Things to watch in the Atlantic Coast Conference in Week 6:
Game of the week
No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 25 Louisville. The Fighting Irish (4-1) ended the surprising unbeaten start of one ACC opponent at No. 19 Duke a week ago. They get another chance when they visit the Cardinals, who are 5-0 for the first time in 10 years. The game highlights a weekend when two other ranked, ACC unbeatens in No. 5 Florida State and No. 17 Miami get back on the field after a week off. The Seminoles (4-0) start a three-game homestand against Virginia Tech, while the Hurricanes (4-0) host Georgia Tech.
Notre Dame, a football independent, has won its past 30 games against ACC opponents. That streak includes victories over Louisville in 2019 and the COVID-19 year of 2020. A week ago, Notre Dame rallied for the winning touchdown on Audric Estime’s 30-yard scoring run with 35 seconds left at Duke. The Irish converted a two-point play for the final margin.
Louisville is undefeated behind first-year coach Jeff Brohm and transfer quarterback Jack Plummer, who played for Brohm at Purdue before going to California. The Cardinals moved into the rankings after last week’s 13-10 win at North Carolina State.
Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman was 2-3 against Louisville when he was Wake Forest’s quarterback from 2018-22.
Best matchup
Syracuse at No. 14 North Carolina. The game features two of the ACC’s best quarterbacks in the Tar Heels’ Drake Maye and Syracuse’s Garrett Shrader. North Carolina (4-0, 1-0 is hoping to keep its undefeated season going, while the Orange (4-1, 0-1) are hoping to bounce back after their undefeated start was undone by Clemson 31-14 a week ago.
The Tar Heels want to stay amid the four ACC unbeatens and remain in the mix for the league championship, which will now be determined by the two programs with the top winning percentages.
Syracuse can’t afford a second straight loss if it hopes to be in contention should chaos ensue.
Long shot
Wake Forest is a 20 ½-point underdog at Clemson, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. The Demon Deacons (3-1, 0-1) have lost 14 straight in the series dating to 2008, a Clemson loss that led to the dismissal of Tommy Bowden and the promotion of receivers coach Dabo Swinney.
Wake Forest will also face a loud, frenzied crowd ready to cheer Swinney’s attempt to tie the late Frank Howard — the one the rock at Memorial Stadium is named for — for the all-time program wins record at 165.
The Tigers (3-2, 1-2) are looking to win consecutive games against Power Five opponents for the first time since beating Louisville and Miami last November. They’ve gone 2-4 against such programs since.
Inside the numbers
Clemson tailback Will Shipley and Florida State defensive end Jared Verse are both active career leaders.
Shipley, a junior, tops all current players with 121.1 all-purpose yards per game. He’s got 3,512 such yards in total: 2,273 rushing, 454 receiving and 785 in kick returns in 29 games.
Verse leads active FBS players in career tackles-for-loss per game at 1.22.
Impact player(s)
Wake Forest linebacker Jacob Roberts and defensive lineman Jasheen Davis are ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in ACC sacks per game. Roberts has averaged 1.25 sacks per game, while Davis sits right behind at 1.13. They’re Nos. 2 and 3 in tackles for loss per game in the ACC and big reasons the Demon Deacons are tied for the league lead with 16 sacks on the year.
This week’s schedule
Saturday
- Boston College at Army, noon, CBS Sports Network
- William & Mary at Virginia, noon, ACC Network
- Marshall at N.C. State, 2 p.m., The CW (WGNT)
- Virginia Tech at No. 5 Florida State, 3:30 p.m., ABC (WVEC)
- Syracuse at No. 14 North Carolina, 3:30 p.m., ESPN
- Wake Forest at Clemson, 3:30 p.m., ACCN
- No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 25 Louisville, 7:30 p.m., ABC (WVEC)
- Georgia Tech at No. 17 Miami, 8 p.m., ACCN
