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The three biggest ACC football questions of the week. Here we go for Week 7

Is the real SMU going to show up this weekend against Virginia? 

Miami is one tier. Wake Forest is in a second tier, and then take your pick. Is SMU in the tier with Wake Forest? They are 4-1, but they’ve been uneven in their play. QB Kevin Jennings has been good, but not great. Virginia is a credible opponent, and SMU is favored by nearly 10 points. SMU is coming off a BYE week and is at home. Rhett Lashlee is one of the best coaches in the ACC, and with a week off, I feel like SMU is going to come out and play with some urgency and get things straightened out for the stretch. If they don’t, Virginia is good enough to knock them off.

Can Wake Forest take their show out West to Cal? 

I’d feel a lot better if Wake Forest was heading out west to face Stanford. Virginia Tech just went out to Cal and took a surprising L. Wake Forest now moves from under the radar to having a target on their backs. How do the Deacs play as a ranked favorite? What I like out of Wake Forest is how they play on the road. They’ve already won at Purdue, Louisville, and NC State. Jake Dickert seems to have them locked in, and I’m not sure Cal can come up with another performance like they did against Virginia Tech. Wake Forest gets 6 – 1.

So what do we make of FSU playing Miami?  

Miami is coming off a BYE, at home, and is ranked #3 in the country. The Canes have felt like a team on a mission the first half of the season. Florida State is their usual inconsistent self – Flashes of brilliance and awful the next game out. Sometimes it happens in the same game. I can see a scenario where this game can be competitive, but Miami’s elite offense vs a defense ranked 122nd in the country? Even in a rivalry game, this feels like even if the Noles can run the ball and control the clock, the Canes are going to just light things up. These teams are currently so far apart it’s going to take something magical for Florida State to actually win.

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ACC Team of the Week : Georgia Tech – for a 28-25  win over Duke

17. Stanford (2-4, 1-2)

Last Week: 16

Stanford needs a break, and they should get one against Elon this week.

16. Boston College (2-2, 0-1)

Last Week: 15

Pittsburgh reeling off the loss to UNC, better be ready against Boston College. BC hasn’t been playing awfully, and Pitt feels ripe for any upset.

15. Syracuse (2-3, 0-2)

Last Week: 13

Syracuse probably outplayed Virginia but still lost. Louisville is this week, and Cuse probably needs that game if they want to go bowling.

14. Georgia Tech (2-3, 1-1)

Last Week: 17

Georgia Tech played their most inspired game of the year beating a good Duke team 28-25, and that gets them off the bottom spot of this list. IF they can beat Virginia Tech, they can start about a bowl game as a possibility again.

13. NC State (3-3, 1-1)

Last Week: 8

NC State fans are fuming now after the Wolfpack got pounded by Wake Forest. They have a week more to think about it.

12. Virginia Tech (4-2, 0-2)

Last Week: 6

The shine has worn off James Franklin’s first year. The season could really get derailed if they can’t beat Georgia Tech at home.

11. Florida State (3-3, 1-2)

Last Week: 7

Florida State duped me. I thought they might be different this year, but they are just inconsistent at best and got thumped at Louisville. Miami is this week. I can’t see FSU winning, but if good FSU shows, they might push the Canes.

10. California (3-3, 2-1)

Last Week: 14

Cal pulled off a very surprising win over Virginia Tech. Can they make it two wins in a row when they play Wake Forest this week.

9. North Carolina (3-2, 1-1)

Last Week: 12

UNC went to ranked Pitt and left with a W. The Heels might have something working, and if they knock off Duke this week watch out.

8. Duke (4-1, 1-1)

Last Week: 5

Duke took a crippling loss at Georgia Tech. Now they face a much-improved UNC team next.

7. Clemson (3-2, 2-1)

Last Week: 11

Clemson shouldn’t have any problem with Charleston Southern this week. Clemson can still make a run to the ACC Title game, but the offense needs to get moving.

6. Pitt (5-1, 2-1)

Last Week: 4

Pitt’s offense without QB Mason Heintschel really struggled against UNC, especially late in the second half. Let’s see if Pitt can recover against Boston College.

5. Virginia (4-2, 2-1)

Last Week: 10

Virginia looked in trouble against Syracuse but got through the game 28-25. A game with SMU is interesting.

4. Louisville (3-3, 2-2)

Last Week: 9

Louisville ends up here kind of by default, but they did look good blowing out Florida State.

3. SMU (4-1, 2-1)

Last Week: 2

SMU gets Virginia at home this week. SMU has a good record, but their play has been uneven. They get a BYE this week.

