SMU, Duke meet to stay in ACC title chase

No. 22 SMU (6-1, 3-0 ACC) at Duke (6-1, 2-1), Saturday, 8 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

Who would have expected this matchup to potentially play a role in who would reach the ACC Championship? The Mustangs and Blue Devils have been one of the biggest surprises in the ACC this season, with the winner of this season keeping their title hopes alive.

The Blue Devils are 4-0 at home under first-time coach Manny Diaz and are 12-1 in their last 13 home games.

SMU is one of four undefeated teams in the conference in its first ACC season. Quarterback Kevin Jennings had three touchdown passes in a 40-10 win over Stanford in the Mustangs’ final game.

SMU showed strength on both ends, ranking fourth in the ACC in scoring (40.7 points per game) and third in scoring defense (20.5 points per game). Duke is looking to win against a ranked opponent for the second straight season, having last accomplished it in the 2015 and 2016 seasons.

The teams have not played since 1956.

Florida State (1-6, 1-5) at No. 6 Miami (7-0, 3-0), Saturday, 7 p.m. ET (ABC).

The Hurricanes had some close games, but were led by top Heisman contender Cam Ward, who had his best start since 2013. Ward leads the ACC with 362 passing yards per game and 24 touchdowns. He scored three more.

Miami usually gets the best of the Seminoles, who have won their last three meetings and are 13-7 against their in-state rivals since the Hurricanes joined the ACC. But the defending ACC champion has been in freefall since the season started. FSU lost at Duke 23-17 last week, ending its 22-0 all-time record against the Blue Devils.

Pitt RB Desmond Reid leads the ACC and is second nationally with 182.6 all-purpose yards per game. The Western Carolina transfer had three games of 100 or more yards and two with more than 100 yards, the firsts for a program that featured big players like Tony Dorsett, Curtis Martin and James Conner.

The ACC has two of the nation’s top rushing offenses in Miami and Syracuse, along with three other programs with solid rushing attacks (Pitt, 12; Louisville, 14; Clemson, 21). … Pitt’s Ben Sauls hasn’t missed a field goal this season, making all 10 of his field goals and all 28 of his extra points. … Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos is fifth nationally in passing efficiency (176.2). … Louisville’s 45 points in last week’s loss to Miami were its most in a non-overtime loss since 1999. … North Carolina’s Mack Brown leads all current coaches with 285 wins. … No. 8 Clemson and North Carolina State are off this week.

North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton ran for 100 or more yards for the sixth time this season. That makes him the only one in program history to accomplish the feat in multiple seasons. Hampton is just 99 yards away from a second straight 1,000-yard season.