ACC Round-Up: Is Miami Bulletproof — or Did UNC Just Hand Everyone the Blueprint?
Another Saturday in the Atlantic Coast Conference, another slate of madness. From Tobacco Road to a Halloween upset in the Dome, Week 9 proved once again that nobody in this league gets a free Saturday. Not even No. 1.
Miami left Chapel Hill 8-0 and 6-0 in the ACC, but it wasn’t pretty. North Carolina led 28-24 in the fourth quarter. The Hurricanes needed Mark Fletcher Jr.’s two-yard touchdown run on fourth down to retake the lead, then turned a Billy Edwards Jr. fumble into the touchdown that sealed it, 38-35.
Edwards threw for 341 yards against the nation’s top-ranked team. That’s the angle to watch: Miami is unbeaten, but a 4-4 Tar Heels team just showed everyone else on the schedule (Notre Dame this week, then Duke, Virginia Tech and Boston College) that the Canes can be stressed.
Behind them, the race for the second spot in Charlotte got clearer.
Wake Forest, now 7-1 and 5-1 in league play, pounded Virginia 51-7 for its fifth straight win. The one thing that could slow the Deacs down is the health of QB Gio Lopez, who left late in the third quarter with what was reported as a right knee injury. Jake Dickert said the “initial reports were good.”
SMU took the hit of the night. The Mustangs walked into Syracuse ranked No. 19 and walked out 30-27 losers when Steve Angeli hit tight end Noah Meyers for a two-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left. That drops SMU to 4-2, putting it in a jam with Louisville (4-2), which won its third straight by outscoring Stanford 28-0 after halftime. Right behind those two is a three-way logjam at 3-2: Duke, Virginia Tech and Clemson.
That brings us to Tallahassee.
Clemson’s 36-24 win at Florida State won’t fix the Tigers’ season by itself, but it was the most complete thing they’ve shown against a Power 4 opponent. They scored on 8 of 13 drives and won the turnover battle 4-0.
Freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds threw his first touchdown passes in a month, then broke a 79-yard touchdown run on 3rd-and-12 to finish it, the longest run by a quarterback in Clemson history.
Nolan Hauser made all five field-goal tries, including a 50-yarder, and is now 23-of-24 on the year. Meanwhile, Florida State has lost three straight and is 1-5 against Power 4 teams, and will look to interim coach Rick Stockstill to finish the season after the Seminoles fired Mike Norvell.
The bottom line: Miami is still the team to beat, and Wake Forest is in the driver’s seat for the other title-game spot. Below them, six teams with two or three league losses are counting on head-to-head results and SportSource’s Team Success Ranking to sort out November.
Section 1: Updated ACC Standings (Post-Week 9)
| Rank | Team | ACC | Overall | Streak | Next Matchup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 6-0 | 8-0 | W8 | at Notre Dame (Sat 7:30, NBC) |
| 2 | Wake Forest | 5-1 | 7-1 | W5 | vs. Merrimack (Sat 3:30, ACCN) |
| 3 | Louisville | 4-2 | 5-3 | W3 | at Georgia Tech (Sat 7:30, ACCN) |
| 4 | SMU | 4-2 | 6-2 | L1 | vs. Virginia Tech (Fri 7:00, ESPN) |
| 5 | Duke | 3-2 | 6-2 | W2 | at NC State (Sat 12:30, CW) |
| 6 | Virginia Tech | 3-2 | 6-2 | W2 | at SMU (Fri 7:00, ESPN) |
| 7 | Clemson | 3-2 | 5-3 | W1 | at Syracuse (Sat 12:00, ESPN2) |
| 8 | Pitt | 3-3 | 6-3 | W1 | Open date |
| 9 | Boston College | 2-3 | 4-4 | L1 | vs. Florida State (Sat 12:00, ACCN) |
| 10 | NC State | 2-3 | 4-4 | W1 | vs. Duke (Sat 12:30, CW) |
| 11 | North Carolina | 2-3 | 4-4 | L1 | at UConn (Sat 12:00, CBSSN) |
| 12 | Virginia | 2-4 | 4-5 | L2 | Open date |
| 13 | California | 2-4 | 3-6 | L1 | Open date |
| 14 | Syracuse | 2-4 | 4-4 | W2 | vs. Clemson (Sat 12:00, ESPN2) |
| 15 | Stanford | 2-4 | 4-5 | L1 | Open date |
| 16 | Georgia Tech | 1-3 | 2-5 | L1 | vs. Louisville (Sat 7:30, ACCN) |
| 17 | Florida State | 1-4 | 3-5 | L3 | at Boston College (Sat 12:00, ACCN) |
Weekend Recaps (Oct. 31)
Miami 38, North Carolina 35
The Story: No. 1 Miami trailed 28-24 in the fourth quarter at Chapel Hill before Mark Fletcher Jr.’s fourth-down 2-yard touchdown put it back in front. A Billy Edwards Jr. fumble then led to the game-clinching score. Key Metric: Edwards threw for 341 yards and a touchdown against the nation’s No. 1 team, and UNC matched Miami’s 21 second-half points.
