ESPN College Football

The U.S. government shutdown could have a trickle-down effect into our world of college football, as the service academies are considering cancelling their games and Boston College hosts Army this weekend. Army is the only academy that hasn't issued a public statement yet.

Boston College athletic director Brad Bates (@BCBradBates) has tweeted the school's official statement:

We have been in close communication with Army athletics officials regarding the potential impact of the govt shutdown on Saturday's game.

— Brad Bates (@BCBradBates) October 1, 2013

Obviously our intention is to exhaust all possibilities to play & will communicate the information promptly as soon as we have resolution.

— Brad Bates (@BCBradBates) October 1, 2013

Air Force has already announced that "travel for all intercollegiate athletics is cancelled," including the Air Force-Navy game on Saturday.

From the Department of Defense:

As a result of the government shutdown, the Department of Defense has suspended all intercollegiate athletic competitions at the Service Academies.

The Naval Academy will cancel contests as appropriate and notification on Saturday’s football game against Air Force will be made public prior to 12 noon on Thursday.

Stay tuned for updates.

Travis Haney makes the picks of Week 6 with a trio of ranked games between Maryland-Florida State, Washington-Stanford and Ohio State-Northwestern.

Maryland has started 4-0 for the first time since 2001. The Terps are ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 2010. They’ve outscored their opponents 159-41.

And yet the question remains: Are they for real?

Florida State should help answer that. The Noles are ranked No. 8 in the country and are considered a contender for the national title. They’re No. 4 in the country in scoring offense, and they’ve got one of the most talented young quarterbacks in the county in redshirt freshman Jameis Winston.

And yet the question remains: Are they for real?

Saturday’s game in Tallahassee will be proving grounds for both teams, in spite of the fact they’re both 4-0. It’s the marquee matchup in the conference this week – the lone game between undefeated teams in the Atlantic Division -- and it should show just how far No. 25 Maryland has come in trying to close the gap with one of the ACC’s premier programs. It should also reveal if Florida State’s sluggish defensive performance at Boston College on Saturday was an anomaly or a deeper-rooted problem that Maryland can continue to expose.

On paper, it looks like the Terps could be exactly the kind of tricky opponent that has tripped up the Noles in the past. Maryland had a bye week to prepare for its first ranked opponent of the season, and Florida State allowed BC 200 rushing yards in a 48-34 victory at Boston College. How much of Maryland’s success, though, is simply a product of the poor competition it has played early, and have any of those teams prepared the Terps for what they’ll face in Tallahassee?

Maryland’s wins have come against Florida International, Old Dominion, Connecticut and West Virginia – teams that are a combined 6-12 this season, including two 0-4 programs in FIU and Connecticut. UConn hit a new low this season with losses to Towson and Buffalo, and on Monday fired coach Paul Pasqualoni. Maryland’s best victory was a 37-0 shutout of West Virginia in Baltimore, and it looks even better now that the Mountaineers just knocked off No. 11 Oklahoma State.

That was Baltimore. This is Tally. Maryland hasn’t beaten Florida State in Doak Campbell Stadium – well, ever. The Noles have won all 11 games there and seven straight in the series. This is only the second time Maryland has even been ranked when playing Florida State. For the Noles to go down, Maryland needs to be every bit as good as it looks right now on paper.

The Noles should and will be favored, but they fell behind 14-0 at Boston College and looked vulnerable. It was a surprising start for an opponent FSU was expected to handle with ease, and it’s only going to get more difficult. The Terps will be Florida State’s first ranked opponent as well. FSU padded its stats against Nevada and Bethune-Cookman and looked unprepared on Saturday for what BC had to dish out. The Eagles are a one-dimensional offense that depends heavily on Andre Williams and the running game. Maryland is not. The Terps have more depth and more playmakers and will be an even bigger challenge for the FSU defense.

Maryland’s offense, which finished the 2012 season dead last in the ACC in total offense, averaging just 284 yards, now ranks second in the ACC at 498.5 yards per game, an improvement of 213.7 yards per game.

There’s no question Maryland is light years better than it was a year ago, when it finished the season with just four wins and a linebacker at quarterback. And there’s no question Florida State is still one of the top two teams in the ACC.

Just how good both of them truly are, though, has yet to be determined.

