Saturday morning blitz: Pirates have won last two against Wolfpack
3 to watch
1. N.C. State at East Carolina, noon (ESPNU): The Pirates (1-0) have won five straight against ACC opponents and their last two against the Wolfpack (1-0).
2. Penn State at Pittsburgh, noon (WTVD): A rivalry time forgot. It would be best for James Franklin’s long-term future with the Nittany Lions (1-0) to find a way to win over the Panthers (1-0).
3. Virginia Tech vs. No. 17 Tennessee, 8 p.m. (WTVD): Bristol Motor Speedway hopes to break an attendance record for a college football game. The Vols (1-0) hope to find their offense and the Hokies (1-0) hope to play spoiler.
Observations
▪ UNC ran for 254 yards in last year’s 48-14 home win over Illinois. The Tar Heels (0-1) face the Fighting Illini (1-0) on the road on Saturday and expect to see a heavy dose of the Tar Heels’ ground game.
Running back Elijah Hood had 129 yards, on 16 carries, against the Illini last year. Hood had 72 yards, on 10 carries, in UNC’s loss to Georgia last week. As a team, UNC ran for 159 yards. Hood and running back T.J. Logan accounted for 152 yards on 16 carries, or 9.5 yards per pop.
▪ Neither Duke nor Wake Forest can clinch a bowl win in Durham on Saturday but either will be hard-pressed to count to six by the end of the season without a win on Saturday.
The Blue Devils (1-0) have won four straight against the Demon Deacons (1-0), who had won the previous 12 meetings.
Wake Forest has to figure out a way to do more on offense. The Deacs had 175 yards and 10 first downs in last week’s 7-3 win over Tulane. Kendall Hinton, a sophomore from Durham, accounted for the only touchdown with a 1-yard TD run. Hinton probably gives the Deacs the best chance on offense but coach Dave Clawson has been reluctant make him the starter.
▪ After a 37-20 home loss to an FCS team (Richmond), Virginia (0-1) goes to No. 24 Oregon (1-0) for a late kickoff (10:30 p.m.) with the Ducks. The good news for first-year coach Bronco Mendenhall is the Cavaliers don’t have to play either Clemson or Florida State this season. The bad news? He still has to play 10 more games after this week.
Number to know
115,109
Attendance record for a college football game, set at Michigan in 2013 (for a game with Notre Dame). More than 150,000-plus are expected to attend the Virginia Tech-Tennessee game at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night.
Top 25
Friday
No. 13 Louisville at Syracuse, 8 p.m.
Saturday
No. 1 Alabama vs. Western Kentucky, 3:30 p.m.
No. 2 Clemson vs. Troy, 12:30 p.m.
No. 3 Florida State vs. Charleston Southern, 12:30 p.m.
No. 4 Ohio State vs. Tulsa, 3:30 p.m.
No. 5 Michigan vs. UCF, Noon
No. 6 Houston vs. Lamar, Noon
No. 8 Washington vs. Idaho, 5 p.m.
No. 9 Georgia vs. Nicholls, Noon
No. 10 Wisconson vs. Akron, 3:30 p.m.
No. 11 Texas vs. UTEP, 7 p.m.
No. 14 Oklahoma vs. Louisiana-Monroe, 7 p.m.
No. 15 TCU vs. Arkansas, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Iowa vs. Iowa State, 7:30 p.m.
No. 17 Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech at Bristol, Tenn., 8 p.m.
No. 18 Notre Dame vs. Nevada, 3:30 p.m.
No. 19 Mississippi vs. Wofford, 4 p.m.
No. 20 Texas A&M vs. Prairie View, Noon
No. 21 LSU vs. Jacksonville State, 7:30 p.m.
No. 22 Oklahoma State vs. Central Michigan, Noon
No. 23 Baylor vs. SMU, 3:30 p.m.
No. 24 Oregon vs. Virginia, 10:30 p.m.
No. 25 Miami vs. FAU, 6 p.m.
This story was originally published September 9, 2016 at 11:21 AM with the headline "Saturday morning blitz: Pirates have won last two against Wolfpack."