What It Means: Miami (8-0, 6-0) keeps a two-game cushion in losses. UNC (4-4, 2-3) has the look of a bowl team but has no margin for error left.
Wake Forest 51, Virginia 7
The Story: No. 14 Wake Forest controlled the game from start to finish for its fifth straight win. Ty Clark III ran for three touchdowns, and Gio Lopez threw for 229 yards and a score. Key Metric: Wake won by 44 points.
What It Means: At 7-1 and 5-1, Wake is the clear No. 2 in the league. Lopez’s knee is now the biggest injury storyline in the conference.
Syracuse 30, SMU 27
The Story: Steve Angeli led an 11-play drive starting from Syracuse’s own 32 with 3:36 left and hit tight end Noah Meyers for a 2-yard touchdown with 17 seconds remaining. It was the Orange’s first win over a ranked team since Nov. 30, 2024. Key Metric: Syracuse held SMU to 70 rushing yards and sacked the Mustangs four times. Kevin Jennings still threw for 351 yards.
What It Means: Syracuse (4-4, 2-4) has won two straight and can now realistically chase a bowl. SMU (6-2, 4-2) loses its share of second place and has to beat Virginia Tech on Friday.
Louisville 52, Stanford 24
The Story: The game was tied 24-24 in the third quarter before Louisville scored 28 straight points. Isaac Brown ran for 139 yards and scored four total touchdowns. Key Metric: Louisville gained 545 yards, and Lincoln Kienholz threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score.
What It Means: Louisville (5-3, 4-2) has won three straight and is a real factor in the title race. Stanford (4-5, 2-4) has now lost 15 straight road games.
Clemson 36, Florida State 24
The Story: Clemson built a 29-10 lead in the fourth quarter and survived a Florida State rally. Reynolds’ 79-yard touchdown run with 3:17 left and Elliot Washington II’s interception in the end zone ended it. Key Metric: Clemson forced four turnovers and committed none, and held FSU to 65 rushing yards on 29 carries and 1-of-10 on third down. Hauser went 5-for-5 on field goals.
What It Means: Clemson (5-3, 3-2) stopped the slide after losing to Virginia Tech and stays in the group at 3-2. Left guard Elyjah Thurmon was taken off the field on a backboard and was expected to stay overnight in a Tallahassee hospital, so watch for an update on him. FSU (3-5, 1-4) has lost three straight and played its first game without leading rusher Ousmane Kromah.
Duke 47, Boston College 2
The Story: Sophomore Nate Sheppard set a Duke school record with five rushing touchdowns (20 carries, 97 yards). After BC’s first-quarter safety, the Eagles never scored again. Key Metric: Five rushing touchdowns for Sheppard, and zero points allowed by Duke’s defense.
