Your Week 9 ACC schedule. All times EST.
Virginia Cavaliers at Miami (FL) Hurricanes, 8:00 Thursday, ESPN/ESPN3: The Hurricanes, after surviving a raft of suspensions to start the season, are suddenly on an impressive two-game winning streak. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are looking to make a statement in a rare appearance on national TV. It's a showdown between teams that already have two ACC losses, surely what ESPN had in mind when they gave the conference a nearly $2 billion TV deal.
N.C. State Wolfpack at Florida State Seminoles, 12:00 Saturday, ESPNU: Jimbo Fisher's Seminoles have rebounded from their puzzling three-weak mid-season slide with consecutive 41-16 drubbings of two of the ACC's weakest football programs -- Duke and Virginia. The competition gets tougher this week as the Wolfpack travel to Tallahassee, as a loss to Tom O'Brien's squad sent Florida State into a tailspin last year.
Virginia Tech Hokies at Duke Blue Devils, 12:30 Saturday, ESPN3: The Hokies, after a tough 23-3 home loss to Clemson, have returned to their usual ACC form, reeling off a three-game win streak to put themselves in first place in the ACC Coastal Division. Frank Beamer has 10 consecutive victories over Duke, with an average margin of victory of 23.1 points.
Boston College Eagles at Maryland Terrapins, 3:00 Saturday, ESPN3: Two programs in complete disarray at the bottom of the ACC Atlantic standings meet in a game to determine ... something. The Terrapins have struggled in the transition to first-year coach Randy Edsall, with Danny O'Brien, widely considered the best young QB in the ACC before the year began, possibly transferring at the end of the season. There isn't much positive to say about the Eagles in Frank Spaziani's third season there, as Boston College is 1-6, with their only victory coming against FCS school UMass.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons at North Carolina Tar Heels, 3:30 Saturday, ESPNU: The Demon Deacons have been one of the biggest surprises of the ACC season, as Jim Grobe's team is sitting at 5-2, second in the ACC Atlantic. After a nail-biting 24-23 win over Duke, a win against another of their Research Triangle rivals would make them bowl eligible for only the fifth time Grobe's 11 seasons there. The Tar Heels still have a ton of talent left over from the sudden end of the Butch Davis era, although they are currently only 1-3 in ACC play.
Clemson Tigers at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 8:00 Saturday, ABC/ESPN3: A road game in Atlanta is Clemson's last serious hurdle to an undefeated season before the ACC Championship Game. Georgia Tech's two-game losing streak has taken some of the shine off this match-up; the Yellow Jackets ability to hold the ball will be crucial to keeping Clemson's explosive offense off the field.
For further reading, news, discussion and more, visit SB Nation's college football news hub and college football blogs for more.