We've reached the final weekend of September already. Some tough choices are ahead.
Week 5 schedule
Saturday, Sept. 27
Wake Forest at Louisville
Colorado at Boston College
Florida State at NC State
Notre Dame vs. Syracuse, New York's College Classic, East Rutherford, N.J.
Akron at Pitt
UNC at Clemson
Kent State at Virginia
Western Michigan at Virginia Tech
Duke at Miami
Our pick: Duke at Miami
Why you should come along: This isn't the most exciting weekend of the ACC season, to be clear. But there are some solid options above -- Florida State makes its first trip back to Raleigh, N.C., since the Wolfpack put a dent in their national title hopes two seasons ago; Notre Dame heads to the Meadowlands for the first of its four ACC games in 2014; and North Carolina visits Death Valley for what should be an exciting inter-division clash between teams with ACC title hopes.
But I'll go the (slightly) unconventional route here and take in Duke-Miami. The Blue Devils notched a season-defining win over the Hurricanes last season, gashing their much-maligned defense for 358 rushing yards and 48 points, as they outscored then-No. 23 Miami 17-0 in the final frame to get to 8-2. Surely Miami has not forgotten about that one. More importantly, this game will probably carry the most weight within the conference this weekend, as it could again play a large role in determining what is expected to be a wide-open Coastal Division race. We'll have seen Clemson and Florida State a week earlier, and I know I'll probably be seeing a large patch of the Irish's schedule, which has more exciting ACC games ahead of it. Who can pass up a trip to Coral Gables, anyway? Especially as the leaves start to turn and the temperature starts to dip everywhere else. Here's hoping this season's meeting between Duke and Miami is as exciting as the 2013 game.
Road trips
