NC/ACC Week Nine CFB Previews & Schedules:
Wake, Duke, NC State, UNC, ECU, JC Smith
Serving As Hosts For Key Games Across NC
(DG’s Weekly CFB YouTube Show = Below)
By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
(last updated Oct. 29, 2026)
The 2026 college football season continues Tuesday through Saturday with a compelling Week Nine schedule, with Wake Forest, North Carolina, Duke, NC State, East Carolina and Johnson C Smith all serving as hosts for important games across the Bold North State.
The most prominent games nationally include the top three teams in the national polls venturing beyond their home venues, with #1 Miami (7-0) visiting UNC (4-3) on Halloween night (7:30 p.m., ABC), #2 Ohio State (6-1) traveling to Southern Cal (6-2) in the same time slot (7:30 p.m., NBC) and #3 Georgia (6-1) taking on #17 Florida (5-2) earlier in the day (3:30 p.m., ABC) in Atlanta rather than at that Southeastern Conference rivalry’s century-long home in Jacksonville, Fla.
Meanwhile, from the wide-ranging schedule (please see at bottom) involving teams from the Bold North State, below are more details from this week’s “Three To See” in-state selections, plus brief notes on three other compelling Week Nine matchups.
NC/ACC “Three To See,” Game One
Cal (3-5) at NC State (3-4), Sat., noon (ACCN)
The starting point for this game is very simple.
(NOTE: If you’re looking for coverage of coach Dave Doeren’s recent dismissal and NC State’s ongoing coaching search, please click HERE.)
When Cal’s defense faces a quality offense, the Bears usually give up a lot of points. Similarly, when NC State’s defense faces a quality offense, the Wolfpack gives up a lot of points.
Under first-year head coach Tosh Lupoi, Cal ranks 16th in the 17-team ACC in scoring defense, at almost 32 points per game. The Pack ranks 13th, at 28 points per game.
NC State defensive coordinator DJ Eliot also was fired this week, so that Wolfpack defense will have an extra later of complication, as secondary coach Charlton Warren will be directing that unit under interim head coach Todd Goebbel (the team’s running backs coach and special teams coordinator) for the remainder of the 2026 season. Warren previously has served as a defensive coordinator or co-DC at Air Force, Indiana and UNC.
Both starting quarterbacks in this contest, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele of Cal and CJ Bailey of NC State, entered this season with big NIL contracts and huge expectations, although neither has had a smooth ride.
JKS was knocked out of one game and missed another with a concussion, and he’s only 10th in the ACC in passing yards, at 222 per game. Bailey has bounced back from a brutal opener at Virginia, but he’s only sixth in the league in passing, at 252 yards per game, and he wasn’t great last week in the Wolfpack’s devastating 31-28 loss at Stanford, which ultimately cost Doeren his job.
Complicating the quarterbacks’ job descriptions, Cal (a seven-point underdog) hasn’t run the ball well at all this season, and State also has struggled mightily in the running game, after injuries to star tailback Duke Scott and several offensive linemen.
Those details figure to put the weight of this game back on the quarterbacks, where JKS has been leaning heavily on Rutgers wide receiver transfer Ian Strong and Ohio wideout transfer Chase Hendricks, while Bailey has relied mainly on speedy junior wideout Keenan Jackson and sophomore tight end Preston Douglas.
It’s difficult to predict the mood at Carter-Finley Stadium for this one, given the Doeren circumstances, but it’s easy to forecast the possibility of one or perhaps both teams figuring out a way to put a lot of points on the scoreboard.
NC/ACC “Three To See,” Game Two Boston College (4-3) at Duke (5-2), Sat., noon (The CW) Duke’s formula for success this season under third-year coach Manny Diaz hasn’t been difficult to decipher: the brilliant running of sophomore tailback Nate Sheppard + the low-risk, high-IQ passing game of sixth-year senior quarterback Walker Eget + the smartest defense in the ACC usually = victory for the Blue Devils.
That formula fell barely short against Georgia Tech and UNC in the Devils’ only two losses this season, but it worked quite nicely against everyone else, including narrow victories at Illinois and — just last week — at Virginia.
While this week’s opponent, Boston College, is certainly not one of Duke’s most imposing opponents, the Eagles of coach Bill O’Brien do provide an unorthodox challenge, especially for the Blue Devils’ extremely consistent defense.
