No. 4 Miami continues its Sunshine State stretch, NC State visits Duke to headline ACC slate

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Things to watch this weekend in the Atlantic Coast Conference:

Florida (1-2) at No. 4 Miami (3-0), Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC)

The Hurricanes have pushed their way to the top of the league teams when it comes to AP Top 25 rankings, from opening with a win against Notre Dame to blowing out then-No. 18 South Florida last week. Now they're playing the second of three straight Sunshine State matchups by hosting the Gators, who are struggling after a home loss to USF and a five-turnover showing against No. 3 LSU.

Miami quarterback Carson Beck has thrived early, ranking 11th in the Bowl Subdivision ranks in passing efficiency by throwing for seven touchdowns against two interceptions.

N.C. State (3-0) at Duke (1-2), Saturday, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

The Wolfpack can earn a second 4-0 start in four seasons, along with a third win against an instate FBS team. N.C. State opened with a win against East Carolina and dug its way out of a 14-0 hole at Wake Forest last week to open league play. The Blue Devils have lost to now-No. 9 Illinois and last week at Tulane, leaving coach Manny Diaz lamenting inconsistency showing up in all three phases.

Syracuse (2-1) at Clemson (1-2), Saturday, noon ET (ESPN)

The preseason ACC favorite has gone from being ranked No. 4 in the preseason poll to unranked by mid-September after a home loss to LSU, a shaky offensive showing at home against Troy and last weekend's loss at now-No. 18 Georgia Tech. The Orange lost the opener to Tennessee but have beaten UConn and Colgate since. Clemson has won six straight and 10 of 11 against Syracuse since the Orange joined the league in 2013.

— Stanford running back Micah Ford. Ford is fourth in the league by averaging 97.0 yards rushing entering Saturday's trip to Virginia. Ford had a career-best 157-yard rushing day in a win against Boston College.

— SMU receiver Romello Brinson. Brinson is averaging a league-best 104.7 yards through the air with three touchdowns in as many games entering the Mustangs' trip to TCU.

Virginia Tech hosts Wofford on Saturday in its first game since the firing of fourth-year coach Brent Pry. Virginia Tech is 0-3 for the first time since 1987 when Frank Beamer was a first-year coach. ... Georgia Tech is in the poll for only the second time in the past decade entering Saturday's visit from Temple. The Yellow Jackets spent a week at No. 23 last year but haven't spent multiple weeks in the AP Top 25 since 2015, when the Yellow Jackets bounced between 14th and 20th for four weeks. ... North Carolina enters Saturday's trip to UCF having surrendered nine points in its wins against Charlotte and Richmond. ... California visits San Diego State on Saturday for only the second time in 30 years. The Golden Bears lost 45-40 there in 2016 in its only road game there since September 1995. ... Boston College, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest have open dates this week.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football