Wake Forest and Duke Face Decisive Tests Against Ranked Rivals
No. 11 Wake Forest visits No. 25 SMU while Duke travels to No. 5 Miami, as the ACC slate features high-stakes matchups for playoff contenders.
By Lucas Navarro ·
The Atlantic Coast Conference slate features two high-stakes matchups this weekend as top-ranked teams seek to solidify their positions in the College Football Playoff race.
No. 11 Wake Forest (8-1, 5-1 ACC) plays at No. 25 SMU (7-2, 5-2) at noon ET on Saturday. A victory for the Demon Deacons would secure a spot in the ACC championship game and keep their CFP bid alive. Quarterback Gio Lopez, who missed last week's 77-0 win over Merrimack due to injury, is expected to start. Coach Jake Dickert described Lopez as “ready to go” for an offense that has scored at least 38 points in five consecutive games.
SMU enters the contest as part of a group of four teams in the league with two losses. The Mustangs scored 51 points in a home win against Virginia Tech last week, powered by quarterback Kevin Jennings. Jennings currently ranks fifth in the nation in passing average with 307.1 yards per game and is tied for fourth in passing touchdowns with 25.
No. 5 Miami (8-1, 6-0 ACC) hosts Duke (7-2, 4-2) at noon ET on ABC. The Hurricanes dropped from the No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 and CFP standings after a loss at Notre Dame. Duke arrives off wins against Boston College and N.C. State by a combined margin of 88-5. The game marks a reunion for Miami quarterback Darian Mensah, who previously led Duke to an ACC title before transferring after a legal dispute. Mensah is second in the nation in passing touchdowns with 28 and seventh in passing average with 299.3 yards per game. Duke running back Nate Sheppard is No. 2 nationally in rushing with 132.1 yards per game and fourth in rushing touchdowns with 17.
Other notable games include Louisville (6-3) visiting North Carolina (5-4) at 7 p.m. ET. Louisville has averaged 43.5 points over four straight wins. North Carolina, in Bill Belichick's second season, seeks a sixth win for bowl eligibility after giving Miami a 38-35 loss earlier this year.
Virginia Tech hosts Stanford on Saturday. Running back Jeffrey Overton Jr. rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns in last week's loss to SMU. He has surpassed 100 yards in three games this season, including a 209-yard performance against Boston College in September.
Virginia visits California on Saturday. Quarterback Beau Pribula has thrown for 212 yards or less in his last three games and has recorded only one touchdown pass in that span. The Cavaliers are on a three-game losing streak and need a win to maintain their bowl eligibility pursuit.
Interim coaches at Florida State and N.C. State are 2-1 combined. Florida State visits Pittsburgh on Friday night. N.C. State hosts Syracuse on Saturday. Georgia Tech plays at Clemson on Saturday, looking to extend the series streak that began in 2015.
