NC/ACC Week 12 College Football Preview
(“This Week In College Football, with David Glenn” show = below)
By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network
The 2024 college football season continues Thursday through Saturday with an intriguing Week 12 schedule, highlighted by two Top 25-vs.-Top 25 contests and several important Atlantic Coast Conference matchups, while East Carolina plays another Thursday night game on national television, and the Pirates and North Carolina seek to reach the six-win threshold required for automatic bowl eligibility.
On the national scene, the Southeastern Conference will provide the only two games pairing fellow members of the national Top 25.
In a matchup between College Football Playoff hopefuls, #7 Tennessee (8-1) will visit #12 Georgia (7-2) on Saturday night (7:30 pm, ABC). If the Volunteers win their three remaining regular-season contests, they will play in the SEC championship game, something they haven’t won since their national championship season in 1998. With two league losses already, the Bulldogs need help to play in the SEC title tilt, but they know they’d be a virtual lock for an at-large CFP invitation if they can finish 10-2 but only a shaky possibility for that 12-team bracket if they end up 9-3.
The other ranked-vs.-ranked SEC clash of the weekend will match #23 Missouri (7-2) and #21 South Carolina (6-3) in Columbia on Saturday afternoon (4:15 pm, SEC Network). The Tigers’ only losses this season, under fifth-year coach Eli Drinkwitz, are to #10 Alabama and #15 Texas A&M, although they lack a marquee victory. The Gamecocks have a shot at their best SEC record (5-3 with a win over Mizzou) and their best overall campaign under fourth-year coach Shane Beamer.
In the Old North State, East Carolina (5-4) will get the Week 12 schedule off to an early start on Thursday, when the Pirates visit 3-6 Tulsa (7:30 pm, ESPN) as a 14-point favorite.
After a season and a half of mostly miserable quarterback play, ECU may have finally found its groove with recently promoted Michigan State QB transfer Katin Houser, a redshirt sophomore who had the best game of his college career (17-of-22 passing, 343 yards, five touchdowns, no interceptions) last Thursday in a 49-14 victory over FAU. Now Houser and the Pirates get a nationally televised shot at the Golden Hurricane, which is last in the American Athletic Conference in scoring defense (38 ppg) this season.
Like ECU, North Carolina could reach the six victories required for automatic bowl eligibility this week.
The Tar Heels (5-4), an 11-point favorite as they host Wake Forest (4-5), are coming off the two most complete, dominating games of their season, back-to-back road wins over Virginia (41-14) and Florida State (35-11), plus an open week that gave them extra time to prepare for the Demon Deacons’ unique “slow mesh” option offense.
Appalachian State (4-5), Duke (7-3) and NC State (5-5) are off this week.
At the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level, NC Central (6-3) hopes to celebrate its annual Senior Day in part by keeping its hopes alive for a first-place MEAC finish. The Eagles, who need South Carolina State to stumble down the stretch to have a chance at what would be their third consecutive first-place finish (counting ties), host Howard (4-6) on Friday (8 pm, ESPNU) in another national TV contest.
Finally, at the Division Two level, #23 Wingate (8-1) hosts #19 Carson-Newman (9-1) at Irwin Belk Stadium in the South Atlantic Conference championship game. In September, the Eagles handed the Bulldogs their only loss, in a 31-28 overtime thriller played on Carson-Newman’s home field in Jefferson City, Tenn.
Of the Old North State’s 33 NCAA football teams, Wingate is the only one with a direct path (no help needed) to a conference title this season. Under first-year head coach Rashaan Jordan, the program’s long-time defensive coordinator, the Bulldogs are fifth nationally in scoring defense (9.7 ppg) at the Division Two level.
NC Football Bowl Subdivision (Seven Teams)
(Games Saturday Unless Otherwise Indicated)
East Carolina (5-4) at Tulsa (3-6), 7:30 pm (ESPN) — (Thurs.)
South Florida (4-5) at Charlotte (3-6), 3:30 pm (ESPN+)
Wake Forest (4-5) at North Carolina (5-4), 8 pm (ACCN)
Open Week: Appalachian State (4-5), Duke (7-3), NC State (5-5)
Atlantic Coast Conference (17 Teams)
#20 Clemson (7-2) at Pittsburgh (7-2), noon (ESPN)
Syracuse (6-3) at California (5-4), 3 pm (The CW)
Virginia (5-4) at #8 Notre Dame (8-1), 3:30 pm (NBC)
Boston College (5-4) at #14 SMU (8-1), 3:30 pm (ESPN)
#19 Louisville (6-3) at Stanford (2-7), 3:30 pm (ACCN)
Wake Forest (4-5) at North Carolina (5-4), 8 pm (ACCN)
Open Week: Duke (7-3), Florida State (1-9), Georgia Tech (6-4), #9 Miami (9-1), NC State (5-5), Virginia Tech (5-5)
NC Football Championship Subdivision (Seven Teams)
Howard (4-6) at NC Central (6-3), 8 pm (ESPNU) — (Fri.)
North Carolina A&T (1-9) at Towson (5-5), noon (FloSports)
Campbell (3-7) at Delaware (8-1), 1 pm (FloSports)
VMI (1-9) at Western Carolina (5-5), 1 pm (ESPN+)
Tennessee State (7-3) at Gardner-Webb (4-6), 1:30 pm (ESPN+)
Maine (5-5) at Elon (4-6), 2 pm (FloSports)
Open Week: Davidson (6-4)
NC Division Two (14 Teams)
UNC Pembroke (5-5) at Concord (1-9), 1 pm
Chowan (3-6) at North Greenville (4-5), 1 pm (FloSports)
Anderson-SC (3-7) at #20 Lenoir-Rhyne (8-2), 1 pm
#19 Carson-Newman (9-1) at #23 Wingate (8-1), 3 pm — (SAC Title Game!)
UVa-Wise (3-6) at Barton (3-7), 2 pm
Mars Hill (5-3) at Catawba (2-8), 6 pm
Open Week/Season Complete: Elizabeth City State (3-7), Fayetteville State (4-5), Johnson C Smith (8-2). Livingstone (6-4), Shaw (6-4), St Augustine’s (program suspended for 2024), Winston-Salem State (7-3)
NC Division Three (Five Teams)
North Carolina Wesleyan (4-5) at Maryville-TN (7-1), noon
Belhaven (4-5) at Methodist (1-8), 1 pm
Brevard (5-3) at Kentucky Christian (2-8), 1 pm
Greensboro (1-8) at Huntingdon-AL (4-5), 2 pm
Bridgewater-VA (5-4) at Guilford (3-6), 3 pm
Open Week: none