2.Wake Forest (5-1, 3-1)

Last Week: 3

Wake Forest finally got ranked, and they deserved it after trouncing NC State. They play at Cal Saturday night, and they won’t be sneaking up on anybody anymore this season.

1. Miami (5-0, 3-0)

Last Week: 1

Miami had a week off to prepare for unpredictable Florida State. It’s still a rivalry game, but hard to see Miami losing this one.

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@AllSportsDACC and I (@TalkinACCSports ) review Week 6 and preview Week 7 in a classic 1 on 1 podcast. It was fun as always!

To find old podcasts prior to episode 385, you can follow this link -> https://www.talkshoe.com/show/the-acc-weekly-podcast

In this order, these are the topics we covered on the podcast. It’s episode 606

Most Disappointing and Most Impressive teams of the week

ACC game you are looking forward to

ACC team on upset Alert

National Games to watch

Guest Open Microphone

Open Microphone

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Georgia Tech’s season was spiraling out of control. At 1-3 with ugly losses to bad Stanford and Colorado, Georgia Tech had held firm to the bottom of ACC power rankings for weeks. 

Duke was 4-0 coming to Atlanta, and it certainly wasn’t a game that set up well for Georgia Tech.

You couldn’t blame Georgia Tech QB Alberto Mendoza for the slow start. There was a lot of blame to go around for the way the season began, from head coach Brent Key’s game management to struggles with both coordinator hires George Godsey and Jason Seymore, plus the rash of injuries and poor line play out of Georgia Tech.

The game had the feel of inevitability as Georgia Tech had squandered a 21-10 second half, and trailed 25-21 as they got the ball back with under 3 minutes left.

Where earlier in the season I’m not sure the Georgia Tech staff trusted Alberto Mendoza and his arm, they’ve cut him loose, and he’s responded. Mendoza led Georgia Tech to a TD in the 2 minutes drill that put the Jackets up 28-25 as they held on to win after a Duke missed FG. He was an efficient 23 for 30 for 218 and TD and no turnovers.

Even in the Colorado game, he led Georgia Tech to the game-winning FG attempt in the late stages of the game.

Georgia Tech doesn’t need great O-line play. They have enough skill position talent that if it is just decent, Mendoza and company can make plays.

I think Georgia Tech’s schedule is still too tough to make a bowl, but the win over Duke gives the Jackets a chance to play spoiler, get better, and set the stage for next year with Mendoza as QB.

He is a player you can build around, and he took another step in the win over Duke.

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No one will confuse North Carolina for an ACC contender, but considering that coming into the season there were whispers that UNC could go 2-10 or 3-9 and Bill Belichick would probably be fired, maybe even by mid-season, the Heels have quietly become one of the more surprising ACC teams this year.

Saturday they went on the road and beat a 5-0 Pitt team 21-17. Sure, Pitt was without QB Mason Heintschel, but the Tar Heels trailed most of the game and came through with a surprising win. Suddenly, the Tar Heels sit 3-2 (1-1 ) in the ACC with a P4 over TCU, a road win at Pitt, and a credible performance in a loss to Notre Dame.

This is not a bad team.

Bill Belichek’s style is starting to resonate with his players. The Tar Heels are tough hard nosed defensive minded. The defense ranks 70th, but it seems better than that. They’ve held 3 of their 5 opponents under 20 points, and 4 out of the 5 under 30.

Billy Edwards Jr. isn’t the flashiest QB, but he’s a gamer. Now UNC can start thinking about a bowl game, which is a significant improvement from last year. They need to go 3-4 the rest of the way, and only Miami is probably out of reach.

Actually, with a break here or there, the Heels could finish 5-2 and have an 8-4 regular season. That would be borderline remarkable.

With Miami being an elite team, and Wake Forest getting all the deserved attention as the ACC’s most surprising team, we can forget about a team like UNC.

We shouldn’t, as they have a chance to make some noise in this year’s ACC.

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We shouldn’t keep having to do this, but we have to. Wake Forest should be ranked in the top 25, and probably in the top 20. After their 38-14 win at NC State, the Deacs sit 5-1. Their only loss was against national title contender Miami, where they outplayed the Canes in the second half.

Today, after trailing 14-7, Wake Forest went on a 31-0 run, outscoring NC State 28-0 after halftime.

Wake Forest’s defense only gave up 15 yards on the ground. QB Gio Lopez threw for over 300 yards, and Wake Forest left with a statement win.

Sunday, when the polls come out, one thing will be certain. If you leave Wake Forest out of the Top 25, it’s an intentional non-football reason.

