
No. 4 Clemson’s tussle with No. 9 LSU, No. 10 Miami’s game versus No. 6 Notre Dame top ACC slate
Things to watch this weekend in the Atlantic Coast Conference:
Game of the week
No. 9 LSU (0-0) at No. 4 Clemson (0-0), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC).
The preseason ACC favorite gets an immediate test, coming in a Tigers-vs.-Tigers battle in Clemson’s version of Death Valley.
Clemson returned to the top of the league last year and earned a berth in the expanded College Football Playoff, but more is expected this year for a team considered to be a national-title contender. LSU is picked to finish fourth in the SEC.
This pairs the two quarterbacks on The Associated Press preseason All-America team in Clemson’s Cade Klubnik (first team) and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier (second team) and two players expected to be in the mix for the Heisman Trophy.
The undercard
No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 10 Miami: The ACC’s annual scheduling partnership with the independent Fighting Irish has produced a must-watch matchup Sunday. The Hurricanes are picked to finish second behind Clemson in the ACC and feature another star transfer at quarterback in Carson Beck. The Irish are coming off a run to the CFP title game.
No. 8 Alabama at Florida State: It’s a marquee matchup in terms of marquee programs. But the Crimson Tide entered the week as a big favorite (13.5 points in BetMGM’s College Football Odds) against a retooled Seminoles team that won just two games last year and is picked seventh in the ACC this year.
Impact players
Kyron Drones, Virginia Tech: The 6-foot-2, 234-pound redshirt senior is coming off an injury-shortened season after accounting for 2,900 yards of offense and 22 touchdowns in 2023. The Hokies will need a big game from him Sunday against No. 13 South Carolina in Atlanta.
Desmond Reid, Pittsburgh: The preseason AP All-American is an all-purpose threat who ran for 962 yards with five touchdowns, had 52 catches for 579 yards and four scores, and even scored on a 78-yard punt return last year. His Panthers open Saturday against Duquesne.
Inside the numbers
North Carolina coach Bill Belichick has 333 regular-season and playoff wins at the NFL level, including six Super Bowl titles as a head coach. Now he’s preparing for his first game at the college level with Monday’s visit from TCU. … Belichick is one of three new ACC coaches this year. Wake Forest opens the Jake Dickert era Friday against Kennesaw State, while Stanford lost at Hawaii in Week Zero under interim coach Frank Reich. … California and Oregon State meet Saturday in a reunion of former Pac-12 leaguemates who have faced off 77 times, with Cal winning 40 in a series going back to 1905.
Pony up
No. 16 SMU, last year’s league runner-up, opens Saturday against East Texas A&M. The Mustangs have won 11 games in back-to-back years, marking the first time the program has reached double-digit win totals in consecutive years since a run of four in a row from 1981-84 before the program was shut down due to the NCAA’s “death penalty” punishment for rules violations. They are ranked in the preseason for the first time in 40 years.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football



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