ACC notebook

Alcorn State at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., FSSO

Duke at Tulane, 9 p.m., CBS Sports Network

Friday

Rhode Island at Syracuse, 7 p.m.

Saturday

Wofford at Clemson, 12:30 p.m., WUPA

Maine at Boston College, 1 p.m., ESPN3

Youngstown State at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.

Virginia at UCLA, 3:30 p.m., Fox

Auburn vs. Louisville (Georgia Dome), 3:30 p.m., CBS

Bethune-Cookman at Miami, 6 p.m.

Troy at N.C. State, 6 p.m.

Texas State at Florida State, 8 p.m., ESPN News

Monday

Ohio State at Virginia Tech, 8 p.m., ESPN

There are plenty of questions revolving around ACC quarterbacks this season.

Has Clemson’s Deshaun Watson recovered enough from knee surgery to display the skills he showed as a freshman?

Will Notre Dame transfer Everett Golson cut down on his turnovers and be an excellent fit for Jameis Winston-less Florida State?

Can Miami’s Brad Kaaya continue to improve and lead the Hurricanes to enough victories to keep coach Al Golden off the hot seat?

Is Michael Brewer the ultimate answer for what was a moribund Virginia Tech offense?

You won’t find issues or controversies surrounding the position at North Carolina State, where one-time Florida starter Jacoby Brissett is back after a strong, yet quiet, season.

“Every game, he lays it on the line,” N.C. State coach Dave Doeren told the ACC Digital Network this summer. “We talk about a visible will to win in our program. When you watch him, there’s no doubt to every fan, that kid wants to win.”

Lost in the hubbub of Winston’s final season at Florida State and hoopla of Watson’s first at Clemson, Brissett finished 2014 among the nation’s elite.

He was one of only three Power Five-conference quarterbacks to throw for at least 2,000 yards, rush for at least 300 yards with at least 20 touchdown passes and five or fewer interceptions.

Oregon’s Marcus Mariota, who won the Heisman Trophy, and UCLA’s Brett Hundley completed the trio.

Mariotta plays for the Tennessee Titans, and Hundley is with the Green Bay Packers.

Brissett accomplished this in his first season as a full-time starter and after sitting out 2013 after he transferred from Florida.

He finished with 2,606 yards passing and 23 touchdowns, threw 187 consecutive passes without an interception and rushed for 529 yards while leading the Wolfpack to an 8-5 record and a victory in the St. Petersburg Bowl.

“Now he’s in that boat where you’re going to see a more mature version, kind of how he ended the season,” Doeren said. “He was really playing good ball at the end of the year. He’s just such a serious guy about being great about what he does, in everything that he does.”

Duke run hits road bump: Duke won a combined 19 games the past two seasons, the best two-year mark in school history.

But now the Blue Devils must overcome the loss of several key starters — including quarterback Anthony Boone, receiver Jamison Crowder and offensive lineman Laken Tomlinson — and the recent season-ending injuries to three others.

Linebacker Kelby Brown (ACL), cornerback Bryon Fields (ACL) and running back Jela Duncan (pectoral muscle) each will miss 2015 after being injured this summer.

Brown had 242 career tackles, Fields started all 13 games at cornerback last season, and Duncan, who has 1,115 career rushing yards, was returning from a year-long suspension.

Thomas Sirk will replace Boone, who was the starting quarterback for all 19 of those victories. Sirk played in 12 games in 2014, most often in goal-line situations.

“The role that I was in last year, people didn’t get a chance to see me throw the ball a lot,” Sirk told reporters this summer. “Whether they think that I can throw it or not, that’s what I go out there every day in practice and do. At practice last year, I was running the same exact plays as Boone.

“I have confidence in myself to go out and make all the throws on the field. All my receivers have the same confidence in me.”

Bruiser Conner returns for more: Don't expect Pittsburgh coach Pat Narduzzi to have a pass-first mentality.

Not while James Conner is around.

All he’s done is rush for 2,564 yards in his first two seasons after finishing with 1,765 yards and 26 touchdowns as a sophomore last season.

Pittsburgh’s roster lists Conner at 240 pounds, but he said last week that he’s at 230 this season.

“I looked around, and I’m putting up numbers with other great backs,” Conner told the AP. “It sort of became like, ‘Now you need to handle yourself more professionally, take things more seriously and you’ve got a real opportunity.’ ”

Thornton suspended two games: N.C. State running back Shadrach Thornton (Liberty County), who led the Wolfpack with 907 rushing yards in 2014, will miss the first two games while suspended for violating team policy.

Thornton, who also was suspended for the first game of 2013, has rushed for 2,369 career yards, 10th all-time at N.C. State.

The Wolfpack open with Troy and Eastern Kentucky and don’t play an ACC game until Louisville on Oct. 3.

Etc.: Florida State enters this season with a 24-game consecutive ACC winning streak. The Seminoles haven't lost a conference game since 2012. … North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams led the ACC with 34 total touchdowns — 21 passing and 13 rushing — in 2014, ninth-most in conference history. The senior holds 18 school records. … Narduzzi's defenses at Michigan State allowed an average of 282.6 total yards in his final 40 games there. … Kaaya led the ACC with 26 touchdown passes as a freshman last season. … Florida State's Roberto Aguayo has missed only four kicks in his two-year career. He's made all 149 of his extra-point attempts and is 48-of-52 on field-goal attempts. … Duke coach David Cutcliffe said he wasn't offered the Michigan job that was filled when Jim Harbaugh was hired to replace Brady Hoke.