NC/ACC Week Five 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 Friday and Saturday with an intriguing Week Five schedule, including a super-heavyweight clash between #2 Georgia and #4 Alabama, the resumption of the Duke-Carolina gridiron rivalry, and another national television spotlight for one of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s top teams.
Elsewhere, Appalachian State (hosting 4-0 Liberty) and NC State (hosting 2-1 Northern Illinois) hope to bounce back from humiliating defeats by beating high-quality opponents, while East Carolina and Wake Forest face pivotal matchups in their pursuit of bowl eligibility after disappointing 2023 campaigns.
At the Division Two level, #6 Lenoir-Rhyne aims to build upon its 3-0 start under first-year coach Doug Socha, while Johnson C Smith — which is on the cusp of a Top 25 national ranking itself — seeks to extend its success under third-year coach Maurice Flowers, a former JCSU player who has the Golden Bulls off to their first 4-0 start since way back in 1982.
Alabama (six) and Georgia (two) have combined to capture eight of the last 15 national championships, with the Bulldogs winning it all more recently, in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Head-to-head, the Crimson Tide have won eight of the last nine matchups in this rivalry, although those victories came during the tenure of legendary coach Nick Saban, who retired after last season. The Bulldogs are a slight favorite this time, even with the game being played in Tuscaloosa.
In a rivalry much more famous for its history in basketball, Duke and UNC play on the gridiron each year for the Victory Bell. All-time, the Tar Heels have won about two-thirds of the games in this series, including 13 straight during a streak that began during coach Mack Brown’s first tenure in Chapel Hill and all five contests during Brown’s current tenure with the Heels. The 4-0 Blue Devils are a slight favorite this year, with the game being played in Durham and Carolina coming off an embarrassing 70-50 home loss to James Madison.
The weekend of college football action will get an early start on Friday night, when there are only two high-profile viewing options: 2-2 Virginia Tech at 4-0 and #7-ranked Miami (7:30 pm, ESPN) in the ACC, and 3-1 Washington at 3-0 Rutgers in the Big Ten (8 pm, FOX).
The Hurricanes, who joined the ACC in 2004 but have not yet won the league’s football championship, have the conference’s best offensive numbers (52.3 points per game) and its best defensive numbers (10.3 points per game) so far this season.
NC Football Bowl Subdivision (Seven Teams)
(Games Saturday Unless Otherwise Indicated)
Northern Illinois (2-1) at NC State (2-2), noon (The CW)
Louisiana (2-1) at Wake Forest (1-2), 3:30 pm (ACCN)
Liberty (4-0) at Appalachian State (2-2), 3:30 pm (ESPN+)
North Carolina (3-1) at Duke (4-0), 4 pm (ESPN2)
UTSA (2-2) at East Carolina (2-2), 4 pm (ESPN+)
Charlotte (1-3) at Rice (1-3), 7 pm (ESPN+)
Open Week: none
Atlantic Coast Conference (17 Teams)
Virginia Tech (2-2) at #7 Miami (4-0), 7:30 pm (ESPN) — (Fri.)
Northern Illinois (2-1) at NC State (2-2), noon (The CW)
Western Kentucky (3-1) at Boston College (3-1), noon (ACCN)
Holy Cross (1-3) at Syracuse (2-1), noon (ACCX/ESPN+)
#15 Louisville (3-0) at #16 Notre Dame (3-1), 3:30 pm (Peacock)
Louisiana (2-1) at Wake Forest (1-2), 3:30 pm (ACCN)
North Carolina (3-1) at Duke (4-0), 4 pm (ESPN2)
Stanford (2-1) at #17 Clemson (2-1), 7 pm (ESPN)
Florida State (1-3) at SMU (3-1), 8 pm (ACCN)
Open Week: Cal (3-1), Georgia Tech (3-2), Pitt (4-0), Virginia (3-1)
NC Football Championship Subdivision (Seven Teams)
#23 Richmond (2-2) at Elon (1-3), 2 pm (FloSports)
Delaware State (1-3) at Campbell (1-3), 2 pm (FloSports)
NC Central (2-2) at Norfolk State (2-3), 3 pm (ESPN+)
Tennessee Tech (1-2) at Gardner-Webb (1-3), 4 pm (ESPN+)
North Carolina A&T (1-3) at South Carolina State (1-2), 6 pm (ESPN+)
Davidson (2-1) at Presbyterian (2-2), 7 pm (ESPN+)
Open Week: Western Carolina (1-3)
NC Division Two (14 Teams)
UNC Pembroke (0-3) at Glanville State (1-2), 1 pm
Bowie State (1-2) at Winston-Salem State (3-1), 1 pm
Shaw (3-1) at Virginia Union (1-2), 1 pm
Mississippi College (0-3) at Chowan (0-2), 1 pm (FloSports)
Tusculum (0-2) at #6 Lenoir-Rhyne (3-0), 1 pm (FloSports)
Fayetteville State (2-1) at Virginia State (1-2), 2 pm
Anderson (2-1) at Barton (1-2), 2 pm
Carson-Newman (3-0) at Catawba (1-2), 6 pm
Johnson C Smith (4-0) at Bluefield State (1-2), 6 pm
Livingstone (2-2) at Lincoln (0-3), 6 pm
Mars Hill (0-2) at Wingate (2-1), 6 pm (FloSports)
Open Week: Elizabeth City State (2-2), St Augustine’s (program suspended for 2024)
NC Division Three (Five Teams)
Southern Virginia (0-3) at Greensboro (0-3), noon
North Carolina Wesleyan (0-3) at Belhaven (0-3), noon
Methodist (1-2) at LaGrange (0-2), 1 pm
Brevard (1-1) at Maryville (2-1), 1 pm
Open Week: Guilford (3-0)
