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No. 17 Miami, No. 18 Louisville meet to top ACC schedule

AP Sports Writer | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 4 months AGO
by AP Sports Writer
| September 18, 2020 12:03 AM

Here are things to watch in the Atlantic Coast Conference in Week 2:

GAME OF THE WEEK

No. 17 Miami at No. 18 Louisville. This week's AP Top 25 — which removed teams from the preseason poll that weren't slated to play this fall — saw the Hurricanes and Cardinals jump into the rankings ahead of a key contest Saturday night. The teams weren't originally slated to play until the ACC revamped its scheduling model due to the coronavirus pandemic, matching a Louisville team picked to finish fourth and a Miami team picked to finish sixth. The game features the Week 1 league leader in total offense in Louisville quarterback Micale Cunningham (threw for 343 yards, ran for 24), while Miami QB D'Eriq King ran for 83 yards in his Hurricanes debut as a graduate transfer from Houston. “You’ve got to go out there and play your game, and play at a high level," Louisville coach Scott Satterfield said.

BEST MATCHUP

Wake Forest's defensive front vs. North Carolina State's offensive line. The Demon Deacons are looking to their defense as a strength, particularly with the Carlos “Boogie” Basham Jr at defensive end. Basham has recorded at least one tackle for loss in 18 straight games, the longest streak in the Bowl Subdivision ranks. That front will face a Wolfpack offensive line with four returning starters — including center Grant Gibson (12 starts in 2019) and guard Joe Sculthorpe (11) — to protect second-year quarterback Devin Leary as N.C. State plays its season opener.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

No. 12 North Carolina's defense had a big opening week against Syracuse. That included an FBS-best seven sacks that stood as the program's best output since 2013. The Tar Heels also allowed six points and 202 yards, both standing as the lowest totals allowed to an ACC opponent since 2009. And it marked the fewest points allowed by UNC in any game since shutting out Idaho in September 2012. The Tar Heels host Charlotte in nonconference play Saturday.

LONG SHOT

Georgia Tech was picked to finish last in the 15-team ACC race only to rally past Florida State on the road in the opener. Now the Yellow Jackets have a home game against No. 14 Central Florida with a chance for another big win in coach Geoff Collins' second year. The Knights are 7 1/2-point favorites and have gone 35-4 over the past three seasons. The teams were scheduled to play in 2017 but the game was canceled due to Hurricane Irma.

IMPACT PLAYER

Sophomore running back Kyren Williams had a big starting debut for No. 7 Notre Dame in last week's opener against Duke, running for 112 yards and two touchdowns to go with two catches for 93 yards. He was the ACC's running back of the week and will look for a strong follow-up performance when the Fighting Irish play their lone nonconference game Saturday against South Florida.

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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25

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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap

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