Georgia Tech tries to avoid an 0-2 start while Wake Forest and Duke gets Big Ten tests on ACC slate

Things to watch this weekend in the Atlantic Coast Conference:

Game of the week

No. 18 Tennessee (1-0) at Georgia Tech (0-1), Saturday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

The Yellow Jackets are coming off a narrow loss to Colorado that came when they gave up a final-minute touchdown and then had Aidan Birr’s field goal for the win blocked. Georgia Tech faces a stiffer test against the Volunteers, who got a huge debut from touted freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon against Furman.

Georgia Tech hasn’t had an 0-2 start since going 0-3 in 1989.

The undercard

Wake Forest (1-0) at Purdue (1-0), Saturday, noon ET (FS1)

The Demon Deacons cruised past Akron last week with the play of North Carolina transfer Gio Lopez at quarterback standing out.

Lopez showed a command and comfort of Rob Ezell’s offense in a reunion with his coordinator from a successful run at South Alabama in 2024. Lopez’s presence offers intriguing upside with the trip to face the Boilermakers in Big Ten territory.

Duke (1-0) at Illinois (1-0), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (FS1)

The second of two ACC-vs-Big Ten matchups comes with the Blue Devils and Fighting Illini meeting for the second straight year. Last year, Illinois took over after halftime to cruise past a mistake-prone Duke team that would go on to win the ACC championship.

The Blue Devils look very different going into this matchup. Intead of now-transferred quarterback Darian Mensah, the offense revolves around physical runner Nate Sheppard, who posted a national-best 227 yards in the opener against Tulane. The Blue Devils will need more from San Jose State transfer Walker Eget at QB after he looked unsettled in his Duke debut and return from a knee injury from last season.

Impact players

— Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Heintschel. The sophomore threw for a national-best 453 yards while setting an ACC record with seven touchdowns in the opener against Miami (Ohio). The Panthers host UCF of the Big 12 on Saturday.

— Clemson QBs Christopher Vizzina and Tait Reynolds. The Tigers host Georgia Southern on Saturday after an opening-game blowout loss at No. 8 LSU. Vizzina won a camp battle for the starting job as a senior against Reynolds as the promising freshman. Vizzina completed 10 of 16 passes for 83 yards and a pick-six, while Reynolds completed 4 of 6 passes for 22 yards. Clemson’s offense needs to regroup regardless of who plays the most.

Inside the numbers

The ACC enters Week 2 with a 1-5 record against teams from the other Power Four conferences. … Syracuse didn’t win a game after QB Steve Angeli went down to an Achilles injury last September, but he returned with 263 yards passing and three TDs last week against New Hampshire. The Orange hosts California on Saturday. … N.C. State hosts Richmond on Friday after managing just 168 yards in a season-opening loss at now-No. 25 Virginia. That marks one of just six times that the Wolfpack failed to crack the 200-yard mark under 14th-year coach Dave Doeren, according to Sportradar. … Virginia Tech hosts Old Dominion on Saturday after scoring 73 points in James Franklin’s coaching debut against VMI. That marked the No. 2 total in program history, exceeded only by scoring 77 against Akron in October 1995. … Florida State and Stanford have open weeks.

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