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GamE OF THE wEEk

POwER RaNkINGS

STANDINGS

NO. 3 ClEMSON (2-0, 0-0 ACC) AT NO. 14 lOUISVIllE (2-0, 1-0)

Breaking down the ACC

When: 8 p.m. EDT Saturday Where: Papa John’s Stadium, louisville, Ky. TV: ABC

1. Clemson (2-0): Completely smothered Auburn and has yet to allow a touchdown (last week: 1)

(Through Sept. 9) ATLANTIC Team Louisville Wake Forest Clemson NC State Syracuse Florida State Boston College

Conf. 1-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1

All 2-0 2-0 2-0 1-1 1-1 0-1 1-1

T25 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0

COASTAL Team Duke Virginia Tech Miami Pittsburgh Virginia Georgia Tech North Carolina

Conf. 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1

All 2-0 2-0 1-0 1-1 1-1 1-1 0-2

T25 0-0 1-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-1

2. Florida State (0-1): The Seminoles had their home opener canceled because of Irma. (lW: 2)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (Through Sept. 9) PASSING YARDS Player 1. Lamar Jackson, Louisville 2. Ryan Finley, NC State 3. Kurt Benkert, Virginia 4. Daniel Jones, Duke 5. Eric Dungey, Syracuse

Yds. 771 756 521 518 508

PASSING TOUCHDOWNS Player T1. Ryan Finley, NC State T1. Lamar Jackson, Lousville T3. Kurt Benjert, Virginia T3. John Wolford, Wake Forest T3. Daniel Jones, Duke

No. 5 5 4 4 4

RUSHING YARDS Player 1. TaQuon Marshall, Georgia Tech 2. Lamar Jackson, Louisville 3. Qadree Ollison, Pittsburgh 4. KirVonte Benson, Georgia Tech T5. Brittain Brown, Duke T5. Malik Williams, Louisville

Yds. 274 239 187 150 149 149

RECEIVING YARDS Player 1. Jaylen Smith, Louisville 2. Steve Ishmael, Syracuse 3. Kelvin Harmon, NC State 4. Cam Phillips, Virginia Tech 5. Austin Proehl, North Carolina

Yds. 300 250 235 228 175

SCORING Player 1. TaQuon Marshall, Georgia Tech 2. Blanton Creque, Louisville T3. Cole Murphy, Syracuse T3. Austin Parker, Duke 5. Mike Weaver, Wake Forest

Pts. 36 22 21 21 19

TEAM STATISTICS (Through Sept. 9) PASSING OFFENSE Team Louisville NC State Syracuse North Carolina Duke Virginia Clemson Miami Virginia Tech Florida State Wake Forest Boston College Pittsburgh Georgia Tech

Yds. 771 756 613 605 586 521 497 233 457 210 390 354 327 232

Yds./G 385.5 378.0 306.5 302.5 293.0 260.5 248.5 233.0 228.5 210.0 195.0 177.0 163.5 116.0

RUSHING OFFENSE Team Georgia Tech Miami Duke Louisville Clemson Wake Forest Pittsburgh Virginia Tech Boston College Syracuse North Carolina NC State Virginia Florida State

Yds. 745 322 476 458 449 406 363 315 290 281 236 233 147 40

Yds./G 372.5 322.0 238.0 229.0 224.5 203.0 181.5 157.5 145.0 140.5 118.0 116.5 73.5 40.0

STaRS OF THE wEEk • CB Essang Bassey, Wake Forest: Returned an interception for a touchdown in the Demon Deacons’ victory at Boston College to open ACC play • QB Lamar Jackson, Louisville: Accounted for 525 total yards and six touchdowns (three passing, three rushing) as he and the Cardinals dissected North Carolina

STaT OF THE wEEk

2-0 Record after two games for Wake Forest for the second consecutive year, the first time the Demon Deacons have gone 2-0 in back-toback years since 1985-88.

GOLD STANDARD

DEFENDING CHAMPS FACE DEFENDING HEISMAN WINNER IN TOP 15 CLASH

[AP PHOTO]

KEYS FOR CLEMSON

Prevent Jackson from getting loose. This is what everyone facing Louisville will try to do, but few actually have the ability to achieve. Despite the fact Jackson rushed for 162 yards and two TDs in last year’s classic in Death Valley (a 42-36 Clemson victory), the Tigers have some hope of bottling up the Heisman Trophy winner. If he can rip off chunk plays in the running game, Clemson will be in trouble. Stretch the field. It was fine not to have an especially explosive passing game last week against Auburn, since Clemson was plenty capable of stifling the Jarrett Stidhamled offense. But it’s going to require more than 14 points to win at Louisville, and that means QB Kelly Bryant will need to make a few more plays downfield. Clemson had just three pass completions of more than 13 yards against

