Things to watch this week in the Atlantic Coast Conference:
Game of the week
No. 13 Miami (9-2, 5-2 ACC) at No. 24 Pittsburgh (8-3, 6-1), Saturday, noon ET (ABC)
The ACC race is so jumbled that the marquee game for the final week features two ranked teams that can’t simply win their way into the league championship game. The Panthers are on the verge of getting squeezed out of the league title game due to tiebreakers with No. 17 Virginia and No. 25 SMU — none of those three teams played this year — that come down to a Sept. 27 loss to Louisville.
None of that matters, though, if the Panthers don’t beat the Hurricanes. Miami remains the league’s top team in the College Football Playoff rankings (No. 12) to stay in the running for an at-large CFP bid as the ACC hopes for another multibid year.
The undercard
Virginia Tech (3-8, 2-5) at No. 17 Virginia (9-2, 6-1), Saturday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
It’s simple for the Cavaliers: Win and go to the ACC championship game. Virginia can clinch only its second 10-win season, the other coming in 1989, along with its first win against the Hokies since 2019 after four straight losses. The Hokies are closing out the slate under interim coach Philip Montgomery and transitioning to the tenure of newly hired coach James Franklin for next season.
No. 25 SMU (8-3, 6-1) at California (6-5, 3-4), Saturday, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
The Mustangs also have a win-and-in scenario to get back to the ACC title game for the second time in as many seasons as a league member. The bowl-eligible Bears are playing for the first time since firing Justin Wilcox after last week’s loss to rival Stanford in the Big Game.
Impact players
— Georgia Tech QB Haynes King. The sixth-year senior has had a strong dual-threat season, notably with 15 rushing TDs. Now he’ll try to lead the 23rd-ranked Yellow Jackets (9-2) to their first win against fourth-ranked rival Georgia since 2016 on Friday night.
— Wake Forest RB Demond Claiborne. The senior remains a big-play threat who is chasing a 1,000-yard rushing season (849) to go with 10 touchdowns entering a trip to Duke. Jake Dickert’s Demon Deacons (8-3, 4-3) enter Saturday with the most overall wins of all 10 Bowl Subdivision programs in the Carolinas.
Inside the numbers
N.C. State (6-5, 3-4) will try to beat hated rival North Carolina (4-7, 2-5) for a fifth straight year. The Tar Heels are likely going to miss a bowl for the first time since 2018 in their first season under Bill Belichick. … Clemson (6-5) visits South Carolina having lost two of three meetings. … Florida State (5-6) visits Florida having lost four of six in the series. … Louisville (7-4) hosts Kentucky trying to end a three-game skid overall, though the Cardinals won last year’s meeting to snap a five-game skid in that series. … Syracuse (3-8, 1-6) hosts Boston College (1-10, 0-7), while Stanford (4-7) hosts No. 9 Notre Dame.
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By AARON BEARD
AP Sports Writer