Here is one last look back at the weekend that was in the ACC:

The good: Logan Thomas completed his first nine passes, his defense made its case as one of the nation's best and Virginia Tech pulled off the 17-10 upset Thursday night at Georgia Tech, potentially revitalizing a Hokies program that had been facing several questions following a 7-6 campaign and mostly underwhelming performances through its 3-1 start entering Atlanta. Thomas finished 19-of-25 for 221 yards and a touchdown, adding 58 yards and another score on the ground. Virginia Tech's defense held the vaunted triple-option offense of the Yellow Jackets to 10 points and 273 total yards -- on a short week, no less. The Coastal division race is very interesting, to say the least.

The bad: Paging North Carolina. What in the world happened to the Tar Heels? They dropped a 55-31 home contest Saturday to East Carolina to fall to 1-3, and their offense and defense might share equal blame. The offense for failing to score in the final 39-plus minutes last week at Georgia Tech, then not scoring a touchdown until late in the second quarter Saturday, while already facing a 21-3 hole. The defense for, well, giving up 55 points and 603 total yards to the Pirates. Games on deck at Virginia Tech and then against Miami (Fla.) won't be any easier on the offense, but UNC needs answers fast.

The ugly: Miami's 49-21 win at USF was rather uneventful in terms of competitiveness, but Hurricanes quarterback Stephen Morris added some spice to the postgame talk after he accused the Bulls of being a "dirty team." Morris had thrown 222 yards and two scores before leaving in the second quarter after reinjuring his ankle, which he hurt the week before against Savannah State. Said Morris, according to the Palm Beach Post: "South Florida's a dirty team. When you're down and tackled and everyone's on top, they're going to try to go for your ankles. We were up three, four touchdowns. Ain't no point for me to mess with these guys who are going to play dirty. It is what it is. I wanted to score 70 points on them. They disrespected us, so I had no respect for them. At that point, I felt like we should just keep pushing it, keep killing them."

The slugfest: OK, maybe we're being generous here, but credit Pittsburgh for being able to outlast Virginia 14-3 one week after running away from Duke in a 58-55 win. The Panthers outgained the Cavaliers 199-188. They rushed for just eight yards. They had three turnovers and forced two themselves. The teams combined for 17 punts. Tom Savage was sacked nine times and left with concussion-like symptoms late in the fourth quarter. But Pitt has won three in a row after a rough opener against Florida State, and that's all that matters.

The history: Tajh Boyd eclipsed the 100-touchdown mark for his career in Clemson's 56-7 win Saturday over Wake Forest, making him the second quarterback in ACC history to accomplish the feat for his career, joining Philip Rivers. Boyd completed 17 of 24 passes for 311 yards with three touchdowns and no picks, and he added 69 rushing yards and another touchdown. He bounced back from a so-so outing at NC State a week earlier and reignited the Heisman talk surrounding him. He took offensive coordinator Chad Morris' advice to "have fun" and helped the Tigers make easy work of the Demon Deacons.

The big quarter: NC State scored four touchdowns in the second frame of its 48-14 win over Central Michigan, recovering from the loss to Clemson and improving to 3-1. Pete Thomas threw his first touchdown pass of the season, an 80-yard strike to Bryan Underwood late in the fourth quarter, as the Wolfpack rolled. The quarterback finished 14-of-20 for 244 yards with one touchdown and one pick, plus another rushing score. He connected all day with Underwood, who caught five passes for 148 yards and added 42 rushing yards.

The rebound: It was only against Troy, but Brandon Connette completed 20 of 28 passes for 324 yards with three touchdowns and just one pick in Duke's 38-31 win over the Trojans, while adding 55 rushing yards and two more scores on the ground. The redshirt junior's numbers were similar last week against Pitt, but his four picks against the Panthers proved to be costly. Saturday was far from pretty, but the Blue Devils got a win they simply had to have it they want to go bowling for a second straight season. Their 514 yards of offense helped them get to 3-2.

The quote: In losing a tightly contested, 48-34 shootout to Florida State, Boston College exceeded everyone's expectations. Everyone's but their own. Said coach Steve Addazio, according to ESPN Boston's Jack McCluskey: “Don’t let people tell you, ‘Oh boy, you played Florida State nose up.’ Who cares? We didn’t come out there to play them nose up. I heard that crap early in the media. People asking me about, ‘What are you gonna do to keep it close?’ I had all I could do not to explode. What do you think, you coach or play to keep it close? What are you talking about here? You play to win. We played that game physically enough to win it. We let up too many big plays, and that cost us a football game. And it didn’t have to happen. I don’t care who the heck we played.”

