NC/ACC Week 14 College Football Previews:

UNC, NC State, Wake Forest, Duke Lead
In-State Teams Facing Rivalry Matchups
(DG’s “This Week In CFB” YouTube Show = Posted Below)

By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
(last updated Nov. 25, 2025)

The 2025 college football campaign continues via a compelling Week 14 schedule, including the resumption of long-standing Bold North State rivalries such as Wake Forest-Duke and UNC-NC State, as the Football Bowl Subdivision regular season comes to a close and playoff matchups occur at the Football Championship Subdivision, Division Two and Division Three levels.

Meanwhile, the most prominent Week 14 matchups nationally include intra-league clashes on Saturday involving College Football Playoff contenders from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big Ten: #1 Ohio State at #18 Michigan (noon, FOX), #13 Miami at #24 Pittsburgh (noon, ABC) and #25 SMU at California (8 p.m., ESPN2).

From the limited schedule (see below) in the Old North State, plus one matchup involving teams from next-door Virginia, here are more details from this week’s “Three To See” selections:

“Three To See,” Game One

Wake Forest (8-3) at Duke (6-5), Sat., 3:30 p.m. (ACCN)

At the beginning of this century, Wake Forest cranked out 12 straight victories in this rivalry. Since then, Duke has turned the tables, with wins in eight of the last 12 matchups, including the past three in a row, all of those in very close games.

Another nail-biter seems probable on Saturday afternoon in Durham, as first-year Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert gets his first taste of this high-academics rivalry and second-year Duke coach Manny Diaz tries to honor a special class of seniors in their final game at Wallace Wade Stadium.

The Blue Devils’ honorees on Senior Day at Wallace Wade Stadium include four- or five-year Blue Devils such as defensive end Vincent Anthony Jr., linebacker Tre Freeman, wide receiver/return man Sahmir Hagans, defensive tackle Aaron Hall, safety Terry Moore, kicker Todd Pelino, guard Justin Pickett and cornerback Chandler Rivers. Pelino was the special teams star on a faked field goal in the Devils’ narrow win at UNC last week.

The most compelling aspect of this matchup will come when Duke has the ball, because the Blue Devils can be dangerous either through the air or with their ground game, whereas Wake Forest has played some of the best overall defense in the ACC all season long. The Demon Deacons are giving up only 19 points per game, which ranks #2 in the ACC. Meanwhile, in conference play specifically, Duke is averaging 34 points per game, which ranks #2 in the league.

On Duke’s offensive depth chart, quarterback Darian Mensah is a brilliant passer, true freshman Nate Sheppard and Appalachian State transfer Anderson Castle have both been running well, tight end Jeremiah Hasley and wide receiver Cooper Barkate have been very productive pass-catchers, and right tackle Brian Parker II leads an effective offensive line.

That’s a lot for Wake Forest to handle, but the Demon Deacons’ defense has slowed or entirely shut down every opponent except Florida State this season.

Meanwhile, when Wake (a one-point underdog) has the ball, it will be a true guessing game, because neither the Deacons’ offense nor the Devils’ defense has been very effective this season.

Each team has some dangerous special-teams weapons, too, so this matchup feels like the definition of a coin flip.

“Three To See,” Game Two

UNC (4-7) at NC State (6-5), Sat., 7:30 p.m. (ACCN)
(An “Old North State Tailgate & Traveling Sports Circus” Game)

While North Carolina has had the best of this in-state rivalry historically, NC State definitely has had the best of it lately. Under 13th-year coach Dave Doeren, the Wolfpack is 8-4 against the Tar Heels, and the Pack has a four-game winning streak going into this matchup Friday night in Raleigh.

Many fans have been around long enough to see Carolina put together a seven-game winning streak in this rivalry — that happened in the 1990s — but NC State could match its longest winning streak ever over the Heels (five games) if the Wolfpack can take care of business under the lights, on Senior Night, at Carter-Finley Stadium.

The Wolfpack is already bowl-eligible, at 6-5. Carolina, at 4-7, can’t make the postseason, except in the unlikely event that the Heels finish 5-7 and the bowl games run out of eligible 6-6 squads. So everyone should expect both sides to “let it all hang out” in every way in this one.

The overview for this matchup is very much like one from last week, when Duke visited UNC in another rivalry game. Although the Tar Heels have improved over the course of the season, especially on defense, can Carolina’s anemic offense keep up if these teams start trading touchdowns?

Against the Blue Devils, the Heels’ ultimate answer was “no,” and for that same reason, they are a seven-point underdog against the Wolfpack.

Just as Duke did, NC State has a very dangerous quarterback in CJ Bailey. Just as Duke had a nice one-two punch at running back, working behind a quality offensive line, so does the Pack, with Hollywood Smothers and Duke Scott. Just as Duke had a great tight end and reliable wide receivers, so does the Pack, with Justin Joly and guys like Terrell Anderson.

Meanwhile, just as Duke did, NC State has a very vulnerable defense. But can Carolina take advantage of that? Under very similar circumstances, the Tar Heels ultimately fell short — at home — last week in a close game against the Devils.

This one seems even tougher, on the road against NC State, with Wolfpack Nation licking its chops in anticipation of a vulnerable team with a famous head coach from the school that fan base hates the absolute most.

“Three To See,” Game Three

Virginia Tech (3-8) at #19 Virginia (9-2), Sat., 7 p.m. (ESPN)

This game offers a truly fascinating backdrop, for two main reasons.

