Three to watch

1) N.C. State at Miami, noon (ESPNU)

The Wolfpack (3-1) offense, which is without both of its starting tackles, will have to keep up with a Miami (3-1) offense that averaged 41.5 points in two ACC wins. The Canes defense has given up 68 points in those two ACC wins, though.

2) Duke at Wake Forest, 12:30 (CBS)

For two historically bad programs, they historically put on entertaining games, despite Wake’s 12-game winning streak in the series. Both teams are 3-1 this year, and both need this game to get to six wins and become bowl eligible.

3) Clemson at Boston College, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

An FSU hangover? The Tigers (3-1) can’t afford one, or any missed steps the rest of the way, if they hope to catch the Seminoles in the Atlantic Division. Surprisingly, Boston College (1-2) has won four of seven against Clemson since joining the ACC.

Number to know

11-4 N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien’s record against the Coastal Division, including wins over Miami in 2007 and ’08.

Observations

•  Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh 34-10 and Pittsburgh beat Virginia Tech 35-17, so Cincinnati will beat Virginia Tech today, right? Eh, not so fast. The Hokies (3-1) sleepwalked through the Pitt game, which was their fault, but that doesn’t guarantee they’ll do the same against the Bearcats (2-0).

Virginia Tech showed signs of awakening in last week’s 37-0 win over Bowling Green. Coach Frank Beamer noticed the same thing.

“I thought we were playing with some effort and some toughness and that’s who we need to be,” Beamer said earlier this week.

•  Host Virginia is an underdog to Louisiana Tech (3-0), which is hard to believe since the Cavaliers have had one of the best home-field advantages in the ACC the past 25 years. But Virginia’s offense has been inept and the Bulldogs have put up 56, 56 and 52 points in wins over Houston, Rice and Illinois.

Virginia (2-2) won’t be able to score that many points, so it will be up to the defense to get the win, which the Cavaliers will likely need to reach six wins and return to a bowl game for the second straight year under Mike London.

•  N.C. State safety Brandan Bishop, who’s from Boca Raton, Fla., said he’s hoping to have a group of 30 family members and friends at Saturday’s game against Miami at Sun Life Stadium. Given the early kickoff, the size of Miami’s student body, the location of Sun Life Stadium relative to Miami’s campus and the general apathy toward Miami football, Bishop’s support group will be a significant boost in attendance. The school announced 39,435 for its home opener against Bethune-Cookman (the stadium holds 76,100) and is selling $9 tickets through its own web site.