Lots of movement in the middle of the Power Rankings this week.

No. 1 Clemson (4-0, 2-0; last week: No. 1). The Tigers easily handled Wake Forest as Tajh Boyd notched the 100th touchdown of his career. What pleased coach Dabo Swinney most of all was a complete effort from both his offense and defense, despite missing several key starters and reserves because of injury. Clemson has now picked up a first-place vote in the coaches poll. When asked Sunday whether it was from him, Swinney said it was not. His team, he says, is not yet deserving of a No. 1 vote.

No. 2 Florida State (4-0, 2-0; last week: No. 2). Headed into Saturday, perhaps the only people who believed Boston College would hold a double-digit lead on the Noles at any point were the players and coaches in that locker room. Indeed, BC had the Noles on the ropes early, jumping out to a 17-3 lead. Florida State recovered in time to win, but BC exposed some major problems in the FSU defense, most especially some inconsistent play up front. The Noles have to get those problems shored up in a hurry with a much better Maryland team coming to town.

No. 3 Miami (4-0; last week: No. 3). The Hurricanes turned the ball over way too much and had costly penalties against South Florida, but still dominated. The key question is this: What do we know about this team today that we did not know three weeks ago following a win over Florida? Miami has not been tested since then in wins over Savannah State and the Bulls, and now the real season begins -- against Georgia Tech to open ACC play.

No. 4 Maryland (4-0; last week: No. 5). The Terps entered the AP Top 25 at No. 25 -- their first ranking since the final poll of the 2010 season. And they didn't even have to play to get in. Guess that means the Terps got a double bonus on their week off, spent preparing for Florida State. What helped their image this weekend was West Virginia's upset win over No. 11 Oklahoma State. Just last week, Maryland beat West Virginia 37-0. That win is looking a whole lot better.

No. 5 Virginia Tech (4-1, 1-0; last week: No. 6). This should become an ACC mantra: Never count out the Hokies. We all know the offense has had its issues, but the defense has been simply outstanding and showed it once again in a win against Georgia Tech last Thursday. Virginia Tech held the Jackets to just 129 yards on the ground and was dominant all the way around. Logan Thomas had his best game since 2011. If the defense keeps this up and Thomas plays as well as he did against the Jackets, the Coastal Division better watch out.

No. 6 Pitt (3-1, 2-1; last week: No. 9). Nice jump for the Panthers, who have won three in a row for the first time since the 2010 season. Now granted, New Mexico, Duke and Virginia are not world-beaters by any stretch, but Pitt showed it could win in a variety of ways during this three-game streak. Against Virginia, it was with an improved defensive effort and just enough from the passing game, though the offensive line clearly has a ways to go. Tom Savage was sacked seven times and sustained concussion symptoms as a result.

No. 7 Georgia Tech (3-1, 2-1; last week: No. 4). The Jackets fall a notch below Pitt because the Panthers have a slightly more impressive win selection. Georgia Tech has won over FCS Elon. All three Pitt wins have come against FBS teams. The fact is, Georgia Tech was the favorite to beat Virginia Tech at home in a crucial Coastal Division matchup. But it seems the Jackets come up short just about every time they play Virginia Tech. The offense was completely ineffective, and Vad Lee looked like a first-year starter. The good news is a win over Miami puts the Jackets in the heart of the race.

No. 8 NC State (3-1, 0-1; last week: No. 8 ). The Wolfpack had another big day against Central Michigan and certainly look like a team trending up. But their FBS wins have come against teams that are a combined 2-8. Their other win, over Richmond, was too close for comfort. Give NC State credit for playing Clemson tight, but we still want to see much more out of this team when the competition gets tougher.

No. 9 Boston College (2-2, 1-1; last week: No. 11). Coaches take no solace in moral victories, but there has to be some sense of confidence in knowing this team could hang with the No. 8 team in the nation. The biggest difference between last year and this year is the way the Eagles are playing up front. That translates directly into their success running the football. Andre Williams leads the ACC in rushing and is halfway to a 1,000-yard season after only four games (505 yards). Pretty impressive, considering BC was one of the worst rushing teams in the nation in 2012.

