ACC & Big 12 Week 13 Preview: In-State Rivals Clash in Regular Season Finales
In the 13th week of the college football season, members of the Florida Citrus Sports Team Selection Committee will be watching closely as teams from the ACC and Big 12 take the field.
So as we kick off Thanksgiving weekend, let’s take a quick look ahead to some of the weekend’s major games, including several matchups that could potentially impact who will be visiting Orlando for the Camping World Bowl on Dec. 28:
The Week 13 game with arguably the biggest potential impact on the Camping World Bowl — more on that here — doesn’t involve the Big 12 or ACC, but rather, Notre Dame. The eighth-ranked Fighting Irish (9-2) head to the West Coast to visit No. 21 Stanford (8-3, 7-2 Pac-12) Saturday in both teams’ regular season finale (8 p.m., ABC), a matchup that features two of the nation’s top running backs.
Josh Adams quickest RB in school history to:
1,000 season rush yds
2,000 career rush yds
3,000 career rush ydsLeads RB nationally with:
8 runs of at least 59 yds
7 runs of at least 60 yds
4 runs of at least 70 yds
5.5 yds/rush after contact#BertschyBits #33Trucking— Michael Bertsch (@SteelersPRMike) November 20, 2017
The Cardinal are paced by junior Bryce Love, who leads the nation with 172.3 rushing yards per game this season, while Notre Dame running back Josh Adams has 1,337 rushing yards on the year and ranks fourth nationally at 7.82 yards per carry. Notre Dame leads the all-time series against Stanford 19-12, including a 5-2 mark under coach Brian Kelly, but Stanford has won six of the past 10 meetings between the teams, and the Irish haven’t won at The Farm since 2007.
In the Big 12, Iowa State (7-4, 5-3) pays a Saturday afternoon visit to the Little Apple to face Kansas State (3:30 p.m., ESPN2).
Throughout the season, the Cyclones have thrived playing the role of David, having knocked off two top-five Goliath in Oklahoma and TCU, and come into the game averaging 270 passing yards per game against a Wildcats team that ranks 128th nationally in pass defense, allowing 314.5 yards per contest. However, K- State (6-5, 4-4) can air it out, too, as junior wideout Byron Pringle leads the nation with an average of 25.18 yards per reception on the season.
Elsewhere in the conference, Texas (6-5, 5-3) will look for its fourth win in five games when it returns to Austin to host Texas Tech (5-6, 2-6) on Friday (8 p.m., FOX). The Longhorns have won seven of the past eight meetings in the series (including a 45-37 victory last year that saw D’Onta Foreman rush for 341 yards) and will need a strong effort out of a stout defense that is allowing just 19.4 points and 355.9 yards per game in Big 12 play.
Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate: A recent history https://t.co/LAwYdq53vl pic.twitter.com/WPCNdArTXJ
— AJC Sports (@AJCsports) November 20, 2017
Texas Tech has never won consecutive road games against Texas — the Red Raiders won the 2015 edition 48-45, the team’s first win at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium since 1997 — but leads the Big 12 in takeaways (23) and also ranks fourth in the pass-happy conference and 10th nationally with 326.3 passing yards per game.
In other intrastate rivalry action, Virginia Tech (8-3, 4-3 ACC) will look to secure its 14th consecutive victory over in-state foe Virginia (6-5, 3-4) on Friday (8 p.m., ESPN), while No. 7 Georgia (10-1, 7-1 SEC) aims to avenge last season’s 28-27 loss at home when it visits Georgia Tech (5-5, 4-4 ACC) in the latest edition of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.
Meanwhile, in the Tar Heel State, Duke (5-6, 2-5 ACC) and Wake Forest (7-4, 4-3 ACC) will each be looking to build on Week 12 wins when the Blue Devils and Demon Deacons meet in Winston-Salem (12:30 p.m., ACC Network), while North Carolina (3-8, 1-6 ACC) will look to earn its second conference victory when it crosses the Triangle to face NC State (7-4, 5-2 ACC) in Raleigh (3:30 p.m., ESPNU).
Likewise, back in the Big 12, No. 19 Oklahoma State (8-3, 5-3), a potential Camping World Bowl target, will look to deny Kansas (1-10, 0-8) its first conference win when it hosts the Jayhawks in Stillwater (12 p.m., FS1).
Other Big 12 and ACC games being played this week:
No. 2 Miami (10-0, 7-0 ACC) at Pittsburgh (4-7, 2-5 ACC) — Noon on ABC (Friday, Nov. 24)
Baylor (1-10, 1-7 Big 12) at No. 12 TCU (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) — Noon on FS1 (Friday, Nov. 24)
Florida State (4-6, 3-5 ACC) at Florida (4-6, 3-5 SEC) — Noon on ESPN
Louisville (7-4, 4-4 ACC) at Kentucky (7-4, 4-4 SEC) — Noon on SEC Network
Boston College (6-4, 3-4 ACC) at Syracuse (4-7, 2-5 ACC) — 12:20 p.m. on ACC Network
West Virginia (7-4, 5-3 Big 12) at No. 4 Oklahoma (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) — 3:45 p.m. on ESPN
No. 3 Clemson (10-1, 7-1 ACC) at South Carolina (8-3, 5-3 SEC) — 7:30 p.m. on ESPN