Football November 03, 2026 ACC Football Week 10 Preview: No. 1 Miami’s AP Poll Top-Five Matchup Headlines Pivotal Weekend CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Week 10 of Atlantic Coast Conference football Friday night with a pivotal matchup as Virginia Tech travels to SMU on ESPN, featuring two of the league’s seven teams with at least four Power Four victories. Saturday’s slate features seven games, highlighted by No. 1 Miami’s AP Poll top-five showdown at No. 4 Notre Dame on NBC and Peacock. Clemson visits Syracuse, Florida State travels to Boston College, Duke takes on NC State and Louisville faces off with Georgia Tech in conference play, while North Carolina’s road contest at UConn and No. 14 Wake Forest’s home contest against Merrimack round out the full day of action. Week 10 – ACC Football Schedule (All times Eastern) Friday, November 6 Virginia Tech at SMU | 7 p.m. | ESPN Saturday, November 7 Clemson at Syracuse | Noon | ESPN2 Florida State at Boston College | Noon | ACC Network North Carolina at UConn | Noon | CBS Sports Network Duke at NC State | 12:30 p.m. | The CW Merrimack at #16 Wake Forest | 3:30 p.m. | ACC Network Louisville at Georgia Tech | 7:30 p.m. | ACC Network #1 Miami at #11 Notre Dame | 7:30 p.m. | NBC / Peacock ACC Football Notes ACC at a Glance Miami is No. 1 and Wake Forest is No. 16 in the first CFP Selection Committee rankings of 2026. Miami is ranked No. 1 in the CFP rankings for the first time in program history, while Wake Forest is making its first CFP rankings appearance since 2022. No. 1 Miami and No. 14 Wake Forest give the ACC two teams ranked in the AP Top 25, with SMU, Virginia Tech, Duke and Louisville also receiving votes. Miami remained No. 1 in the AP poll for the second straight week, earning 62 of 70 first-place votes. Miami, Wake Forest and SMU are ranked No. 1, No. 14 and No. 24, respectively, in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Duke and Virginia Tech also received votes. The ACC has 10 teams in ESPN’s FPI Top 50, one of just three conferences with double-digit teams in the rankings. Five ACC teams enter Week 10 with two losses or fewer: No. 1 Miami, No. 14 Wake Forest, SMU, Virginia Tech and Duke. Twelve of the ACC’s 17 programs enter Week 10 at .500 or better, including eight with at least five wins. Every ACC program has won a conference game this season, one of only three conferences to accomplish that feat through Week 9. Top-25-Worthy Teams The ACC enters Week 10 with a deep group of teams carrying top-25-caliber resumes, led by unbeaten No. 1 Miami and No. 14 Wake Forest. Miami is one of only three undefeated FBS teams and one of only four with eight wins. The Hurricanes are one of four teams with six Power Four victories, have four Power Four road wins—tied for the national lead—and are the only FBS team to score at least 30 points in every game. Wake Forest is one of only four FBS teams with six Power Four wins and has won five straight games. The Demon Deacons outscored their four October opponents, 187-31, winning each by at least 24 points. SMU is one of 26 FBS teams with at least four Power Four wins. Its two losses came on the road by a combined 13 points, and the Mustangs are one of only six FBS teams ranked in the top 26 in both total offense and total defense. Virginia Tech is 6-2 with four Power Four wins and three Power Four road victories, one of only seven FBS teams with at least three such wins. The Hokies’ two losses came by a combined seven points and include a 25-20 loss at Cal following a nearly 27-hour travel delay caused by mechanical issues with both charter aircraft. Duke owns four Power Four wins, including road victories at Illinois and Virginia, while its two losses have come by a combined seven points. The Blue Devils are one of just 13 FBS teams ranked in the top 25 in scoring defense, rushing defense and total defense. Louisville owns four Power Four wins, including a victory over then-No. 16 SMU, and has won three straight games. Each of the Cardinals’ three losses came by exactly three points, while Louisville leads the FBS in yards per play, big-play percentage, gains of 20-plus yards and gains of 30-plus yards. Clemson owns three Power Four wins, including road victories at California and Florida State. All three Tiger losses came against teams currently 6-2 or better, and Clemson held a lead in two of those contests. Pitt owns four Power Four wins, highlighted by a 35-33 road victory at Virginia Tech. The Panthers rank No. 2 nationally in rushing defense, No. 19 in tackles for loss and No. 23 in sacks. Competitive Conference Play ACC conference games have produced an FBS-best 39 second-half lead changes and 22 fourth-quarter lead changes this season. Twenty-two ACC league games have been decided by one possession, the second-most among Power Four conferences, including 12 decided by three points or fewer. Four ACC conference games were decided by four points or fewer in Week 8, the conference’s most in a single week over the last 45 seasons. Four different ACC teams won on the road in Week 8, the most of any FBS conference and the ACC’s most in a single week since Week 10 of last season. Tested Against the Best No Power Four conference has played more