AROUND THE ACC

Tweetable fact: BC is 16-for-17 (94 percent) in the red zone, with 10 TDs and six FGs.

Clemson (8-1, 6-1)

Next game: vs. Georgia Tech, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14, ESPN

Huddle up: Clemson is 8-1 for the third consecutive year. The Tigers finished 11-2 last season and 10-4 in 2011. … Clemson's 59-10 win over Virginia was its largest margin of victory since a 55-0 win at Virginia in 1984. … CB Garry Peters (Heritage) is still recovering from a foot injury and is questionable for the Tech game. … WR Sammy Watkins, who had 169 yards receiving Saturday, has 13 100-yard games, a school record.

Tweetable fact: Tajh Boyd set the ACC record for career TD passes with 113, passing former N.C. State QB Philip Rivers.

Duke (6-2, 2-2)

Next game: vs. N.C. State, 4 p.m. Saturday, ESPNU

Huddle up: Coach David Cutcliffe thinks the win over Virginia Tech will help recruiting. "With this day and time, you get tons of feedback. I was communicating with guys all over the country because they hear about it quickly or they saw it," he told DukeReport.com. … Duke ranks seventh in the ACC in scoring defense at 22.5 points per game. The Blue Devils haven't been higher than ninth since 2004. … RB Juwan Thompson (Woodward Academy) made three tackles playing LB against Virginia Tech.

Tweetable fact: Duke is 1-19 in November under Cutcliffe.

Florida State (8-0, 6-0)

Next game: at Wake Forest, noon Saturday

Huddle up: At 8-0, the Seminoles are off to their best start since 1999, when they went 12-0 and won the national title. … FSU received three first-place votes in the coaches' poll, but Jimbo Fisher won't say if one of those votes belonged to him. "Your job, as a voter, is to vote the best teams, who you think is the best team in the country," he said. … QB Jameis Winston has thrown for at least 300 yards in five games.

Tweetable fact: FSU's three wins over Top 25 teams have been by a combined 155-28.

Maryland (5-3, 1-3)

Next game: vs. Syracuse, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, FSSO

Huddle up: Maryland will try for the third consecutive game to become bowl eligible, coming off losses to Wake Forest and Clemson. … QB C.J. Brown hopes the bye week has helped him recover from a variety of injuries. He's had to leave every game against ACC opponents because of injuries. … Other starters returning from injury include: RB Brandon Ross (shoulder), TE Dave Stinebaugh (knee), S Anthony Nixon (toe) and LB L.A. Goree (back). … LB Marcus Whitfield has 7 1/2 sacks, tied for third in the ACC.

Tweetable fact: Brown has averaged 14.5 yards per completion, 10th in the nation.

Miami (7-1, 3-1)

Next game: vs. Virginia Tech, 7 p.m. Saturday, ESPN

Huddle up: Coach Al Golden said surgery went well to repair RB Duke Johnson's broken right ankle. Johnson was injured in the loss to FSU and will miss the rest of the season. … Miami still controls its chances to win the Coastal Division title, but can't afford another loss. … Deon Bush is taking playing time away from senior A.J. Highsmith, the Miami Herald reported. … Virginia Tech QB Logan Thomas ran for 124 yards against Miami last year, but threw for 310 yards against them in 2011.

Tweetable fact: RB Dallas Crawford leads Miami with nine TDs.

North Carolina (3-5, 2-3)

Next game: vs. Virginia, 12:30 p.m. Saturday, WUPA

Huddle up: The Tar Heels will look to Marquise Williams to start at QB in place of Bryn Renner, who will miss the rest of the season after a shoulder injury in the win over N.C. State. "Life isn't unfair," he told the Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer. "You deal with the circumstances." He was scheduled to have surgery Wednesday. … Williams started against Virginia Tech last month. … Freshman RB T.J. Logan scored the first TD of his career.

Tweetable fact: UNC hasn't allowed a passing TD in the past three games and only four total TDs.

