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Friedlander: 5 questions to ponder before kickoff of Week 8 in ACC football
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Open dates are a tricky proposition.
For a team that’s going well, the time off can be an unwanted break that slows momentum. But the opposite can be true for a team that’s been scuffling and needs a reset.
In either case, open dates provide coaches with an opportunity to address areas of concern, while giving players a chance to rest up and in some cases, recover from injuries.
Six ACC teams spent last week on the sidelines doing just that.
With 4 of them matched against one another – Boston College vs. Virginia Tech on Thursday, and Florida State vs. Duke on Friday – it shouldn’t be difficult to tell who was most productive in using their time off. Miami, which travels to Louisville, and SMU, which heads West to Stanford, will be back in action on Saturday after their week off.
The rest of the Week 8 schedule has NC State at Cal in a game matching teams still looking for their first ACC win this season, while Georgia Tech and Wake Forest step out of conference against Notre Dame and UConn, respectively.
While we wait for the season to officially make the turn to the back half of its schedule, here are 5 things to think about before kickoff:
5. Will Dabo take it easy on his friend and former assistant Tony Elliott?
Elliott isn’t just a former player and assistant to Dabo Swinney. They are friends. Swinney is a close friend who helped Elliott navigate his program through the tragic shooting deaths of 3 players in 2022. So Saturday’s reunion at Clemson will be awkward for both men. It might get even more uncomfortable as the game progresses and Swinney’s Tigers begin to dominate Elliott’s upstart Cavaliers. Will Dabo take his foot off the accelerator and take his starters out early so as not to embarrass a member of the Clemson family, whose job could still be on the line if UVa doesn’t finish strong? Maybe. But with a top-10 ranking and at-large Playoff aspirations to protect, he’s just as likely to keep the hammer down and go for maximum style points.
4. How bad of a matchup is Cal’s secondary for NC State’s freshman quarterback CJ Bailey?
Facing the Bears in general and senior cornerback Nohl Williams can be a nightmare for any quarterback. But it’s especially dangerous for a freshman, on the road, in just his 5th career start. Williams leads college football with 6 interceptions this season, 2 more than anyone else in the FBS. His team is tied with Minnesota and UNLV for No. 1 nationally with 13 picks and is among the top 3 with a plus-10 turnover margin. Although Bailey has shown flashes of his potential by completing 66.4% of his passes for 1,070 yards and 6 touchdowns this season, he’s also had trouble with turnovers. Including 4 interceptions and a couple of fumbles on strip sacks. State’s cumulative turnover margin is -2. How well Bailey protects the ball will go a long way toward determining which team comes away with its first ACC win.
3. Are conditions right for Brent Key to upset another ranked team?
Key’s Yellow Jackets have been their best when the competition has been the toughest. They’ve beaten 5 ranked opponents in his short 28-game tenure over parts of 3 seasons. They’ll get another shot Saturday against No.12 Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Irish are coming off a 49-7 beatdown of Stanford and are an 11.5-point favorite, according to ESPNBet sportsbook. But they’re a banged-up team with star cornerback Benjamin Morrison joining center Ashton Craig, defensive ends Jordan Botelho and Boubacar Traore and offensive tackle Charles Jagusah on the injured list.
Beyond that, Tech could also find advantages in a ground attack that, like Northern Illinois earlier this season, could give the Irish trouble and the extensive scouting report they have on quarterback Riley Leonard from his time at former Coastal Division rival Duke. If the Yellow Jackets are going to pull off the upset, though, they’re going to have to do it with backup quarterback Zack Pyron under center. Starter Haynes King has been ruled out with an injury suffered in last week’s win at North Carolina.
2. Is the off week an advantage or disadvantage for Miami?
The open date couldn’t have come at a better time for the 6th-ranked Hurricanes. They barely escaped with their undefeated record intact after close calls against Virginia Tech and Cal, and have plenty of rough edges to smooth out in order to get their mojo back. They’ll need to be at or near their best on the road against Louisville, a team that will likely be their toughest opponent the rest of the regular season.
History, however, suggests that the opposite might be true. Miami is 0-2 after a bye week in Mario Cristobal’s 2 seasons – falling to North Carolina in 2022 and Georgia Tech in the infamous Kneelgate game last year. Cristobal said that his team spent last week “polishing technique and fundamentals.” It will also help if the Hurricanes remember to play with urgency through the first 3 quarters instead of waiting almost until the bitter end as they did against the Hokies and Bears.
1. Duke is 0-20 vs. FSU. Can Blue Devils finally break through?
The Blue Devils have lost all 20 previous meetings with the Seminoles. FSU has scored 40 or more points in 18 of those games, including 6 of the past 8. But the roles have been revered for Friday’s showdown at Wallace Wade Stadium. Duke is 5-1 (1-1 ACC) in Year 1 under Manny Diaz and a 3-point favorite against the preseason ACC favorites, who are 1-5 (1-4). Because of their history, losing to the Blue Devils would mark a new low for the Seminoles in a season that has long since fallen off the deep end.
If there’s 1 thing Mike Norvell has going for him, it’s that the open date provided an opportunity to start incorporating some young players into the lineup for the 2nd half of the season. If not to try to salvage this year and gain bowl eligibility, then to start building for 2025. The main beneficiary of the extra preparation tie could be freshman quarterback Brock Glenn, who showed positive signs of growth in his start against Clemson 2 weeks ago.
Award-winning columnist Brett Friedlander has covered the ACC and college basketball since the 1980s.
