No. 16 SMU’s visit to No. 23 Louisville headlines ACC’s Week 3 schedule

Things to watch this weekend in the Atlantic Coast Conference:

Game of the week

No. 16 SMU (2-0, 1-0 ACC) at No. 23 Louisville (1-1, 0-0), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

This is an early matchup of the teams picked to be the top contender to preseason ACC favorite Miami.

The Mustangs were picked to finish second in the league and opened the year with a league win at Florida State. The Cardinals were picked third and lost a neutral-field shootout against eighth-ranked Mississippi before rolling past Villanova. And this is a matchup of the league leaders in total offense between SMU QB Kevin Jennings (402.5) and Louisville’s Lincoln Kienholz (375.0).

Another name to watch is Louisville running back Isaac Brown, who has had a quiet start (97 yards rushing in two games).

The undercard

No. 5 Miami (2-0, 1-0) at Wake Forest (2-0, 0-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

The Hurricanes have picked right up where they left off in last year’s run to the College Football Playoff title game in blowing out two teams, including Stanford to start ACC play. Duke transfer quarterback Darian Mensah has thrown eight touchdowns with no interceptions and only four incompletions through two games.

The Demon Deacons followed a season-opening win against Akron by winning in double-overtime at Purdue behind former North Carolina passer Gio Lopez. Lopez has thrown for 575 yards and four touchdowns to go with two scores on the ground, including the tying TD and walk-off 2-point conversion keeper against the Boilermakers.

North Carolina (2-0, 0-0) at Clemson (1-1, 0-0), Saturday, noon ET (ESPN)

The Tigers turned Bill Belichick’s ACC debut last year into a disaster, scoring a 75-yard trick-play touchdown on the first snap and scoring 28 first-quarter points in a 38-10 win. This time, UNC visits Death Valley after wins against TCU and East Tennessee State to face a Clemson team that was run off the field in a season-opening loss at LSU and grinded through an ugly win last week against Georgia Southern.

A win for the Tar Heels would put them within a win of matching Belichick’s Year 1 total while only increasing the pressure and questions facing longtime Tigers coach Dabo Swinney.

Impact players

— N.C. State RB Duke Scott. The junior ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries in the Wolfpack’s get-right blowout of Richmond after opening the year with a clunker at Virginia. N.C. State visits Vanderbilt on Saturday.

— Florida State RB Ousmane Kromah. The sophomore has posted similar stat lines to open the year, first with 115 yards rushing and a score against New Mexico State followed by 116 yards and a score against SMU. The Seminoles visit No. 10 Alabama on Saturday.

Inside the numbers

No. 25 Virginia is the league’s fourth AP Top 25 team. The Cavaliers face West Virginia in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday. … Georgia Tech hosts Mercer on Saturday with its first 0-2 start since 1989, when the Yellow Jackets started 0-3. … Reigning ACC champion Duke hosts Stanford on Saturday in its league opener. The Blue Devils have won 20 of 29 games (69%) under third-year coach Manny Diaz. … Virginia Tech and new coach James Franklin visit Maryland on Saturday with a chance at the program’s first 3-0 start since going 4-0 in 2017.

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