Football

Week 3 Friday Preview: No. 5 Miami Visits Wake Forest for ACC Showdown

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – ACC Football continues its Week 3 slate on Friday, September 18, with a primetime matchup of unbeaten teams, as No. 5 Miami travels to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to face Wake Forest at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
 
Both teams enter Friday night at 2-0, with Miami looking to remain unbeaten in conference play after opening its ACC schedule with a road win at Stanford. Wake Forest will make its ACC debut after opening the season with consecutive non-conference victories, including a double-overtime road win at Purdue last Saturday.
 
Friday’s matchup is the second of back-to-back primetime ACC contests on ESPN to open Week 3 and one of five conference games on the league’s 12-game schedule.
 

Friday, September 18
#5 Miami at Wake Forest | 7:30 p.m. ET
Series: Miami leads series, 9-3
Last meeting: Miami, 42-14 (2024)
TV: ESPN
SiriusXM Radio: SiriusXM 167 / SiriusXM 258
SiriusXM App: SiriusXM 258 / SiriusXM 963
  • Friday night features a matchup of undefeated teams, with both No. 5 Miami and Wake Forest entering the contest at 2-0. Miami is 1-0 in ACC play, while Friday marks Wake Forest’s conference opener.
  • Miami leads the all-time series 9-3 and has won the last eight meetings, with the Hurricanes’ winning streak in the series dating back to 1969.
  • Friday marks Miami’s first trip to Winston-Salem since 2009. In that meeting, Wake Forest led 27-14 entering the fourth quarter before Miami scored 14 unanswered points, including the game-winning touchdown pass with 1:08 remaining, to rally for a 28-27 victory.
  • The quarterback matchup features two intra-conference transfers. Miami’s Darian Mensah transferred from Duke, while Wake Forest’s Gio Lopez transferred from North Carolina prior to the 2026 season.
  • Miami is coming off a record-setting 77-7 win over Florida A&M, scoring on 11 of its first 12 possessions and matching the program record for points in a game.
  • The Hurricanes piled up a school-record 856 yards of total offense against Florida A&M while setting an ACC record with 42 first downs.
  • Miami quarterback Darian Mensah has been nearly flawless through two games, completing 41-of-45 passes (91.1 percent) for 653 yards and eight touchdowns.
  • Miami enters Week 3 leading the FBS in total offense at 702.5 yards per game while also ranking among the nation's top 15 in total defense, making the Hurricanes one of five FBS teams ranked in the top 15 nationally in both categories.
  • Wake Forest enters Friday night unbeaten after a thrilling double-overtime road win at Purdue in Week 2.
  • Quarterback Gio Lopez earned ACC Quarterback of the Week honors after accounting for three touchdowns against Purdue, throwing for 225 yards and rushing for another 59.
  • Wake Forest’s defense had three players record double-digit tackles at Purdue, as Aiden Hall, Vincent Firenze and Davaughn Patterson each reached double figures.
  • Under second-year head coach Jake Dickert, Wake Forest is 6-0 in non-conference play, with Friday night providing the Demon Deacons their first ACC matchup of the season.