Duke-UNC and more: The football games to watch
Inside the ACC
3 to watch
1. Duke at No. 21 UNC, noon (ESPN2): The Blue Devils (6-2) have actually won more games in Chapel Hill (two, 2003, 2013) in the series than in Durham (one, 2012) in the past 25 years.
2. No. 17 Florida State at No. 3 Clemson, 3:30 p.m. (ABC): It’s all on the line for the Tigers (8-0): the division title, the ACC title and their No. 1 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings. The Seminoles (7-1) are in the rare role of spoiler.
3. No. 8 Notre Dame at Pitt, noon (ABC): Notre Dame (7-1) got a lot of love from the CFP rankings and might be able to sneak into the playoff if it wins out. The Panthers (6-2) try to avoid back-to-back losses.
Observations
▪ Duke’s chances against North Carolina, and for a division title, come down to containing Marquise Williams. Duke coach David Cutcliffe compared Williams’ ability to emotionally defeat the opposition to Reggie Jackson, LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
That might be a smidge of an exaggeration but Williams did throw for 278 yards and two touchdowns and run for 98 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s 45-20 UNC rout in Durham.
▪ Everett Golson has avoided mistakes as Florida State’s quarterback but he also hasn’t made enough big plays. Sean Maguire, who started last week because Golson suffered a concussion in a 22-16 loss at Georgia Tech on Oct. 24, threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns in a 45-21 win over Syracuse.
Now Syracuse is not Clemson but the FSU offense was more diverse with Maguire, who was more willing to take shots down the field and get receiver Travis Rudolph (five catches, 191 yards) involved.
FSU has too much talent to simply rely on running back Dalvin Cook. Maguire, if he starts, gives them a better chance against Clemson than Golson.
▪ Boston College has not quite been reduced to using a linebacker at quarterback, like Maryland did in 2012 (with future Big Ten “legend” Shawn Petty), but the Eagles are running out of options. Darius Wade, Jeff Smith, Troy Flutie and walk-on John Fadule have all been called into action as the Eagles learn more and more every week how much they miss Tyler Murphy.
Numbers to know
0 Number of times before Saturday’s trip to Clemson that Florida State has been a double-digit underdog in an ACC game. The Seminoles joined the ACC in 1992. This the first time the Seminoles (7-1) have been a double-digit underdog in an ACC game. The Tigers (8-0) are more concerned with protecting their spot atop the CFP rankings.
Top 25 schedule
Thursday
No. 2 Baylor at Kansas State, 7:30 p.m.
No. 24 Mississippi State at Missouri, 9 p.m.
Friday
No. 23 Temple at SMU, late
Saturday
No. 1 Ohio State vs. Minnesota, 8 p.m.
No. 3 Clemson vs. No. 17 Florida State, 3:30 p.m.
No. 4 LSU at No. 7 Alabama, 8 p.m.
No. 5 TCU at No. 12 Oklahoma State, 3:30 p.m.
No. 6 Michigan State at Nebraska, 7 p.m.
No. 8 Notre Dame at Pittsburgh, noon
No. 9 Stanford at Colorado, 1 p.m.
No. 10 Iowa at Indiana, 3:30 p.m.
No. 11 Florida vs. Vanderbilt, noon
No. 13 Utah at Washington, 7:30 p.m.
No. 14 Oklahoma vs. Iowa State, 7 p.m.
No. 15 Memphis vs. Navy, 7 p.m.
No. 16 Michigan vs. Rutgers, 3:30 p.m.
No. 18 Houston vs. Cincinnati, 3:30 p.m.
No. 19 Mississippi vs. Arkansas, 3:30 p.m.
No. 21 North Carolina vs. Duke, Noon
No. 22 UCLA at Oregon State, 4:30 p.m.
No. 25 Texas A&M vs. Auburn, 7:30 p.m.
This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Duke-UNC and more: The football games to watch."