non-conference games against Power Four opponents and Notre Dame than the ACC, with 17 such contests through Week 9. Ten of the ACC’s 17 Power Four-or-Notre Dame non-conference contests were played away from ACC home stadiums, including seven true road games and three neutral-site games. ACC teams have six non-conference wins over Power Four opponents and Notre Dame, tied for the second-most among Power Four conferences. All 17 ACC programs are scheduled to play at least 10 games against Power Four opponents or Notre Dame, the most of any conference. Boston College, Georgia Tech and Louisville are three of just five FBS teams scheduled to play 11 such games. The ACC is 4-1 against the Big Ten this season, including four consecutive wins and three true road victories. Power Four and Road Success Seven ACC teams have won at least four Power Four games, the second-most of any conference. Miami and Wake Forest are two of just four FBS teams with a nation-leading six Power Four victories. Miami and Wake Forest lead the FBS with four Power Four true road wins, while Virginia Tech is one of five additional teams with three. The ACC is the only conference with three teams—Miami, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech—among the FBS programs with at least three Power Four true road wins. Miami and Wake Forest are the only FBS teams with at least four road wins and no road losses this season. The ACC is the Conference of Quarterbacks ACC quarterbacks lead the FBS with 33 300-yard passing games, three more than the next conference. The ACC has produced seven 400-yard passing performances, the most of any conference and five more than the other Power Four conferences combined. Eight ACC quarterbacks rank among the top 40 in ESPN Total QBR, the second-most of any conference, led by Miami’s Darian Mensah at No. 1 and Wake Forest’s Gio Lopez at No. 6. Eight ACC quarterbacks rank among the top 25 nationally in passing yards, the most of any conference. Seven ACC quarterbacks rank among the nation’s top 30 in completion percentage, the most of any conference. The ACC has four of the nation’s top 10 passers in completion percentage: Mensah, SMU’s Kevin Jennings, Virginia Tech’s Ethan Grunkemeyer and Georgia Tech’s Alberto Mendoza. Five ACC quarterbacks rank among the nation’s top 20 in total offense per game: Mensah, Jennings, Lopez, Louisville’s Lincoln Kienholz and Grunkemeyer. Offensive and Defensive Firepower Miami leads the FBS in scoring offense at 47.6 points per game and ranks No. 2 nationally in total offense at 534.9 yards per game. Ten ACC teams average at least 30.0 points per game, tied for the most of any conference. Ten different ACC teams have scored at least 56 points in a game this season, already surpassing the conference’s total from the entire 2025 season. Nine ACC teams scored 30 or more points in Week 9, while all eight ACC game winners topped the 30-point mark. Virginia Tech leads the FBS in tackles-for-loss per game at 9.6 and ranks sixth nationally in sacks per game. Miami and Pitt own the nation’s top two rushing defenses, allowing 60.8 and 68.3 yards per game, respectively. Duke ranks No. 17 nationally in total defense, while SMU, Virginia Tech, Miami and Pitt are also among the nation’s top 35. Standout Talent Miami QB Darian Mensah leads the FBS in Total QBR, completion percentage, passing efficiency and passing touchdowns. He ranks second nationally in yards per attempt and third in points responsible for per game. Miami WR Malachi Toney ranks second nationally in receptions per game, third in receiving yards and receiving yards per game, and is tied for second in receiving touchdowns. Duke RB Nate Sheppard leads the FBS in scoring, total points and total touchdowns. He ranks fifth nationally in rushing yards per game and total rushing yards and second in all-purpose yards per game. Syracuse WR Umari Hatcher ranks fourth nationally in receiving yards and receiving yards per game and is tied for sixth in receptions per game. Louisville RB Isaac Brown ranks second nationally in yards per carry at 7.68. California’s Kingston Lopa, Clemson’s Elliot Washington II and Louisville’s Kaleb Beasley are tied for the FBS lead with five interceptions apiece. Enhanced Replay Access Expands The ACC continues to expand Enhanced Replay Access in 2026, giving audiences greater access to real-time replay discussions during broadcasts. Enhanced Replay Access is scheduled for six Week 10 games: Virginia Tech at SMU, Clemson at Syracuse, Florida State at Boston College, Duke at NC State, Merrimack at Wake Forest and Louisville at Georgia Tech. Enhanced Replay Access provides live audio and video among the referee, stadium replay official and ACC Collaborative Instant Replay Official in Charlotte. ACC Enhanced Replay Access broadcasts are limited to games officiated by ACC crews and carried on ACC-controlled linear television platforms. ACC Football Fridays The ACC is scheduled to play a record 15 Friday games in 2026. The Week 10 slate features a monumental conference matchup with Virginia Tech at SMU at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. Friday night football continues in each of Weeks 11, 12 and 13, concluding with Florida at Florida State on Black Friday.