is coming off a big rushing day in the Tigers’ win against Notre Dame. The junior ran 36 times for 186 yards and two touchdowns, which marked his second 100-yard game and the most for any Clemson runner this season. He has run for four touchdowns in the past two games entering the Georgia Tech game.
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