BC’s starting quarterback, Division Two transfer Mason McKenzie, is by far the best running QB in the ACC. He actually ranks third in the league with 88 rushing yards per game, behind only Duke’s Sheppard and one other tailback, and he’s the fifth-most productive QB runner in the nation, even though he does not run the triple-option or another overwhelmingly run-first scheme.
In addition, although the Eagles’ #1 running back, Evan Dickens, is out for the season with a knee injury, they got a huge boost last week from Bo MacCormack III, a 5-foot-10, 210-pound sophomore who had 20 carries for 155 yards and three TDs in the team’s 49-27 victory at Georgia Tech.
BC plays pretty good defense, especially against the pass, so Duke likely will have to control the ground game — mainly with Sheppard offensively, and against the unorthodox QB/RB combination defensively — if the Devils (a seven-point favorite) are going to improve to 6-2 on the season.
NC/ACC “Three To See,” Game Three
UVa (4-4) at #14 Wake Forest (6-1), Sat., 3:45 p.m. (ESPN2)
Although Wake Forest has been on the wrong end of this rivalry historically, thanks mainly to coach Dave Clawson and now Jake Dickert, the Demon Deacons have won six of the last seven against the Cavaliers, including a 16-9 decision in Charlottesville last year.
Both teams are playing very good defense again this season, with each ranking in the ACC’s top four in scoring defense, at about 19 points per game.
Nevertheless, Wake Forest is a 12-point favorite in this matchup, mainly because the Demon Deacons’ offense — led by UNC quarterback transfer Gio Lopez and senior wide receiver Carlos Hernandez — has proven to be capable whether running or throwing the ball, whereas Virginia has been inconsistent in both areas offensively.
Virginia may have the best offensive line in the ACC, and the Cavaliers sometimes run the ball efficiently with both tailback Jekail Middlebrook and quarterback Beau Pribula, but the most unpredictable variable in this contest is the Wahoos’ passing game.
Whereas Lopez has developed great chemistry with Hernandez, wideout Jack Foley and others, and he has gained tremendous confidence in the downfield passing game, Pribula’s comfort zone has been limited to keeping the ball himself on the ground or connecting on throws behind the line of scrimmage or only slightly downfield.
Expect astute Wake defensive coordinator Scottie Hazelton to game-plan for that reality, starting with his incredibly reliable front four of fifth-year senior ends Langston Hardy and Gabe Kirschke, plus senior tackles Dallas Afalava and Zach Lohavichan.
Only if the Wahoos can match the Deacons’ run-pass balance will this contest go down to the wire, as happened in both 2024 and 2025.
Quick-Hitters Involving Other NC Teams
App State (5-2) at Georgia Southern (3-4), Sat., 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+) — This is a huge game for App State for two main reasons. First, Georgia Southern is one of the Mountaineers’ most hated rivals. These two programs started playing each other almost 100 years ago, but the rivalry really ramped up in the 1990s and early 2000s, as the Eagles were becoming six-time national champions at the FCS level, the Mountaineers were becoming three-time national champions, and this annual game earned the nickname “Deeper Than Hate.” Both schools made the jump to the Sun Belt Conference, in the FBS ranks, back in 2014. Although App State has had the best of this rivalry since 2003, Georgia Southern has won three in a row overall and five of the last eight in Statesboro, where this contest will be played on Saturday night. The even bigger reason that this game is so important is that App State — thanks to its thrilling overtime victory over previously 7-0 JMU last Thursday night in Boone — can maintain its “pole position” in the Sun Belt’s East Division only with a victory over the Eagles. The Mountaineers are a five-point road underdog in this one, but if they can find a way to win, they’ll probably be favored in their next three games, and there would be a much clearer path to a spot in this year’s Sun Belt championship game.
Temple (2-5) at ECU (3-4), Sat., 3 p.m. (ESPN+) — East Carolina’s recent back-to-back road losses to UAB and Memphis pretty much derailed its biggest dreams for this season, but the Pirates are back at home for this one, and they’re absolutely capable of a three-game winning streak — against Temple on Saturday, then home against South Florida and at the Charlotte 49ers. First things first: Halloween is always a lot of fun in Greenville, and this Temple contest could be a lot of fun for ECU. The Owls (a six-point underdog) play some of the worst defense in the American Conference, especially against the pass, so it’s another golden opportunity for seventh-year quarterback Mitch Griffis, who came off the bench and almost helped the Pirates steal last week’s game at Memphis, to build on his brewing chemistry with senior wide receiver Landon Sides, a North Texas transfer who had a huge game against the Tigers.
