Carolina Football Weekend Kickoff: Week 5

Setting up the weekend in college football

Welcome to the Friday Kickoff, where we’ll take a quick look at Carolina’s matchup and set up the rest of the college football weekend in the ACC and around the nation.

Carolina (2-2) vs. Clemson (4-0)

Kenan Stadium, Chapel Hill

3:30 p.m., ABC (PxP: Dave Pasch; Analyst: Greg McElroy; Sideline: Tom Luginbill)   

Carolina Game Notes | Clemson Game Notes | Series History; Clemson leads 37-19-1

BetOnline Spread: Clemson -27 | O/U: 60.5

Friday Newsstand

Carolina Film Room: the devil is in the details for Tar Heel defense

Anatomy of an upset: is there a blueprint for Carolina to follow to beat Clemson?

Mack Brown complimentary of Clemson, Swinney + Tar Heels looking for line, second quarter answers

UNC's fourth-quarter heroics have been necessitated by second-quarter disasters  

As Clemson dominates the ACC on and off the field, Carolina prepares for a rare shot at No. 1

Injuries, inconsistent play leave Carolina riding a roller coaster

Mack Brown Wednesday update: having Dabo arrested, embracing the opportunity and not paying coaches for losses

Sam Howell talks Clemson, reviews interceptions and finding consistency

Phil Longo previews Clemson, talks offensive line performance and explains why two-minute drill is successful

UNC defensive coordinator Jay Bateman: "We did not handle adversity well"

What they're saying

The difference is that if Clemson plays great, they’re going to win. That’s it. To beat a team like this, they have to make some mistakes — especially have some turnovers or kicking game mistakes — and they’re so well-coached, they don’t do that very often, but that’s what has to happen to win.In the Footprint — Mack Brown

They’re 6-5, they’re long; so that’s one thing they have. They run great route,s they’re great athletes; that’s two, and they have a future No. 1 draft-pick throwing them the ball. So, it’s not too many overthrows, it’s not too many underthrown balls. When you have somebody good throwing the ball to 6-5 receivers, it’s a good little deal they’ve got going on.  — Myles Dorn, on Clemson receivers and quarterback Trevor Lawrence

He's 6-foot-6. The most impressive play I've seen from him this year is he throws an interception against Georgia Tech, to Georgia Tech's corner who's running for a touchdown, and he reels him in like an all-pro safety. So, I think he can legit run. He's 6-6. I don't think he gets fooled very often, if at all. He's got huge targets, so the catch radius that he can throw to is really good. A lot of quarterbacks, a guy's covered and they don't get (to throw). You've got 6-foot-4 receivers all over the place, so he can throw the ball to a spot where they can go get it and the corners can't. I think his arm velocity, like talking about arm talent. His ability even as a 6-foot-6 kid to throw the ball and get it out of his hands fast I think is really special. So, I don't want to speak for NFL guys, but I would say there's a lot of NFL franchises that would trade for him right now. So, I think he's pretty good.  — Defensive coordinator Jay Bateman on Lawrence

In the Footprint

• For the non-Clemson division of the ACC, Virginia has been the most impressive team by a wide margin. We'll know by Saturday night whether the Cavaliers are just another good-for-the-ACC team or something more, if they can pull off a stunner in South Bend. Virginia ranks 14th nationally in total defense.
• N.C. State heads to Florida State for a game that will result in wild overreactions for both fanbases!
• After knocking off UCF, Pitt plays host to Delaware. The Blue Hens are No. 20 in the FCS rankings this week and already have a taste of talent this season, having played North Dakota State two weeks ago.
• Temple has a win over Maryland and a loss to Buffalo. Georgia Tech beat South Florida then lost to The Citadel. Who knows what's going to happen, but the Owls should be motivated vs. their former coach.
• The folks over at Blogger So Dear named Wake Forest-Boston College #TheRivalry, and the series tends to get weird, with the 2015 matchup delivering one of the best/worst ACC matchups of all-time.

Schedule

Friday
Duke (2-1)  at Virginia Tech (2-1, 0-1 ACC)

Saturday
Holy Cross (1-2) at Syracuse (2-2), 12 p.m. (ACC Network)
Delaware (3-1) at Pittsburgh (2-2), 12:30 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
No. 18 Virginia (4-0) at No. 10 Notre Dame (2-1), 3:30 p.m. (NBC)
Georgia Tech (1-2) at Temple (2-1), 3:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Wake Forest (4-0) at Boston College (3-1, 1-0), 3:30 p.m. (ACC Network)
N.C. State (3-1) at Florida State (1-1) at 7:30 p.m. (ACC Network)

What it means for Carolina

Only one game that will impact the Coastal this weekend as the Blue Devils and Hokies square off in Blacksburg. In terms of the division race, Virginia Tech falling into an 0-2 hole would benefit the Tar Heels the most.

Around the nation

Friday
No. 12 Penn State at Maryland, 8 p.m. (FS1)
It feels incredibly weird to see one of college football's historic powers playing a Friday night game, but that's where we are in this era of television rights.

Arizona State at No. 15 California, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Remember when Carolina lost to a rebuilding Cal program in the 2017 season-opener? Things have gone pretty darn well for the Golden Bears since. This one should be a defensive battle.

Saturday
No. 21 USC at No. 17 Washington, 3:30 p.m. (FOX)
USC was screwed when J.T. Daniels went down with injury, then saved by Kedon Slovis, then screwed again when Slovis got hurt, then saved by third-string quraterback Matt Fink. He'll start again for the Trojans this week.

Mississippi State at No. 7 Auburn, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Auburn survived its first round of SEC West carnage with an impressive win over Texas A&M. The Tigers have another solid running back in JaTarvious Whitlow, who has run for 408 yards and four touchdowns in four games.

No. 24 Kansas State at Oklahoma State, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
The Wildcats were untested before a big road win at Mississippi State. They'll have their hands full with Chuba Hubbard and the explosive Cowboys.

No. 5 Ohio State at Nebraska, 7:30 p.m. (ABC)
The Buckeyes haven't been tested in their run to 4-0, averaging 53.5 points. OSU quarterback Justin Fields will either launch his Heisman Trophy in primetime or the Scott Frost and the Huskers will get their biggest win in nearly 20 years.

Saturday Nightcap

Ride the wave of your tailgate into these late-night matchups for guaranteed points.

Washington State at No. 19 Utah, 10 p.m. (FS1)

Here's a guy

Washington State QB Anthony Gordon

Another season, another Cougar quarterback putting up ridiculous numbers under Mike Leach.

Last week, Gordon set a new single-game record for touchdown passes with nine, surpassing Gardner Minshew's previous mark of seven, set last season.

After attempting just five passes since arriving at Washington State in 2016, Gordon has completed 75 percent of his attempts for 1,894 yards with 21 touchdowns and four interceptions.