2017 ACC Football: Three impact Coastal Division games in week 4

Which ACC Coastal Division games are the biggest of the weekend?

The first three weeks of the college football season have yielded nine top-25 matchups. Week 4 brings two more, and like last week, they’re both Power Five contests.

The first such one takes place in the Big 12 where No. 16 TCU travels to take on No. 6 Oklahoma State. This game will be a contrast of styles as the Horned Frogs have a top-30 defense, allowing just 14.7 points per game.

The Cowboys, on the other hand, have a top-five offense that’s averaging nearly 500 yards per game. One of these things will defeat the other and it’s always fun to see which unit is for real.

The weekend’s other top-25 matchup is in the SEC. There, No. 17 Mississippi State, fresh off their beatdown of LSU, travels to take on No. 11 Georgia, who will once again start a freshman quarterback.

Both teams are undefeated and are looking to stay that way in this tough conference.

And while each of those games feature undefeated teams going at each other and they aren’t the only ranked teams playing undefeated opponents.

This weekend’s slate of games also pits  Alabama at Vanderbilt, USC at California, Penn State at Iowa, and Washington at Colorado. In all four of those contests, both teams are undefeated and the ranked team is on the road.

That’s all the major action from a national perspective, which leaves only the three impact games of the ACC’s Coastal Division.

Duke at North Carolina (Saturday, September 23rd @ 3:30 pm)

Last season, North Carolina entered this game tied for first in the Coastal Divison, while Duke sat winless in ACC play. Despite being favored on the road, the Tar Heels lost by one to the Blue Devils.

This season, the roles are reversed. Duke is undefeated, while UNC looks to be a shell of their former selves. The Blue Devils are favored on the road this season, but can the Tar Heels pull an upset?

Things going for the Blue Devils: Tar Heels’ big play defense. So far this season, North Carolina has allowed 25 plays of at least 20 yards. On the other side, Duke’s offense has had 12 plays of at least 20 yards.

With playmakers such as Daniel Jones, Shaun Wilson, and Brittain Brown, the Blue Devils have more than enough in their arsenal to take advantage of UNC’s lapses.

Things going for the Tar Heels: Chink in Duke’s armor. Last week against Baylor, the Duke defense allowed a season-high 320 yards, including 263 passing yards.

Chazz Surratt just had a career-high 257 passing yards against Old Dominion. Duke’s defense is still really good, but any sign of breakage needs to be exploited by the Tar Heels.

Duke is yet to lose a game, but has not played away from home this season. Meanwhile, UNC’s one win came against a team who just played its 100th game in program history.

Throw in the fact that this is the earliest that this rivalry game has ever been played, and it’s anyone’s guess how this one will turn out. The key will be which team limits the big plays and doesn’t turn the ball over, which would currently favor the away team.

Pittsburgh at Georgia Tech (Saturday, September 23rd @ 12:20 pm)

Last season this game was played at Pitt and the Panthers won by three points. It was the third straight loss for Georgia Tech, however the Yellow Jackets would only lose one more time that season.

Meanwhile, it was a second straight win for Pitt who would go 4-3 the rest of the season. This year, the game is in Atlanta. Can the Yellow Jackets get the big win or will Pitt find a way to end their losing streak?

Things going for the Panthers: Ben Dinucci. Dinucci is clearly the choice to start at quarterback for Pittsburgh. Max Browne has been unimpressive and the Panthers haven’t been competitive with him under center.

Dinucci also brings an unknown element to the game, as there is less tape on him than others. Unfortunately for Panther fans, Narduzzi has not named the starter for this game.

As Tar Heel fans well know, that only leads to disappointment and concern.

Things going for the Yellow Jackets: Taquon Marshall. Marshall has been the offense for Georgia Tech. He has accounted for 52 percent of the teams’ yards and 82 percent of the its touchdowns.

He just happens to be going up against a defense that is allowing 349 yards and nearly 38 points per game. Sometimes, things just work out that way.

Georgia Tech had last week off due to inclimate weather. Meanwhile, Pitt was at home getting wrecked by Oklahoma State. If Pitt can stop the Yellow Jackets’ triple option run, they have a chance. If they can’t, then they could be looking at their third consecutive loss.

Virginia at Boise State (Friday, September 22nd @ 8:00 pm)

Virginia is on the road for the first time this season. They travel to take on a Boise State team that is also 2-1 on the season. Which team will walk out 3-1, and half way to a bowl berth?

Things going for the Cavaliers: Kurt Benkert. The quarterback is coming off a record-setting day against UConn. He is completing 66 percent of his passes, which is 10 percent higher than last season. He’s also thrown just one interception, which means he is taking care of the ball.

He is going up against a Boise State team that allowed 433 passing yards in their only game against FBS competition. If Virginia is going to pull off the upset, they will need a good game from their signal caller.

Things going against the Cavaliers: The road. The last time Virginia won a non conference FBS game on the road was 2011 against Indiana. Boise State is a legitimate non-Power Five FBS team. Their program was built on beating teams a lot better than Virginia.

Virginia is playing their best ball of the Bronco Mendenhall era. The problem is tht they haven’t beaten anyone of consequence. If they want to finally be taken seriously, they need to find a way to beat the Broncos in Boise this Friday.

One to keep an eye on: Toledo at Miami (Saturday, September 23rd @ 3:30 pm)

Toledo enters this game 3-0. Miami, on the other hand, hasn’t played a game since it’s opener three weeks ago.

Talent wise this shouldn’t be a contest. However, this is Miami’s first game back since the hurricane hit. It’s hard to tell how any team will respond to that and Toledo could pull the upset if things get emotional for the home team.

The only other Coastal game this weekend sees Virginia Tech hosting Old Dominion. The Hokies are coming off of a smackdown of ECU. Meanwhile, Old Dominion is fresh off of a loss to the Tar Heels.

In other words, the only reason to watch this game is to see if the Hokies break the century mark.

That does it for this weeks’ edition of impact games in the ACC Coastal Division. Get ready because football has moved into divisional play and its time to get serious.