Here's your ACC preview for the week, folks:
In the Coastal
Georgia Tech vs. North Carolina: Georgia Tech beat its (admittedly overmatched) opponents by an average of 54-7 in its first two games, both wins. That's probably not the type of team an average-to-this-point North Carolina wants to see right now (Saturday, noon, ESPN). The Heels gave up 20 points and 158 rushing yards to Middle Tennessee State a couple of weeks ago. If that's an indication of what Tech's triple option might be able to do to UNC on the ground, it could be a long day.
In the Atlantic
Clemson vs. NC State: When we last saw Clemson in a significant game, the Tigers were knocking off Georgia without playing a whole lot of defense. Tonight's game against NC State (7:30 p.m., ESPN) isn't nearly that big, but the 'pack has a 35th-ranked points allowed per game average of 17.5 and is 2-0. If Clemson doesn't pile up a bunch of early points on the road and looks anything like it did against Georgia defensively this could get kind of interesting ... but probably not.
Virginia Tech vs. Marshall: We said last week that Eastern Carolina could sneak up on Virginia Tech, and that's exactly what happened as the Hokies held the Pirates off for a too-close-for-comfort 15-10 win. This week, Tech hosts Marshall (Saturday, noon, ESPNU), which has a similarly sneaky profile. The Herd is averaging 46 points per game and would be 3-0 if not for being nipped, 34-31, by Ohio last week. If the Hokies are reckless on special teams like they were against Alabama, this is the type of underdog that can make them pay. This one's worth monitoring.
Maryland vs. West Virginia: Randy Edsall's Terps are 3-0 and will probably get people's attention if the get past West Virginia (Saturday, 3:30 p.m., ESPNU) in Baltimore. The Mountaineers aren't anything spectacular this year, but did hold Oklahoma in check during a 16-7 loss a couple weeks ago. It could be the first significant test for a Maryland offense averaging 40 points per game.
Elsewhere: Wake Forest travels to Army (Saturday, noon, CBS Sports Network), Syracuse hosts Tulane (Saturday, 12:30 p.m., ESPN3), and Florida State hosts Bethune-Cookman (Saturday, 6 p.m., ESPN3).
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