No. 10 Syracuse (2-2; last week: No. 13). Cuse looked like a different team in its last two games with Terrel Hunt under center, but they did face overmatched competition. We will have a good idea of where Syracuse is after this weekend, when the Orange host No. 3 Clemson. The Orange had a bye week to prepare for the Tigers and have had recent success against ranked teams at home.

No. 11 Duke (3-2, 0-2; last week: No. 12). Nothing has come easy for this team, not even against Troy. The Blue Devils got into another shootout this past weekend but ended up winning. Still, Troy gained 512 yards, the second consecutive week the defense has yielded more than 500 yards. Brandon Connette played a nice game, with 379 total yards and five total touchdowns.

No. 12 Virginia (2-2, 0-1; last week: No. 10). It appears as if Virginia has made plenty of progress on the defensive side of the ball this year with its coordinator change. But the offense looks even worse than it did a year ago, and that is saying something. Virginia continues to struggle on the offensive line and in the run game, putting way too much pressure on first-year starter David Watford. Virginia had 65 yards rushing in a 14-3 loss to Pitt, and is averaging 3.7 yards per carry -- third-worst in the ACC. Unless they figure out how to start running the ball effectively, this is going to be a long season.

No. 13 North Carolina (1-3, 0-1; last week: No. 7). Speaking of an inability to run the football, that is perhaps the biggest reason why the Tar Heels have made the biggest drop in the ACC power rankings. North Carolina started the year at No. 4, but an unsightly home loss to East Carolina has sent it plummeting. The Tar Heels have simply not found an replacement for Giovani Bernard's production nor the starters missing on the offensive line. The defense appears to have regressed as well. Good teams find ways to reload, not rebuild. But this year screams rebuilding all over it, given all the key pieces North Carolina lost off its 8-4 squad a year ago.

No. 14 Wake Forest (2-3, 0-2; last week: No. 14). The Demon Deacons got blown out by Clemson, but they have to regroup quickly against in-state rival NC State if they want to keep their bowl hopes alive. Wake Forest and NC State have split their last six meetings, with the home team winning each time. The matchup is in Winston-Salem, so perhaps that will give the Deacs the edge they need.

Here’s a look at five lessons learned in the ACC this week, in no particular order:

1. Virginia Tech is still a contender. Quarterback Logan Thomas, who was playing through an abdominal strain, had one of his best games in years in the 17-10 win at Georgia Tech and, in the process, helped validate the program as a contender again in the Coastal Division. Virginia Tech’s offense had played so poorly that the Hokies needed three overtimes to beat Marshall the previous week. There was plenty of doubt surrounding the team as it headed to Atlanta to take on an undefeated Georgia Tech team that was No. 4 in the country in rushing offense. The Hokies were just 2-of-10 on third-down conversions and ran for just 55 yards, but it didn’t matter. They got what they needed from Thomas -- 19 of 25 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown and 16 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown -- and another stellar performance by the defense. The Hokies have won titles with that recipe before, and showed they can do it again.

2. North Carolina is on the bowl bubble. The Tar Heels were playing ECU, not Clemson, but you’d never know it by the score. UNC lost 55-31 in embarrassing fashion on their home field. ECU finished with 603 total yards, the second-highest total ever allowed by UNC at home. North Carolina quarterback Bryn Renner had another subpar performance, but the players around him didn’t help out much, either. There was plenty of blame to go around as UNC dropped to 1-3. They’ve got to win five more games to become bowl eligible, and they’re not going to win again anytime soon if they continue to play the way they did against ECU. Six straight conference games await, starting with a road trip to Virginia Tech on Oct. 5 and followed by Miami. The loss to ECU could be the beginning of a downward spiral for the Heels. Or, it could be a much-needed wake-up call. Either way, the margin for error is nearing nonexistent.

3. Florida State’s defense needs work. As expected, Boston College was well-prepared, well-coached and gave the Noles its best shot despite a 48-34 loss. As expected, BC relied on its running game and Andre Williams. Not expected: FSU didn’t seem ready for it. It was the most points FSU had allowed BC in the series' history. The Eagles jumped out to a 14-point lead, scored on all three of their opening drives, ran for 200 yards and converted 2 of 3 fourth downs. Williams finished with 149 rushing yards -- the most by a runner against FSU since 2010. If FSU’s defensive line struggled against BC, expect more of the same next week against Maryland, and certainly on Oct. 19 against Clemson.