Auburn, a figure that probably must rise this week. KEYS FOR LOUISVILLE

Pass efficiency. Louisville is facing a miserly defensive front, one that yielded just 38 yards on 42 carries to Auburn last week. Even Jackson’s strong rushing game against Clemson last year came on more than 30 carries, and he wound up with a solid but not otherworldly 5.2 yards an attempt. The Cardinals will need to do some damage in the passing game, and the Jackson-to-Jaylen Smith connection gives them a chance to do just that. Play with poise. Louisville is tied for 123rd nationally in fewest penalties per game (11.0) and 113th in fewest penalty yards a game (85.5). Last year, the Cardinals averaged 7.77 penalties (120th nationally) for 70.7 yards (121st). Against most opponents,

Jackson’s exceptional work is more than enough to overcome those chronic lapses in discipline, but Clemson isn’t a typical foe. Louisville will struggle to overcome a double-digit penalty day against the Tigers. PREDICTION

Clemson 31-28. With the postponement of MiamiFlorida State, this game slides into prime time after originally being scheduled for a mid-afternoon kickoff — adding another element to what is sure to be a raucous environment in Louisville. This is Bryant’s first road game as a starter after he looked excellent against Kent State and did enough against Auburn’s tough defense to lead the Tigers victories. Still, this game will probably come down to how much Jackson can do against Clemson’s capable defense.

BEST OF THE REST THIS wEEK’S OTHER TOP GAMES

No. 9 OKLA. ST. (2-0) at PITTSBURGH (1-1)

NOTRE DAME (1-1) at BOSTON COLLEGE (1-1)

No. 16 VA. TECH (2-0) at EAST CAROLINA (0-2)

When: 11 a.m. CDT Saturday Where: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh TV: ESPN Notes: Oklahoma State won the only previous meeting, a 45-38 triumph last Rudolph year in Stillwater. The Cowboys roll into the Steel City after QB Mason Rudolph shredded Tulsa and South Alabama to open his senior year. He may do even better against Pittsburgh, which struggled mightily against the pass and will be without S Jordan Whitehead.

When: 3:30 p.m. EDT Saturday Where: Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, Mass. TV: ESPN Notes: Notre Dame leads series 14-9 and won the last Kelly meeting 19-16 in 2015 and has claimed five in a row against the Eagles. The Fighting Irish were edged 20-19 last week by Georgia, dropping them to 1-8 in onepossession games since the start of last season.

When: 3:30 p.m. EDT Saturday Where: Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville, N.C. TV: CBS Sports Network Notes: Virginia Tech leads series 14-7 Jackson and won last year’s meeting 54-17. While the Hokies have been known to have problems with Virginia Tech opened the season with a neutral-site defeat of West Virginia as QB Josh Jackson electrified in his first career start.

ROUNDING IT OUT THE REST OF THE MATCHUPS

Time (EDT) SATURDAY Noon

Matchup

TV

Connecticut at Virginia

ESPN2

12:20 p.m. 12:30 p.m. 3 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m.

Furman at N.C. State Baylor at Duke Utah State at Wake Forest N. Carolina at Old Dominion Central Michigan at Syracuse

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ACCN RSN ACCN Stadium ACCN

3. Louisville (2-0): The Cardinals unleashed lamar Jackson against North Carolina. (lW: 3)

4. Virginia Tech (2-0): Blanked Delaware after a Sunday-to-Saturday turnaround. (lW: 4) 5. Miami (1-0): like Florida State, Miami canceled a nonconference game. (lW: 5)

6. Georgia Tech (1-1): The Yellow Jackets looked like a team on a short week for a half. (lW: 6)

7. Duke (2-0): Quite a statement by the Blue Devils, who held Northwestern to 22 yards on 21 carries. (lW: 10) 8. Wake Forest (2-0): The Demon Deacons really need to win the next two weeks. (lW: 11)

9. N.C. State (1-1): The Wolfpack is airing it out, with one of the better receiving corps. (lW: 9)

10. Pittsburgh (1-1): The Panthers have looked very average the first two weeks. (lW: 8)

11. Boston College (1-1): The Eagles committed four turnovers in their loss at home to Wake Forest. (lW: 7) 12. Virginia (1-1): The Cavs’’ passing statistics in a loss to Indiana are an ode to inefficiency. (lW: 13)

13. Syracuse (1-1): The countdown to basketball season is on in central New York. (lW: 12)

14. North Carolina (0-2): The Tar Heels learned a valuable lesson: Don’t trash talk lamar Jackson. (lW: 14)