Things to watch this week in the Atlantic Coast Conference:
Game of the week
No. 8 Miami (5-0, 1-0 ACC) at California (3-1, 0-1), Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
The Hurricanes have their best start since winning the first 10 games of the 2017 season as they make a cross-country trip face the Bears, who are playing their first ACC home game.
Miami survived a wild finish to edge Virginia Tech last week and has positioned itself at the front of the league title chase along with No. 15 Clemson. That has come behind star quarterback Cam Ward, who leads the Bowl Subdivision ranks with 18 touchdown passes while ranking third nationally in passing offense (356.4).
The Bears lost their league debut at Florida State on Sept. 21 and are coming off an open week.
The undercard
Duke (5-0, 1-0) at Georgia Tech (3-2, 1-2) , Saturday at 8 p.m. (ACC Network)
The Blue Devils are off to their best start since winning the first seven games of the 1994 season, and they’re coming off a comeback from 20 down to beat rival North Carolina. It’s been a strong start to Manny Diaz’s coaching tenure, notably with Duke getting after it up front to rank second in the FBS in tackles for loss (10.4) and tied for eighth in sacks (3.4).
The Yellow Jackets got off to a big start by taking down preseason ACC favorite FSU in Ireland and cracked the AP Top 25, but they’ve lost at Syracuse and Louisville since.
Impact players
Eli Holstein, Pittsburgh. The quarterback who redshirted at Alabama last season is in the top 25 nationally in total offense (343.8 yards per game/sixth), touchdown passes (12, 11th) and passer rating (172.3, 15th) entering Saturday’s game at North Carolina.
Bhayshul Tuten, Virginia Tech. The running back has cracked the 100-yard rushing mark for four straight games, including a 141 yards and a touchdown in last weekend’s Miami loss. The Hokies return to action by visiting Stanford.
Inside the numbers
Twelve of the 17 games in the Pitt-UNC series have been decided by single-digit margins. … N.C. State hosts longtime ACC instate foe Wake Forest to extend a series that has taken place every year since 1910, the second-longest continuous series in the FBS ranks behind only Wisconsin-Minnesota (dating to 1906). … Wake Forest (1-3) is off to its worst start under 11th-year coach Dave Clawson. … Virginia (3-1) has already matched its win total for each of the first two seasons under Tony Elliott entering a game against Boston College. … Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord leads the country in passing offense (364.8) entering Friday’s game against UNLV.
Taking a backseat
The Clemson-FSU game looked like a big one, pairing the preseason favorite Seminoles against the Tigers picked to finish second in the league. But FSU (1-4, 1-3) is only a few points away from being winless entering October, while the Tigers (3-1, 2-0) have regrouped from an ugly season-opening loss to Georgia to roll into dominant form.
Tigers coach Dabo Swinney has 173 career victories and can pass late FSU Hall of Famer Bobby Bowden for most wins at an ACC school.
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