Boston College (1-6, 0-4 in ACC)
Next game: vs. Maryland, 1 p.m. Saturday
Huddle up: QB Chase Rettig ranks third in the ACC in passing with 273.9, and as a team, Boston College leads the ACC in punt returns with a 24.2 average, although it has returned only four punts. … LB Nick Clancy has averaged 12 tackles per game, third in the country. … Boston College has allowed 1,108 rushing yards in the past three losses, to Army, Florida State and Georgia Tech. "Let me say this, it wears on everybody when you're having some mistakes like that," coach Frank Spaziani told Boston.com. They're frustrated with what's happening."
Tweetable fact: Boston College has lost five consecutive games and hasn't defeated an FBS team.
Clemson (6-1, 3-1)
Next game: at Wake Forest, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, ESPN
Huddle up: S Jonathan Meeks is the ACC's DB of the week after he had two interceptions and returned one 74 yards for a TD in a win over Virginia Tech. … CB Darius Robinson (Westlake) will be out until at least the bowl game after fracturing his left ankle. … WR DeAndre Hopkins ranks second in the nation in receiving yards per game, with 120.7, and leads the ACC with nine TD catches. … K Chandler Catanzaro has made 20 consecutive field goals, dating to 2011.
Tweetable fact: Clemson is 1-9 in games on Thursday nights.
Duke (6-2, 3-1)
Next game: at Florida State, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPNU
Huddle up: QB Sean Renfree on defeating North Carolina to become bowl eligible for the first time since 1994: "I promise, it doesn't get any sweeter. It doesn't get any sweeter." … Renfree was the ACC back of the week after he was 23-of-36 passing for 276 yards and one TD in the win. … Duke is 17-2 under coach David Cutcliffe when leading after three quarters. … WR Conner Vernon needs 94 yards to pass Peter Warrick as the ACC's all-time leading receiver. Warrick had 3,517 yards.
Tweetable fact: Duke's next two opponents — Florida State and Clemson — are a combined 13-2.
Florida State (7-1, 4-1)
Next game: vs. Duke, 3:30 p.m. Saturday, ESPNU
Huddle up: James Wilder Jr. will start at RB in place of Chris Thompson, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn left ACL. Thompson was on pace to become the Seminoles' first 1,000-yard rusher since Warrick Dunn in 1996. Thompson, who missed last season with two broken vertebrae, had 687 yards this season. … DB Tyler Hunter (Lowndes), the son of former Georgia WR Brice Hunter, who was killed in 2004, had his first career interception Saturday. … LB Telvin Smith (Lowndes) is the ACC LB of the week with eight tackles, a forced fumble and two pass breakups.
Tweetable fact: The Seminoles rank seventh in the FBS in scoring with 44.4 points.
Maryland (4-3, 2-1)
Next game: at Boston College, 1 p.m.
Huddle up: Coach Randy Edsall will turn to either Devin Burns (Carver-Columbus) or Caleb Rowe to take over for freshman QB Perry Hills, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Burns was 3-for-4 with 47 yards and rushed for 50 yards on 12 carries to lead the Terrapins to three second-half scoring drives against N.C. State. Rowe was 2-for-2 for 50 yards. Danny O'Brien transferred to Wisconsin and starting QB C.J. Brown was lost for the season earlier this year. … Maryland is sixth in FBS in rushing defense, allowing 87.6 yards.
Tweetable fact: A Maryland QB hasn't made it through a season uninjured since Sam Hollenbach in 2006.
Miami (4-4, 3-2)
Next game: vs. Virginia Tech, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1, ESPN
Huddle up: Coach Al Golden on the bye week: "It's critical. We're hanging on by a thread. We need time off. Brutal schedule, eight weeks in a row, young team. We need time off." … QB Stephen Morris started against Florida State despite a sprained left ankle. He'll rest it this week. … RB Duke Johnson also is recovering from injuries he sustained last week, when he was held to 27 yards rushing. … Miami ranks 11th in the ACC in scoring defense (32.4 points), 11th against the rush (249.2), 10th against the pass (249.9) and 11th overall (499.1).
Tweetable fact: Of Miami's 30 scoring drives, 13 have needed less than two minutes and five have needed less than one minute.
North Carolina (5-3, 2-2)
Next game: vs. N.C. State, 12:30 p.m. Saturday, WUPA
Huddle up: Backup LB Shakeel Rashad has been suspended one game by the ACC for running over Duke WR Conner Vernon on his way onto the field. Two refs also were suspended for not calling a penalty on the incident. … TB Giovani Bernard has rushed for more than 100 yards in three consecutive games and 10 100-yard games in his career. … S Tre Boston had 17 tackles and intercepted a pass in the loss to Duke.
Tweetable fact: North Carolina's average margin of victory is 33.4 in its five wins and its average margin of defeat is 3.0 in three losses.
North Carolina State (5-2, 2-1)
Next game: at North Carolina, 12:30 p.m. Saturday, WUPA
Huddle up: CB David Amerson set a school record with his 17th career interception, which was his fourth this season. He is the career leader in the FBS. … ACC receiver of the week Bryan Underwood extended his school mark by catching a TD pass in his seventh consecutive game. … DT T.Y. McGill (Wayne County) is the ACC DL of the week with eight tackles and two of N.C. State's six sacks.
Tweetable fact: N.C State won an Atlantic Division road game for the first time since 2005.
Virginia (2-6, 0-4)
Next game: at N.C. State, 12:30 p.m. Nov. 3, WUPA
Huddle up: The numbers reflect why Virginia has lost six consecutive games. The Cavaliers have only four turnovers and have committed 20, for a minus-16 turnover ratio, last in the FBS. Virginia averages 21.5 points, 11th in the ACC, and is 11th in penalties with 56 for 64.5 yards per game. … RB Perry Jones is the fourth player in school history and 12th player in ACC history with at least 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving for his career.
Tweetable fact: The Cavaliers have allowed an average of 224 yards the past two games, but have lost both.
Virginia Tech (4-4, 2-2)
Next game: at Miami, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1, ESPN
Huddle up: Virginia Tech has four losses through eight games for the first time since 1992, when it went 2-8-1. … Coach Frank Beamer said this week that he will use the bye week to narrow the RB rotation instead of using J.C. Coleman, Tony Gregory, Michael Holmes and Martin Scales, saying, "four backs is too many." Coleman leads the Hokies with 338 yards rushing, but Holmes has 257 yards and four TDs. … Logan Thomas threw two interceptions against Clemson and has 10 this season, three more than any other ACC QB.
Tweetable fact: All four of DT Luther Maddy's sacks have come in the past two games.
Wake Forest (4-3, 2-3)
Next game: vs. Clemson, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, ESPN
Huddle up: Wake Forest has held its past two opponents — Maryland and Virginia — to less than 60 yards rushing. … Wake Forest defeated Clemson 12-7 the last time the teams met on a Thursday night at BB&T Field, in what turned out to be former Clemson coach Tommy Bowden's final game in 2008. … Freshman NG Tylor Harris had his first career sack for a 12-yard loss when he replaced Nikita Whitlock, who had to leave the field after his helmet flew off in the fourth quarter.
Tweetable fact: Wake Forest gained 213 yards Saturday against Virginia, its fewest in a ACC victory since it had 191 in a win over North Carolina in 1966.
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