2012 College Football Schedule: Maryland kicks off ACC season vs. Wake

The Maryland Terrapins, Virginia Cavaliers and Virginia Tech Hokies all take on beatable ACC foes from North Carolina in Week 6 of the college football season.

Maryland is the last squad in the ACC to begin conference play, hosting Wake Forest. Its last game before a bye week might have been a loss, but it was probably their best effort of the season: West Virginia only won 31-21. Geno Smith and the Mountaineers went on to put up 70 points in a shootout win over Baylor last week, making their output against the Terrapins look tame. The Demon Deacons squeaked out a 28-27 win over North Carolina earlier in the year, but aren't an impressive 3-2 with their other wins coming against Liberty and Army.

The Hokies will try to recover from their second loss of the season against North Carolina. Things started out nicely for Virginia Tech, with a season-opening win over Georgia Tech keeping them in the top 25 and giving them an dvantage in the race to win the ACC Coastal title, which has gone to the winner of that matchup every season. But a pair of losses to Big East schools in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati put that in jeopardy. They can remain undefeated in the conference with a win, and if Miami loses to No. 9 Notre Dame, Duke would be the only team in the division without two losses, leaving the coast reasonably clear for the Hokies again. North Carolina has three blowout wins, but they're against Elon, East Carolina, and Idaho, of whom only East Carolina has beaten an FBS opponent.

Virginia is looking to stop a three-game losing streak after winning a pair to kick off its season. Things looked promising after an impressive win over Penn State, but losses to Georgia Tech and TCU, as well as a close defeat against Louisiana Tech, have them reeling. Duke provides a frisky opponent, as the traditional cellar-dwelling Blue Devils have only lost one game this season, that defeat coming to a Stanford team now ranked No. 18.

Virginia Tech Hokies at North Carolina Tar Heels (Noon, ESPN3)

Virginia Cavaliers at Duke Blue Devils (3 p.m., ESPN3)

Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Maryland Terrapins (3:30 p.m., ESPNU)