ACC & Big 12 Weekend Preview: Seven Ranked Teams in Action Led by Georgia Tech-UNC & TCU-Baylor

In the tenth week of the college football season, members of the Florida Citrus Sports Team Selection Committee are making visits throughout ACC and Big 12 country, meeting with fans across both conferences in advance of the Russell Athletic Bowl on December 28th.

TCU at #17 Baylor – 3:30 p.m. on FOX

Following their first loss of the season on the road against Texas, Baylor (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) returns home to face TCU (4-4, 2-3 Big 12). As well as the Bears have played overall in recent years, they’ve been a whole different monster at home, compiling a 33-3 record in Waco since 2011. They’ve also been tough to beat down the stretch, posting an FBS-best 23-5 record in November and December dating back to 2011. TCU will look to overcome the Baylor home field advantage and upend the Bears for the second consecutive season. Last year, the Horned Frogs topped the Bears in double-overtime to even the all-time series at 52-52-7. The previous three meetings have been decided by a combined  13 points, with Baylor earning three-point victories in both meetings before the Horned Frogs victory last season.

Georgia Tech at #21 North Carolina – 12:30 p.m. on ACC/ESPN

Georgia Tech (5-3, 2-3 ACC) heads to Chapel Hill to face Coastal division leader North Carolina (6-2, 4-1 ACC). The Yellow Jackets enter the contest off of a 38-35 victory against Duke where quarterback Justin Thomas totaled the third-highest single-game yardage total in program history. Thomas accounted for 459 (264 passing, 195 rushing) of the Ramblin’ Wreck’s 605 yards. Thomas also tallied four touchdowns (two passing, two rushing) in the victory. The Tar Heels are tied atop the division with Virginia Tech and have no current ranked teams left on their schedule, but the Hokies hold the head-to-head tiebreaker. Georgia Tech leads the all-time series with North Carolina 28-19-3 but have lost the past two meetings. The Yellow Jackets have not lost three straight to the Tar Heels since 1992-94.

#22 Florida State at NC State – 7:00 p.m. on ESPNU

Florida State (5-3, 2-3 ACC) and NC State (4-4, 1-3 ACC) meet in Raleigh with both teams looking to bounce back from losses in divisional play. The Seminoles are looking for their fourth consecutive victory against the Wolfpack, something they haven’t done in the series since they rattled off eight straight between 1968 and 1997. The last time the teams met in Raleigh, Jacoby Brissett had the Wolfpack up 24-7 in the first quarter before Jameis Winston and the Seminoles surged back for a 56-41 victory. Despite the loss, Raleigh has been a tough stop for Florida State in recent years, with NC State earning victories in two of the last three meetings with the Seminoles at home. Florida State leads the all-time series 24-11 including last year’s 34-17 victory in Tallahassee.

#7 Louisville (7-1, 5-1 ACC) at Boston College (4-4, 1-4 ACC) – 12:00 p.m. on ESPN2
Texas (4-4, 2-3 Big 12) at Texas Tech (4-4, 2-3 Big 12) – 12:00 p.m. on FS1
Pittsburgh (5-3, 2-2 ACC) at Miami (4-4, 1-3 ACC) – 12:30 p.m. on ACC/ESPN
Virginia (2-6, 1-3 ACC) at Wake Forest (5-3, 2-2 ACC) – 3:00 p.m. on ACC/ESPN
Syracuse (4-4, 2-2 ACC) at #2 Clemson (8-0, 5-0 ACC) – 3:30 p.m. on ABC/ESPN2
#19 Virginia Tech (6-2, 4-1 ACC) at Duke (3-5, 0-4 ACC) – 3:30 p.m. on ESPNU
Kansas (1-7, 0-5 Big 12) at #20 West Virginia (6-1, 3-1 Big 12) – 7:00 p.m. on ABC/ESPN