ACC Football Week 12: Preview and Scoreboard
The ACC’s division leaders, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest, picked up huge wins last week to stay on track for a trip to the ACC Championship Game. The Panthers escaped with a 30-23 victory over UNC in overtime, while the Demon Deacons took down NC State to remain in control in the Atlantic. Two more huge conference games take place this weekend. Virginia and Pittsburgh square off at Heinz Field with first place in the Coastal on the line. Wake Forest plays at Clemson and can clinch the Atlantic title with a win. The Tigers can keep their hopes alive for a seventh-consecutive ACC Championship Game berth with a win over the No. 10 Demon Deacons.
Additionally, Louisville, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, and Miami can all clinch bowl eligibility this week with a win.
There are eight ACC games this weekend, six of which are matchups between conference opponents.
Read on for a preview of each ACC football game taking place in week 12 and make sure to come back to this page for updates on all the action from around the conference.
Thursday, 7:30pm: Louisville (5-5, 3-4 ACC) at Duke (3-7, 0-6 ACC), ESPN
Result: Louisville 62, Duke 22
Preview: With a 5-5 record this season, Louisville needs to win one of their last two games to lock up bowl eligibility. The Cardinals definitely want to get the job done at Duke this week as a showdown against Kentucky, who should come into that game with an 8-3 record, looms in the regular season finale.
Prediction: Louisville 45, Duke 21
Saturday, 12pm: No. 10 Wake Forest (9-1, 6-0 ACC) at Clemson (7-3, 5-2 ACC), ESPN
Result: Wake Forest 27, Clemson 48
Preview: Despite the down year, Clemson still has a very slim chance to win its sixth consecutive ACC Atlantic title. In order for that to happen, the Tigers would need to defeat Wake Forest at home on Saturday and then have the Demon Deacons also lose at Boston College and have NC State lose to either Syracuse or North Carolina. Wake Forest can clinch the Atlantic and return to the ACC Championship Game for the first time since 2006 with a win over Clemson or a win over Boston College in the regular season finale. The Demon Deacons would much rather defeat Clemson this week, which would also save their small, but real chances of sneaking into the College Football Playoff.
Prediction: Wake Forest 35, Clemson 31
Saturday, 12pm: Florida State (4-6, 3-4 ACC) at Boston College (6-4, 2-4 ACC), ACC Network
Result: Florida State 26, Boston College 23
Preview: Florida State’s road to a bowl appearance is a tough one, as the Seminoles play two road games at Boston College and at Florida to end the season and need to win both to become bowl eligible. After losing four straight, Boston College has won back-to-back games against Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech to clinch bowl eligibility. The Eagles have home games against the Seminoles and then Wake Forest with a chance to finish 8-4 if they win both.
Prediction: Florida State 27, Boston College 31
Saturday, 12pm: Wofford (1-9) at North Carolina (5-5), ESPN3
Result: Wofford 14, North Carolina 34
Preview: In UNC’s final home game of the season, the Tar Heels host 1-9 Wofford in what should be a fairly easy win to get themselves bowl eligible. The only question is quarterback Sam Howell, who exited the game against Pittsburgh with an upper-body injury. North Carolina will likely still beat Wofford by a wide margin if Howell cannot play, which may be a wise decision for UNC given next week’s opponent. For the regular season finale, the Tar Heels travel to play No. 20 NC State, the fourth ranked team North Carolina will play in the last five games of the season.
Prediction: Wofford 7, North Carolina 49
Saturday, 2:30pm: Georgia Tech (3-7) at No. 8 Notre Dame (9-1), NBC
Result: Georgia Tech 0, Notre Dame 55
Preview: Georgia Tech ends the regular season with the most brutal two-game stretch of any team in the country. The Yellow Jackets play at No. 8 Notre Dame before returning home to play No. 1 Georgia. Notre Dame looks to finish 5-0 in games against ACC opponents this season. The Fighting Irish have also defeated Florida State, Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Virginia this year.
Prediction: Georgia Tech 7, Notre Dame 38
Saturday, 3:30pm: Virginia (6-4, 4-2 ACC) at No. 18 Pittsburgh (8-2, 5-1 ACC), ESPN2
Result: Virginia 38, Pittsburgh 48
Preview: The battle for first place in the ACC Coastal has arrived. Pittsburgh can clinch the Coastal division title with a victory over Virginia at home on Saturday. The Cavaliers can put themselves in the driver’s seat for the division with a win at Pitt. The biggest question coming into this game is UVA quarterback Brennan Armstrong, who missed last week’s 28-3 loss against Notre Dame with a rib injury. When Armstrong plays, Virginia boasts one of the top offenses in the country. If Armstrong cannot play, there is little chance that the Cavaliers will be able to maintain the scoring pace of Kenny Pickett and the Pittsburgh offense.
Prediction: Virginia 38, Pittsburgh 42
Saturday, 4pm: Syracuse (5-5, 2-4 ACC) at No. 20 NC State (7-3, 4-2 ACC), ACC Network
Result: Syracuse 17, NC State 41
Preview: Despite losing to Wake Forest last week, NC State maintains a very small chance of winning the Atlantic. The Wolfpack need to beat Syracuse and North Carolina and they would need Wake Forest to lose both of its final ACC games. In that scenario, there would be a three-way tie for the Atlantic Division between Clemson, Wake Forest, and NC State, with the Wolfpack winning the tiebreaker due to their division record. Meanwhile, Syracuse needs to beat either No. 20 NC State on the road or No. 18 Pittsburgh at home in the regular season finale in order to become bowl eligible.
Prediction: Syracuse 20, NC State 31
Saturday, 7:30pm: Virginia Tech (5-5, 3-3 ACC) at Miami (5-5, 3-3 ACC), ACC Network
Result: Virginia Tech 26, Miami 38
Preview: Virginia Tech and Miami both enter this week with a .500 record overall and in ACC play and needing just one win to clinch bowl eligibility. Both the Hokies and the Hurricanes are also in intriguing coaching situations. Virginia Tech just parted ways with Justin Fuente after six seasons and Manny Diaz is considered to be on the fringe of the hot seat in Miami.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 24, Miami 30
