Your Week 6 ACC schedule. All times EST.
Louisville Cardinals at North Carolina Tar Heels, 12:00pm Saturday, ESPN2: Butch Davis might be gone, but enough of his high caliber recruits - especially along the defensive line - are still doing quite well in Chapel Hill. UNC is 4-1, a remarkable mark considering their tumultuous late offseason. Louisville's defense has been respectable so far (leading the nation in tackles for loss), but the offense has been embarrassing in losses to Florida International and Marshall.
Maryland Terrapins at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 12:00pm Saturday, ESPNU: The last thing a "transitioning" young defense under a new head coach needs is a trip to chase Paul Johnson's triple option. The Jackets lead the nation in rushing offense (378.2 yards per game), and are second (first in the ACC) in both points and total yardage. Since imploding against West Virginia, the Terps have been blown out twice, and are giving up over 400 yards a game.
Florida State Seminoles at Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 12:30pm Saturday, ACC Network: With virtually zero national attention after two losses and the return of quarterback E.J. Manuel, the Seminoles will attempt to start fresh in conference play. Wake is a quiet 3-1 and playing like a high-end Jim Grobe team: senior leadership and strong quarterback play from Tanner Price. FSU must run the ball better (79 yards a game average) to let Manuel ease back in.
Boston College Eagles at Clemson Tigers, 3:00pm Saturday, RSN: The Tigers' conference redemption tour continues hosting a BC team that's 4-2 against Clemson since joining the ACC. The Eagles beat Clemson last year, and both defenses are giving up 375 yards or more a game. Boston College has struggled offensively all season and the Tiger defense never looked better last week, allowing only 3 points on the road versus Virginia Tech. If this is the assumed letdown game for Clemson, it would be a monumental loss.
Central Michigan Chippewas at North Carolina State Wolfpack, 3:30pm Saturday, ESPN3: CMU hopes an upset of Northern Illinois will carry them into beaten and (emotionally) bruised Raleigh, where NC State is recovering from blowout losses to Cincinnati and Georgia Tech, and some guy named Wilson is a Heisman candidate wearing a slightly different shade of red. Both defenses are giving up at least 30 points a game.
Miami Hurricanes at Virginia Tech Hokies, 3:30pm ET, ABC/ESPN: The only thing more hazy than VTI's rare home collapse last week against Clemson is exactly what kind of Miami team will be coming to Blacksburg Saturday. A bye week, injuries, suspensions and a FCS game have all clouded the real 2011 Hurricanes team. Both teams prefer to run in favor of shaky quarterback play, so defense and timely turnovers (something Miami QB Jacory Harris knows about all too well) will be the difference.
Check out SBNation for the full schedule of college football games this weekend.