4. Virginia’s offense looks worse than last year. Pitt’s defense played better, but it’s hard to believe the Panthers improved that much just a week after allowing Duke 55 points. Virginia was simply inept on offense in the 14-3 loss, finishing with just 188 total yards, 3 of 18 third-down conversions and 1 of 4 fourth downs. Pitt’s Aaron Donald and the D had a little something to do with that, but so did quarterback David Watford, who completed just 15 of 37 passes. Last year, UVa’s passing offense was No. 37 in the country. This year, it’s one of the worst in the country. Watford has taken much of the blame for the team’s offensive struggles, as he is in his first year as a full-time starter, but there was plenty of blame to go around on Saturday.

5. Pitt is at home in the ACC. The Panthers now have won back-to-back games in their new conference and have a chance to move into a tie for the top spot in the Coastal Division if they can win at Virginia Tech next week. Pitt’s lone loss was to Florida State in the season opener. If they can escape Blacksburg with a win, the Panthers could be 6-1 heading into Atlanta on Nov. 2 for another key divisional game against Georgia Tech. With the win over Virginia, Pitt put itself right in the mix in its first season in the ACC. We’ll see how long the Panthers can stay there.

The two ACC quarterbacks contending for the Heisman turned in outstanding performances in Week 5, while one of the league's most maligned quarterbacks joined them. Here are this week's helmet stickers.

Virginia Tech QB Logan Thomas: Perhaps no player in the ACC has faced more criticism in the first month of the season, but in spite of his struggles, Thomas now has his Hokies in position to win the Coastal thanks to an upset of Georgia Tech in which he was nearly flawless. Thomas completed 19-of-25 passes (just his second career game completing better than 70 percent of his throws) for 221 yards and a TD. He also rushed 16 times for 58 yards and another touchdown. Plenty of credit again goes to the Virginia Tech D, which sealed the game with a late interception, but it was Thomas' sterling performance that provides hope the Hokies still have a shot at a BCS game.

Pitt DT Aaron Donald: One week after being gashed for 55 points by Duke, the Pitt defense stepped up and shut down Virginia. The Cavaliers mustered just three points and 188 yards of offense, with Donald leading the charge in the middle of the line. Donald finished the game with two sacks, two QB hurries, three tackles and a forced fumble. Virginia managed just 2 yards per rush.

Florida State QB Jameis Winston: The defense struggled, the special teams were bad, but FSU's dynamic freshman quarterback staved off Boston College's upset bid almost single-handedly. Winston completed 17-of-27 passes for 330 yards and four touchdowns, including a 55-yard Hail Mary throw at the end of the first half to Kenny Shaw. Winston was dazzling, leading FSU back from a 17-3 deficit with three completions of 40-plus yards. He also paced FSU's rushing game, carrying 14 times for 67 yards.

NC State WR Bryan Underwood: The Wolfpack kept things close with Clemson last week but came up just short. They've found a good bit more success outside the conference, including Saturday's 48-14 thrashing of Central Michigan when Underwood led the way with 190 yards of offense and a touchdown. Underwood caught five passes for a career-high 148 yards. Underwood hauled in an 80-yard touchdown pass from Pete Thomas, the first of the season for the NC State quarterback.

Clemson QB Tajh Boyd: After a somewhat shaky outing against NC State a week ago, Boyd bounced back into Heisman form against woefully overmatched Wake Forest. The senior QB completed 17-of-24 passes for 311 yards and three touchdowns. He also served as Clemson's leading rusher, carrying the ball 17 times for 69 yards and a score. Boyd has accounted for at least three touchdowns in each of his three starts against FBS opponents (and 14 of his last 15 dating to last season).

In the days leading up to Virginia Tech's Thursday night showdown with Georgia Tech, Logan Thomas could hardly throw. An abdominal injury limited him in practice, which figured to be bad news for the Hokies, given how poorly Thomas and the offense had played when healthy.

So, of course, the senior quarterback went to Atlanta, played his best game of the season, and the much-maligned Virginia Tech offense helped lead an upset over the Yellow Jackets.

It was a harbinger for the weekend to come in the ACC. Just when it seemed we had things pegged, the expectations got turned upside down again.