The first is obvious to anyone who’s been reading about all of the ACC’s various tiebreaker scenarios. For Virginia, it’s actually very simple: If you beat Virginia Tech, you will play in the ACC championship game.

In other words, unlike four other ACC teams that are still alive in this title chase, the Cavaliers don’t have to worry about the results of other games, because the tiebreakers favor them. If they beat the Hokies, they’ll be 7-1 in conference play, and that will be good enough — in their case — to earn one of those two spots in Charlotte next week.

The second reason the story line for this game is so compelling is that Virginia Tech has absolutely owned Virginia in football, both in the general sense and especially over these past two decades or so. The Hokies have won 19 of the past 20 head-to-head matchups, including at least a couple in which the Cavaliers were favored.

This time, the Wahoos may be favored by double digits (the line has fluctuated from nine to 11 points), a true rarity in this rivalry.

Is UVa a truly great team this season? Definitely not. Are the Cavaliers better than the Hokies this year? Definitely yes, but they have to prove that on the field Saturday, against a Tech squad that has been especially bad on defense this season.

As Tech fans look forward to the James Franklin era, Virginia fans might be watching their team make history right here in 2025.

Fourth-year UVa coach Tony Elliott may win the ACC Coach of the Year honor, and — if he can close this regular season with a victory — there will be a lot of very good seasons why.

If the Cavaliers beat the Hokies to finish the regular season at 10-2, that would guarantee just the second season of 10 or more wins in the 100-plus-year history of UVa football. (Legendary coach George Welsh led the Wahoos to a 10-3 campaign in 1989.) If the Cavs beat the Hokies, that would mean the program’s second-ever trip to the ACC title game, which has been around for 20 years now. If the Cavs beat the Hokies, it would mean tasty revenge for that 19-of-the-last 20 rivalry number mentioned above. If the Cavs beat the Hokies, they would have at least a shot at what would be just the third ACC football title (joining 1989 and 1995) in their 72 years as a league member.

Finally, if the Cavs beat the Hokies, they would have at least a shot at the highest win total and the highest end-of-season ranking in program history, depending on the result of the ACC title game and the result of whatever College Football Playoff contest or bowl game ended up inviting the Wahoos.

UVa football has never finished higher than #13 in any major poll; if this year’s Cavaliers can somehow get to 11 victories, there’s at least a chance they could challenge Welsh’s 1994 team — #13 in the final Associated Press poll — for that highest end-of-season ranking ever.

So, yes, for a boatload of reasons past and present, some really big things will be at stake on Saturday night in Charlottesville.

In-State “Three To See,” Bonus Games

This is kind of a sad list here in late November, because of the following breakdown. … The Division Three playoff bracket now has 40 teams, but nobody in the Bold North State made the postseason at that level. … The 32-team Division Two playoffs started last week, and North Carolina did have two representatives — Johnson C Smith and Wingate — but each of those teams lost its first-round home game, in the Bulldogs’ case on an absolutely wild, across-the-field, emergency catch-and-lateral play that went for a game-deciding 86-yard touchdown on the final play from scrimmage. … The FCS playoffs have 24 teams, and they begin play this week, but no in-state team earned an invitation there, either. … That leaves just two mostly off-the-radar FBS games worth mentioning. The team with the most at stake is Appalachian State, which is 5-6 as it hosts 5-6 Arkansas State (2:30 p.m., ESPN+). Obviously, both of those Sun Belt teams are seeking bowl-eligibility in that one, and the Mountaineers are a two-point favorite in Boone. … Lastly, 7-4 East Carolina, which fell from the American Conference championship race last week with an ugly loss at UTSA, visits 4-7 Florida Atlantic (noon, ESPN+). The Pirates, who still have a chance to reach nine victories for the first time since 2013, are a six-point favorite at FAU, but their title aspirations obviously have fallen by the wayside.

NC Football Bowl Subdivision (Seven Teams)
(Games Saturday Unless Otherwise Indicated)

East Carolina (7-4) at Florida Atlantic (4-7), noon (ESPN+)
Arkansas State (5-6) at Appalachian State (5-6), 2:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wake Forest (8-3) at Duke (6-5), 3:30 p.m. (ACCN)
North Carolina (4-7) at NC State (6-5), 7:30 p.m. (ACCN)
Charlotte (1-10) at #22 Tulane (9-2), 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU)

Atlantic Coast Conference (17 Teams)

#4 Georgia (10-1) at #23 Georgia Tech (9-2), 3:30 p.m. (ABC) — Friday
#13 Miami (9-2) at #24 Pittsburgh (8-3), noon (ABC)
Kentucky (5-6) at Louisville (7-4), noon (ACCN)
Clemson (6-5) at South Carolina (4-7), noon (SECN)
Boston College (1-10) at Syracuse (3-8), 3 p.m. (The CW)
Wake Forest (8-3) at Duke (6-5), 3:30 p.m. (ACCN)
Florida State (5-6) at Florida (3-8), 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Virginia Tech (3-8) at #17 Virginia (9-2), 7 p.m. (ESPN)
North Carolina (4-7) at NC State (6-5), 7:30 p.m. (ACCN)
#25 SMU (8-3) at California (6-5), 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
#9 Notre Dame (9-2) at Stanford (4-7), 10:30 p.m. (ESPN)