Saturday morning blitz
Inside the ACC
3 to watch
1. Louisville at No. 11 Florida State, noon (ESPN): The Cardinals (2-3) gave the Seminoles (5-0) everything they wanted last year. The Noles need to keep pace with Clemson.
2. Virginia Tech at Miami, 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU): The Hokies (3-3) breathed new life into their season with a home win over N.C. State last week. Miami (3-2) will try to recover from a tough loss at FSU.
3. Wake Forest at UNC, 7 p.m. (Fox Sports Carolinas): Only the fifth meeting between the old “Big Four” rivals since expansion and first in Chapel Hill since 2011.
Observations
▪ This is the perfect time for Virginia Tech to face Miami. The Hokies got back on track last week with a 28-13 win over N.C. State and kept their division hopes alive. They catch a Miami team coming off an emotional 29-24 loss to rival Florida State. After losing to FSU last year, Miami dropped its last three games of the season.
Virginia Tech gets both Duke and UNC at home later in November but neither game will matter to its division chances if it can’t beat Miami.
▪ Boston College has seven points in three ACC games, all losses. The Eagles have already played two of the better defenses in the ACC in Duke and Florida State and get another with Clemson’s revamped lineup.
The Tigers have the best mark in conference play in rushing defense, allowing only 90 yards in wins over Louisville and Georgia Tech. Considering how much they’ve lost on defense, and that they’ve already played the top rushing team in the ACC, that bodes well for Dabo Swinney’s group going forward.
▪ There should probably be an FCC warning, or at least a medical disclaimer, before and during the Syracuse-Virginia telecast on Fox Sports Carolinas (3:30 p.m.). Although, if viewers could make it through Boston College-Wake Forest last week, they can make it through anything.
Number to know
3 ACC teams (5. Clemson, 11. FSU, 25. Duke) ranked in the AP top 25, fewest among the “Power 5” conference.
Top 25 schedule
Saturday’s games ... comments where deserving.
No. 1 Ohio State vs. Penn State: 8 pm
No. 2 Baylor vs. West Virginia: Noon
No. 3 TCU at Iowa State: 7 pm
No. 4 Utah vs. Arizona State: 10 pm
No. 5 Clemson vs. Boston College: 7 pm
No. 6 LSU vs. No. 8 Florida: 7 pm
No. 7 Michigan State at No. 12 Michigan: 3:30 pm
No. 9 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Alabama: 3:30 pm
No. 11 Florida State vs. Louisville: Noon
No. 13 Ole Miss at Memphis: Noon
No. 14 Notre Dame vs. Southern Cal: 7:30 pm
No. 15 Stanford xx, No. 18 UCLA XX: Thursday
No. 16 Oklahoma State: Idle
No. 17 Iowa at No. 20 Northwestern: Noon
No. 19 Oklahoma at Kansas State: 3:30 pm
No. 21 Boise State at Utah State: Friday, 9 pm
No. 22 Toledo vs. Eastern Michigan: Noon
No. 24 Houston at Tulane: Friday, 9 pm
No. 25 Duke: Idle
This story was originally published October 16, 2015 at 6:54 AM with the headline "Saturday morning blitz."