How else to explain what happened in Pittsburgh, where the Panthers' defense completely shut down Virginia just seven days after coughing up 532 yards and 55 points to Duke? Certainly Virginia's offense didn't present the same test, but the Cavaliers mustered just 188 yards of offense in the game. Of course, the most surprising thing might have been that high-flying Pitt managed only 11 more.

Who could have possibly predicted Boston College's near upset of Florida State? It wasn't so much that the Eagles came out quickly against an unprepared Seminoles team. They did, of course, jumping out to a 17-3 lead. What was perhaps more surprising, however, was that BC kept coming back even after Jameis Winston and Florida State delivered what seemed like one final dagger after another. BC fought to the end, riding a power running game to 34 points against the bigger, faster Seminoles. Florida State knew BC's game plan was to run the ball, and yet Andre Williams still racked up 149 yards on the ground -- the most by a runner against FSU since 2010.

And what happened to North Carolina? Sure, the Tar Heels hadn't opened the season with many fireworks, but this was a team that tied for the Atlantic Division title a year ago, looked at least reasonably capable against South Carolina in its opener and was up early on Georgia Tech a week ago before faltering late. So did the Heels take out their frustrations against East Carolina? Not even close. UNC allowed 603 yards and 55 points, of course.

Or how about NC State's Pete Thomas? The backup QB forced into the starting role in Week 1 had looked dreadful during his first three games, tossing four interceptions without a TD. He looked much improved against Central Michigan on Saturday, including an 80-yard touchdown pass to Bryan Underwood, helping NC State to nearly 500 yards of total offense.

Then there was Logan Thomas, who had completed 70 percent of his passes in a game just once in his career, but managed to find receivers on 19 of his 25 attempts against Georgia Tech, racking up 279 yards of offense and two touchdowns in the win.

If the slate didn't provide myriad upsets, it certainly provided plenty of surprises in just how those outcomes came to be.

And yet, not every game was a shocker. Clemson scored an easy win on Wake Forest, and Miami ran up the score against USF. Some outcomes were so secure, there was no wiggle room for surprises.

But so much of what seemed clear a week ago -- that Georgia Tech was in the driver's seat in the Coastal, that Florida State was gearing up for its showdown with Clemson, that the Hokies couldn't move the football and Pitt couldn't stop it -- those assumptions all seem a bit silly now.

Instead, the Seminoles must go back to work and try to figure out how their defense has been gashed by both of the ACC opponents it has faced this year. With Maryland and Clemson up next on the slate, such shortcomings won't be so easily overcome by Winston's heroics.

Georgia Tech's plans for a second straight trip to the ACC title game may be dashed already, but the Jackets can help themselves stay alive with a win over Miami next week. They’re going to need some outside help, though, as they’ll lose the head-to-head tiebreaker with Virginia Tech, should it come to that.

Clemson and Miami are rolling, Pitt and NC State appear resilient, North Carolina and Wake are reeling. And Duke? Well, there's always hope the Blue Devils' D can rebound as well as Virginia Tech's offense.

"That locker room feels real good about ourselves," Hokies linebacker Jack Tyler said after their big win. "But like [defensive coordinator Bud] Foster says, when you start feeling good about yourself, that’s when you get knocked off."

That's a warning worth remembering around the ACC after this week.

After all, for all we thought we learned, the one overriding revelation could be that those lessons may last only until the games of Week 6 kick off and the whole set of assumptions is flipped upside down once again.

Jameis Winston threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns to rally No. 8 Florida State past Boston College 48-34.

A top-10 SEC showdown between the hedges? Two of the winningest programs of all-time battling in South Bend?

We’ll be watching these games and many more on Saturday afternoon and we’d like you to join in on the conversation. Head on over to Campus Connection at 3:30 ET and follow the action along with eight of our reporters. Post your comments and questions and we’ll include as many of them as possible.

Are you as ready for football as we are? As the first Week 5 kickoffs quickly approach, head over to Campus Connection at 9 a.m. ET and join our collection of reporters for a Saturday morning chat.