What It Means: Duke (6-2, 3-2) is bowl-eligible for the fifth straight year. Boston College (4-4, 2-3) has some soul-searching to do after that one.
NC State 31, California 10
The Story: NC State shut out Cal in the second half and outscored the Bears 21-0 after halftime at Carter-Finley Stadium. Davion Gause ran for 104 yards, and Deandre Desinor caught a 49-yard touchdown pass. Key Metric: Cal scored zero second-half points, and CJ Bailey threw for 192 yards.
What It Means: NC State (4-4, 2-3) needs two more wins for bowl eligibility. Cal falls to 3-6 and 2-4.
Pitt 34, Georgia Tech 11
The Story: Pitt snapped a three-game losing streak behind freshman Damon Ferguson Jr., who ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries. Georgia Tech’s only touchdown came in the fourth quarter, an 18-yard run by Grady Adamson. Key Metric: Pitt ran for 281 yards, sacked GT five times and held the Yellow Jackets to 238 total yards.
What It Means: Pitt (6-3, 3-3) is bowl-eligible. Georgia Tech is 3-10 since starting last season 8-0.
Off in Week 9: Virginia Tech.
The Week Ahead (Week 10, Nov. 6-7)
Game of the Week: Virginia Tech at SMU, Fri. Nov. 6, 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
This is effectively an elimination game. SMU (4-2) is coming off a gut-punch loss in the Dome. Virginia Tech (3-2) is rested after its bye and coming off a win over Clemson. The winner stays in the race for Charlotte and owns the head-to-head tiebreaker; the loser is basically playing for bowl position.
Key unit matchup: SMU’s passing game against Virginia Tech’s pass rush. Syracuse beat SMU by stopping the run (70 yards allowed) and sacking Jennings four times, and still gave up 351 passing yards. If the Hokies can make SMU one-dimensional and get pressure on Jennings, they win. If Jennings has time to throw, Dallas gets loud. One more wrinkle: SMU hosts Wake Forest on Nov. 14, so the Mustangs can’t afford to look ahead.
Conference Games
- Clemson at Syracuse, Sat. noon, ESPN2: Syracuse has won two straight and is a lot more dangerous than its 2-4 league record suggests. Clemson’s offensive line could be shuffled if Thurmon can’t play, which matters against a front that just sacked SMU four times. If Clemson wins the turnover battle again and Hauser keeps hitting, the Tigers leave 6-3.
- Florida State at Boston College, Sat. noon, ACCN: These are two teams coming off ugly losses (47-2 and 36-24). FSU has to stop a three-game slide without Kromah; BC has to find any offense after scoring only a safety at Duke. Watch whether Ashton Daniels takes care of the ball: he had four turnovers last week.
- Duke at NC State, Sat. 12:30 p.m., CW: It’s a Tobacco Road game. Sheppard and Duke’s rushing attack go against an NC State defense that just shut Cal out in the second half. Duke has to win this to stay in the 3-2 group with a shot at Charlotte; NC State needs it for bowl eligibility.
- Louisville at Georgia Tech, Sat. 7:30 p.m., ACCN: Louisville’s balanced offense (Kienholz and Brown) faces a Georgia Tech defense that just gave up 281 rushing yards. Anything less than a comfortable Louisville win would be a surprise, and the Cardinals need to bank it before tougher games against North Carolina (Nov. 14) and Pitt (Nov. 21).
Non-Conference
- Miami at Notre Dame, Sat. 7:30 p.m., NBC: This is the CFP résumé game of the week for the whole league. A Miami win strengthens the ACC’s case; a loss doesn’t hurt Miami’s league standing but adds fuel to the “forgotten Power Four” talk.
- North Carolina at UConn, Sat. noon, CBSSN: It’s a must-win for UNC’s bowl hopes after the near-upset of Miami.
- Merrimack at Wake Forest, Sat. 3:30 p.m., ACCN: It’s a chance for Wake to rest Lopez if needed and give him time to heal.
Open Dates
Pitt, Virginia, California, and Stanford