#22 Virginia State (7-1) at JCSU (6-2), Sat., 1 p.m. (CIAA) — There are 32 NCAA football teams in North Carolina, and here in late October only a handful of them remain realistically in the running for a conference championship. There’s Wake Forest in the ACC, App State in the Sun Belt, Campbell in the Coastal Athletic Association, NC Central in the MEAC and — at the Division Two level — Johnson C Smith in the CIAA, perhaps among others. Because the Golden Bulls lost last week at Bowie State, the only way they can stay in the CIAA chase is by beating #22 Virginia State on Saturday. This also is Senior Day at JCSU, meaning the final home game for a group that includes many players who helped the Bulls to last year’s CIAA championship, so expect a lot of emotion and high-level competition between two teams that are battling Virginia Union for league supremacy this year.
NOTE: For the national edition of our Week Nine college football preview, including analysis on the highest-profile games, please click HERE.
NC Football Bowl Subdivision (Seven Teams)
(Games Saturday Unless Otherwise Indicated)
Tulane (3-4) at Charlotte (1-6), 7 p.m. (ESPN2) — Friday
California (3-5) at NC State (3-4), noon (ACCN)
Boston College (4-3) at Duke (5-2), noon (The CW)
Temple (2-5) at East Carolina (3-4), 3 p.m. (ESPN+)
Virginia (4-4) at #14 Wake Forest (6-1), 3:45 p.m. (ESPN2)
Appalachian State (5-2) at Georgia Southern (3-4), 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
#1 Miami (7-0) at North Carolina (4-3), 7:30 p.m. (ABC)
Open Week: none
Atlantic Coast Conference (17 Teams)
California (3-5) at NC State (3-4), noon (ACCN)
Boston College (4-3) at Duke (5-2), noon (The CW)
#19 SMU (6-1) at Syracuse (3-4), noon (ESPN2)
Stanford (4-4) at Louisville (4-3), 3:15 p.m. (ACCN)
Virginia (4-4) at #14 Wake Forest (6-1), 3:45 p.m. (ESPN2)
Clemson (4-3) at Florida State (3-4), 7 p.m. (ACCN)
#1 Miami (7-0) at North Carolina (4-3), 7:30 p.m. (ABC)
Georgia Tech (2-5) at Pittsburgh (5-3), 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Open Week: Virginia Tech (6-2)
NC Football Championship Subdivision (Seven Teams)
#15 Campbell (7-1) at #25 Albany (5-3), noon (FloCollege)
Elon (4-4) at North Carolina A&T (3-5), 1 p.m. (FloCollege)
Howard (4-4) at NC Central (3-5), 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
Gardner-Webb (2-6) SE Missouri State (5-3), 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
Western Carolina (3-5) at Furman (2-6), 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
Davidson (3-5) at St. Thomas (6-2), 2 p.m. (Midco)
Open Week: none
NC Division Two (13 Teams)
Bluefield State (0-8) at Shaw (4-5), 1 p.m. (CIAA)
Bowie State (4-4) at Fayetteville State (5-3), 1 p.m. (CIAA)
Winston-Salem State (2-6) at Elizabeth City State (2-6), 1 p.m. (CIAA)
#22 Virginia State (7-1) at Johnson C Smith (6-2), 1 p.m. (CIAA)
Barton (1-7) at Shorter (2-6), 1 p.m. (CCDN)
#14 Carson-Newman (7-1) at Catawba (4-4), 1 p.m. (FloCollege)
Lenoir-Rhyne (3-5) at Emory & Henry (3-5), 1 p.m. (FloCollege)
Virginia Lynchburg (0-8) at Livingstone (2-6), 2 p.m. (CIAA)
Chowan (4-4) at Ferrum (3-5), 2 p.m. (CCDN)
Mars Hill (6-2) at UVa Wise (1-7), 2 p.m. (FloCollege)
Anderson (4-4) at Wingate (4-4), 3 p.m. (FloCollege)
Open Week: UNC Pembroke (7-2)
NC Division Three (Five Teams)
Belhaven (3-4) at Methodist (1-6), 1 p.m. (FloCollege)
North Carolina Wesleyan (3-4) at Southern Virginia (3-4), 1 p.m. (FloCollege)
Washington and Lee (4-3) at Guilford (1-6), 4 p.m. (FloCollege)
Greensboro (2-5) at Brevard (5-2), 7 p.m. (FloCollege)
Open Week: none
