The Atlantic Coast Conference suddenly looks a little more wide open than it did at this time last week. Florida State lost to Alabama and their star quarterback went down in the process. North Carolina State did everything but beat South Carolina but took the loss. Louisville just looked awful in beating a bad Purdue team. Really, only Clemson looked good.
That is why these early ACC games are going to matter so much. The Cardinals simply have to win this game if they want to be a factor in the race, while the Tar Heels will need to play better than they did against California last week to reach bowl eligibility.
Here is the preview.