Send in your questions and comments and we'll post as many of them as we can. Here's the lineup (all times ET):

9-9:30: Alex Scarborough (SEC), David Hale (ACC)
9:30-10: Heather Dinich (ACC), Austin Ward (Big Ten)
10-10:30: Greg Ostendorf (SEC), Jake Trotter (Big 12)
10:30-11: Andrea Adelson (ACC), Brandon Chatmon (Big 12)
11-11:30: Kevin Gemmell (Pac-12), Max Olson (Big 12)
11:30-12: Ted Miller (Pac-12), Mitch Sherman (Big Ten)

Andrea Adelson and David Hale preview the ACC weekend by asking can any team go unbeaten through the entire season?

Cassidy Hubbarth and the college football reporters go around the country to set up Week 5, which has four showdowns of ranked teams, including a pair in the SEC.

Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech are the only two programs in the ACC’s Coastal Division that have won their side in the eight-year history of the ACC championship game.

Historically, no game has meant more in the division race.

It still does.

“Every ACC game is like a playoff game,” said Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster. “It’s been a tight division, so your head-to-head play has been a big part of the end result when you have teams that are maybe 6-2 or tied. It’s been us or them. I know everybody is talking about Miami, but in my eyes, it’s us or them. That’s how we approach this game.”

For Georgia Tech, Thursday night's game in Atlanta is a chance to separate from the Hokies and set up a Coastal Division showdown with Miami on Oct. 5. The Canes were picked this preseason to win the division, but Georgia Tech already has a slight lead in the race thanks to back-to-back wins over Duke and North Carolina. A victory would put the Yellow Jackets at 3-0 in league play and give them eight consecutive regular-season ACC wins, tying for the program’s longest such streak. Many have already deemed the Georgia Tech-Miami game next week the one that will determine this year’s Coastal Division winner, but in order for that to be the case, the Jackets first have to get by the Hokies.

For Virginia Tech, it’s a chance to validate the team’s chances as a contender this year in the division race. The Hokies are 3-1, with their lone loss to No. 1 Alabama, but needed three overtimes to beat Marshall last week. Virginia Tech is No. 102 in the country in total offense, but No. 5 in total defense. It’s a trademark Virginia Tech team; the Hokies are struggling on offense and depending heavily on the D, but many wonder whether the offense can be just good enough to stay in the race. So far, Georgia Tech has looked like the more complete team, but Virginia Tech has a knack for finding a way to win the games that mean the most.

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, though, isn’t convinced that this is a season-defining game.

“Well, we don't know about this year,” Beamer said. “It's early in the year. You don't know how good we are, how good they are, how many games they're going to win, how many games we're going to win. But it's certainly being on national TV on Thursday night that's different for your kids. So I know they'll come out and play extremely hard and hopefully we can play well.

“Any time you play in the conference and play your team on your side of the conference, there is certainly a sense of urgency,” he said. “But to say, 'Hey, this game's going to determine our season,' I don't think we can say that right now.”

History tends to disagree.

Since Paul Johnson arrived at Georgia Tech before the 2008 season, the Yellow Jackets have won 28 ACC games. Only Virginia Tech (30 wins) has more. Clemson and Florida State also have 28 wins over that span.

“I think that if you look just since I've been here, sometimes the programs get overlooked a little bit,” Johnson said. “But if you take Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech, they're probably in the top three or four in total conference wins over the whole span that I've been here. It's just kind of worked that way. So it's always a big game and a game that has a lot of meaning in the Coastal Division race.”

The same will hold true again tonight.

The Week 5 slate has a handful of conference showdowns on tap, but the weekend figures to have its share of mismatches, too. Here are a few storylines to watch as the ACC closes out the season's first month:

Vad Lee's big test: It's been a sterling start for the Georgia Tech QB, but the test gets much tougher this week. Lee has thrown seven touchdowns and rushed for three more through three games, and Georgia Tech's offense looks primed for a big season. But Virginia Tech's defense ranks among the nation's best thus far. The Hokies lead the ACC in rushing defense (96.5 yards per game) and have allowed just two passing plays of 25 yards or more through four weeks -- the two areas the Yellow Jackets have thrived. Georgia Tech took a big step toward establishing itself as a contender last week, but if Lee can find a way to break Virginia Tech's defensive stranglehold this week, the Yellow Jackets just might be the new favorite in the Coastal Division.

As Logan Thomas goes ...: The Hokies' offense has been brutal through four games, with Thomas shouldering the bulk of the criticism -- for good reason. He's completing fewer than 50 percent of his passes with just four TDs to go with six interceptions. But when Thomas is sharp, there's hope. On Tech's three scoring drives vs. Marshall last week, he was 10-of-13 for 106 yards. The rest of the game, he was just 8-of-10 for 75 yards. One key may be running Thomas more often. He had 23 rushing attempts against Marshall -- nearly double his total from the first three games combined.