There is simply no way you can be a credible football voter and think that Wake Forest isn’t a top 25 team. If you followed the blog, you knew this already. We’ve been paying attention to Wake Forest since early September when we were praising Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert. 

Can we trust the voters, though? In 6 games, we saw Florida go from unranked to #8 to should be unranked. This was all based one 1 decent win, and some bloated early offensive numbers against bad teams. We’re not saying Wake Forest is the #8 team in the country, but #18 would be reasonable.

3 P4 road wins
Top 20 road win
Only loss – No. 4 Miami

Wake Forest is a Top 25 team. https://t.co/QPqGpPBQnN

— ACC Football (@ACCFootball) October 10, 2026

Let’s see what the polls say tomorrow.

Edited (Wake Forest is ranked in both polls. Finally the Pollsters have seen the light)

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Maybe I was the only one, but Florida State duped me again. Last year, when FSU whooped Alabama to open the season, I thought they had turned the corner. Of course, last year they went to a 5-7 season. After blowing out Virginia 38-7, I thought FSU had something to build on. Even on Friday night against Louisville, they raced to a 14-0 lead and were moments from going up 17-0. They really didn’t have something to build on. They really aren’t getting better, and it’s still the same old bottom-half ACC team, Florida State.

Louisvilles season is on the verge of total collapse. FSU becoming one really dangerous team

— Jeff or Jeffrey Fann (@TalkinACCSports) October 9, 2026

Wrong on both accounts. Louisville scored 44 of the next 50 points in crushing FSU 44-20. Louisville can still salvage their season, and Florida State remains a mess under Mike Norvell as the Noles fall to 3-3 with a brutal finish to the season, which includes 3 ranked teams.

FSU gives you glimpses of what they could be. There were good moments against SMU in a 27-24 loss, but there were just too many turnovers. They gave Alabama their toughest game of the year so far, and led them the majority of the first half. There was that Virginia win, and then the start Friday night. As it usually does for Florida State, it all unravels.

They gave up a whopping 397  yards on the ground to the Cardinals, and quarterback Ashton Daniels was again inconsistent.

I’ve been giving the Noles too much credit for a single good performance. They’ll have to produce 3 or 4 good performances in a row before anyone starts thinking they are even approaching any kind of corner. They got me again.

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Hey there, basketball season is right around the corner. ESPN has released the viewing schedule for ACC men’s basketball on its family of networks. 

ESPN and the Atlantic Coast Conference have announced the 2026-27 men’s college basketball schedule, with more than 250 regular season games set to air across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ACC Network, ESPNU and the ESPN app.

Additionally, 30 ACC men’s basketball games distributed by The CW will also stream live on the ESPN App with an ESPN Unlimited subscription.

The season tips off Monday, Nov. 2, with a full night of action across ESPN networks, including No. 18 Miami vs. No. 1 Florida and Army at No. 2 Duke. The schedule features marquee non-conference matchups throughout November and December before conference play begins Dec. 29.

ACCN will also once again offer extensive studio coverage of ACC men’s basketball throughout the season with its daily flagship studio show ACC PM, the ACC Network Basketball Podcast and its signature basketball show Nothing But Net, all offering insight and analysis of the latest news, storylines and highlights from around the league. 

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The three biggest ACC football questions of the week. Here we go for Week 6

Can Wake Forest continue their hot start against NC State? 

4-1 Wake Forest has a legitimate gripe about not being ranked. That said, if they keep taking care of business, they’ll get there. This week the Deacs take on a NC State team that is playing better in recent weeks. Wake Forest has already 2 P4 road wins, so winning on the road wouldn’t be that surprising. Jake Dickert will have his Wake Forest team ready.

Is Florida State about to turn the corner? 

Florida State is a multi-turnover SMU game from being 4-1 with a competitive loss to Alabama. Early in the season, FSU QB Ashton Daniels was inconsistent, and the Noles struggled. Daniels is playing better, and the defense is improving. FSU could already run the ball, and the Noles face a Louisville team with a defense that can’t stop anyone. If FSU can knock off Louisville, they could go on to have 8 – 4 season.

How will Pittsburgh respond to loss of QB Mason Heintschel?  

It’s 5th year quarterback Holden Geriner’s team now. 5-0 and with both offense and defense in the top, the Panthers have a chance to get 7-0 before playing Miami. It starts with UNC at home. The Heels aren’t a bad team, but I like the makeup of this Pitt group under Pat Narduzzi. I think they respond well against UNC and get to 6-0.

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