N.C. State (3-5, 0-5)

Next game: at Duke, 4 p.m. Saturday, ESPNU

Huddle up: With 90 yards rushing against North Carolina, Shadrach Thornton (Liberty County) has averaged 75.2 yards against ACC opponents, fifth-best in the conference. He has rushed for 1,141 yards in 16 career games. … Coach Dave Doeren hadn't decided who to start at QB, between Brandon Mitchell or Pete Thomas. Mitchell was benched in the loss to North Carolina. "I'm not going to give up on Brandon, and I'm not going to anoint the other guy either," Doeren told the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer.

Tweetable fact: N.C. State starters have missed a combined 27 games because of injuries.

Pittsburgh (4-4, 2-3)

Next game: vs. Notre Dame, 8 p.m. Saturday, ABC

Huddle up: DT Aaron Donald continues to impress. The ACC DL of the week and Nagurski national defensive player of the week, had 11 tackles (all solo), including six tackles for loss in the loss at Georgia Tech. He also had a sack and two forced fumbles, and his six tackles for lost yardage are the most by an FBS player this season. … Twelve freshmen have played for Pitt; freshmen lead the Panthers in six categories, including WR Tyler Boyd, who has 45 catches for 644 yards.

Tweetable fact: Notre Dame leads the series 47-20-1.

Syracuse (4-4, 2-2)

Next game: at Maryland, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, FSSO

Huddle up: The Orange are tied at No. 115 out of 123 teams in the FBS at 7.75 penalties per game. … Prince-Tyson Gulley's 67-yard run was the longest run by Syracuse this season. … Syracuse and Maryland haven't met since 1994. … Syracuse is 2-0 against teams from North Carolina, having defeated N.C. State and Wake Forest. … WR Jarrod West is the 19th player in school history to pass the 1,000-yard mark in receiving yardage.

Tweetable fact: Syracuse has lost only two fumbles this season, tied for second nationally (with nine other teams).

Virginia (2-7, 0-5)

Next game: at North Carolina, 12:30 p.m. Saturday, WUPA

Huddle up: Virginia, which has been eliminated from bowl contention, is 4-17 in its past 21 games against FBS teams. The Cavaliers have had six-game losing streaks each of the past two consecutive seasons. … Virginia has played 12 freshmen. Coach Mike London has played 36 freshmen in more than three seasons. … Starting CBs Demetrious Nicholson (toe) and Maurice Canady (undisclosed) are out this week. Nicholson will miss the rest of the season.

Tweetable fact: TE Jake McGee has at least one reception in each of the past 11 games.

Virginia Tech (6-3, 3-2)

Next game: at Miami, 7 p.m. Saturday, ESPN

Huddle up: Frank Beamer backed Logan Thomas as the starting QB after he threw two interceptions and had two fumbles in the loss to Boston College. He threw four picks in the loss to Duke two weeks ago. ESPN reported Thomas' 33 turnovers since the start of 2012 are tied for most in FBS. … Cody Journell tied for the longest FG in the FBS this season with a 56-yarder against BC. The FG is tied for the third longest in school history.

Tweetable fact: The Hokies are 29-5 in November (27-5 in ACC games) since joining the ACC in 2004.

Wake Forest (4-5, 2-4)

Next game: vs. Florida State, noon Saturday

Huddle up: WR Michael Campanaro likely will miss the rest of the season after breaking his collarbone in Saturday's loss. He is Wake Forest's leading career receiver with 229 catches and third in ACC history. … His replacement, Sherman Ragland III, finished with 10 catches and 91 yards, both career highs. … LB Brandon Chubb (Hillgrove) led Wake Forest with 11 tackles against Syracuse. … DE Kristopher Redding (Whitefield Academy) on playing FSU: "We've always been underdogs in the game."

Tweetable fact: Wake Forest is 22-123-1 against ranked opponents and has lost seven consecutive games to ranked teams.