Supporting the cause: As big as Georgia Tech's win over North Carolina last week was in the standings, it was the message Lee and others wore on wristbands designed to draw attention toward a push to reform NCAA regulations on player compensation and other issues. Coach Paul Johnson said this week that there should have been a team vote before any players took such a public stand, so it will be interesting to see if Tech's protesters take a step back or if more players -- both on the Yellow Jackets and around the nation -- step up to make a stand.

North Carolina's struggles: The Tar Heels figured to be at the top of the ACC's second tier this season, but they've hardly looked the part so far. UNC never really challenged South Carolina in a marquee nonconference opener, and the Heels blew a lead against Georgia Tech last week that puts them in an early hole in the division. Bryn Renner and the offense haven't been nearly as potent as the talent on the roster suggests, and the defense has struggled to stop the run all year. North Carolina tries to rebound against East Carolina this week, but the Pirates took Virginia Tech to the brink just two weeks ago and won't be a pushover.

More highlights from Crowder: In last week's loss, junior Jamison Crowder ran for a touchdown, caught a touchdown and returned a punt for a score -- the first time that feat had been accomplished at Duke since 1999. The Blue Devils' defense appears to be in complete disarray, but Crowder has injected enough life into the offense and special teams that Duke has at least remained competitive -- including last week's ferocious comeback attempt against Pitt. For the year, Crowder ranks among the ACC leaders in receptions (30), receiving yards (381), touchdowns (4) and all-purpose yards (668).

Keeping the faith at NC State: The Wolfpack nearly pulled the upset last week against Clemson, but concerns remain at quarterback, where Pete Thomas has yet to throw a TD pass this year. Still, NC State has kept itself afloat with a 2-1 start, and Brandon Mitchell could be back in a few weeks. The Wolfpack don't figure to be tested much against Central Michigan, and with a manageable schedule leading up to an Oct. 26 showdown against Florida State, Thomas simply needs to steady the ship and avoid catastrophe to keep NC State in the mix in the ACC.

Battle of the ground games: In the past 35 games, just four players have managed to exceed 100 yards on the ground against Florida State's defense. One of them is Boston College's Andre Williams, who is off to a strong start in 2013. He'll be the key to any potential BC upset, but the Seminoles have plenty of weapons in their backfield, too. Devonta Freeman has run for more than 100 yards in each of the past two games and ranks fourth in the nation in yards per carry. Offensive newcomer Karlos Williams has racked up 193 yards and three scores on just 17 carries so far. Overall, FSU ranks third in the country averaging 7.2 yards per rush so far this season.

Clemson building momentum: The general consensus after last week's near miss against NC State is that Clemson got lucky to escape with a win. A close call on what appeared to be a long touchdown for the Wolfpack was followed by a key turnover, swinging the momentum in a 26-14 Tigers win, but Tajh Boyd wasn't at his best and Clemson showed some vulnerability. The task against struggling Wake Forest this week will be to regain that air of invincibility, getting Boyd's Heisman campaign back on track and establishing that the Tigers are still the team to beat in the ACC.

Stephen Morris' health: The Miami quarterback left last week's blowout win over Savannah State early with a bone bruise in his right ankle, but he insists the injury isn't serious. He said he expects to be in the lineup when Miami takes on winless South Florida this week, and it could be a good chance for him to jump-start his season. While the Hurricanes are off to a 3-0 start, Morris is completing just 53 percent of his throws and has just four touchdowns to go with two INTs. USF's D hasn't been tested much through the air so far, but the unit figures to provide a bigger challenge than woeful Savannah State.

Pitt's O vs. Virginia's D: Aside from the blowout loss to Oregon -- a fate shared by many of the Ducks' opponents in recent years -- the Virginia defense has been solid, led by playmakers such as Eli Harold and Anthony Harris. But Virginia figures to be tested this week with an offense that might have playmakers to rival even Oregon's gaudy numbers. Pitt QB Tom Savage threw six touchdowns against Duke last week, while Devin Street, Tyler Boyd and James Conner all rank among the ACC's offensive leaders so far this season.