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GAME NOTES: A huge top-25 showdown in the ACC is slated for this weekend in Blacksburg, as the 11th-ranked Virginia Tech Hokies play host to the ninth- ranked Miami Hurricanes.

Randy Shannon has the nation's most surprising team. The Hurricanes open the season with the toughest four-game stretch in the nation and have gone halfway through unscathed, topping nationally-ranked teams in Florida State (38-34) and Georgia Tech (33-7). More importantly, the wins came against two of the ACC's favorites this year, with the Hokies representing the third straight and perhaps the last obstacle between the 'Canes and a possible Coastal Division title and spot in the ACC title game. Miami will close out its murderous slate with the Oklahoma Sooners next week.

The Hokies have had a tough schedule early on as well. Frank Beamer's squad opened with a colossal matchup with Alabama, but lost a battle of attrition with the bigger, faster Crimson Tide (34-24). The team has bounced back however, with wins over both Marshall (52-10) and most recently, nationally- ranked Nebraska (16-15). This marks the ACC-opener for the defending conference champs.

This game marks the 27th all-time meeting between these two teams, with Miami holding a 17-9 series advantage. The Hurricanes won last year's meeting, holding on for a 16-14 victory in the Sunshine State.

The Miami offense is probably the biggest surprise this year, as the unit has looked unstoppable at times under sophomore gunslinger Jacory Harris. The youngster is averaging 328 yards passing over the first two games and has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes, with five TDs. He has certainly spread the ball around, with 12 different targets thus far, led by WR Travis Benjamin (seven catches, for 157 yards, one TD).

Harris completed 20-of-25 passes, for 270 yards and three TDs against Georgia Tech last week, earning ACC Offensive Back of the Week honors for the second time this year. The young signal-caller is making it look easy, but credits his teammates for the success thus far.

"It's not easy, you just have to have trust and have faith in everybody. As long as you have faith and trust that your receiver is going to run the right route, your o-line is going to protect, your running back is going to protect or catch the ball. We are just having fun and executing like we were taught."

The ground game is centered around a pair of talented tailbacks in Graig Cooper (5.2 ypc, 62.0 ypg, one TD) and Javarris James (4.3 ypc, 54.0 ypg, two TDs). It helps to have a solid offensive line. The guys up front are paving the way for 4.0 yards per carry and have only yielded one sack thus far.

Miami's defense has played second-fiddle to the offense this season, but has played well at times, especially last week against what was supposed to be a stellar rushing team in Tech.

There are no household names on the team, but that doesn't mean the 'Canes are void of defensive talent. Brandon Harris currently paces the team in tackles (13) with five PBUs already. Darryl Sharpton and Colin McCarthy are a close second in stops with 12 apiece. Randy Phillips (11 tackles) is another playmaker in the secondary and is responsible for the team's only interception.

Virginia Tech lost its starting tailback before the season began, but the loss of standout Darren Evans has not stopped the Hokies from running the football. The team was at its best in that area against Marshall, churning out 444 yards on the ground. The Nebraska game was a bit different, as the team struggled for a hard-earned 86 yards. Still, youngster Ryan Williams has filled the void left by Evans nicely, including 107 yards and one TD against a stout Cornhusker run defense. On the season, Williams is averaging 114 yards per game to lead the ACC, with six TDs.

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor isn't the greatest passer (47.6 percent completion rate), but he is a mobile QB that needs to be accounted for. Taylor did lead the Hokies to the decisive scoring drive against Nebraska, capped off by an 11-yard TD pass to Dyrell Roberts with just 21 seconds remaining. Beamer credits Taylor's athleticism for the victory over Nebraska.

"We don't win that game without a quarterback who can throw the football and keep a play alive. There are some throws that he'd like to have back, and there are some great throws he made that got dropped. But the bottom line is we don't win the ball game if we don't have a quarterback who is as athletic as Tyrod is and who can throw the ball down the field like that."

The Virginia Tech defense is usually a stop unit that is stingy in all areas, but the rush defense has been a bit suspect this season, giving up a very generous 200.3 yards per game. It was more of the same against the Cornhuskers, who put up 207 yards on the ground.

The linebacking corps has been extremely active in the first three games, as Barquell Rivers (27 tackles), Jake Johnson (24 tackles) and Cody Grimm (20 tackles) are the top three tacklers on the team.

The pass rush has generated just three sacks over the first three games, but opponents have to be wary of All-American candidate Jason Worilds up front. The 6-2, 265-pound end has one of the team's sacks on the year, but has the ability to dominate and be a disruptive force in the backfield.

The Hurricanes have gotten the job done twice already and with Harris' confidence growing, this is definitely a winnable game for Miami.

Shannon isn't overly concerned about the fact that the nation for the most part views Miami as underrated.

"I don't get into that sort of thing, we're just going to play football and that's it."

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Miami-Florida 27, Virginia Tech 20