In each of its first two ACC games, N.C. State has allowed an opposing shooting guard to score at least 20 points.

That's a trend Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried wants to end for Saturday's trip to Wake Forest but the Demon Deacons have two of the best wing scorers in the ACC in Travis McKie (18.0 points per game) and C.J. Harris (17.7). The two rank second and third, respectively, in the league in scoring.

"We have to be better than we've been on the perimeter, or those guys will have big nights," Gottfried said Friday.

N.C. State's comeback win over Maryland puts the Wolfpack "very, very high" on the Belk Bowl's wish list, bowl president Will Webb said Sunday.

The bowl game in Charlotte, which will be played Dec. 27 (8 p.m., ESPN) at Bank of America Stadium, has to wait until after the ACC title game on Saturday to make its selection, but the Wolfpack is among its top options.

Virginia and Wake Forest are also possibilities from the ACC, Webb said, with West Virginia (8-3), Louisville (7-5) and Rutgers (8-4) from the Big East side of the equation.

Updated 9:24 p.m.

CHAPEL HILL -- North Carolina became bowl eligible for a fourth consecutive season Saturday, thanks to a 49-24 ACC football victory against Wake Forest.

And the Deacons, due mostly to a penchant for turning the ball over to the Tar Heels at inopportune times, must wait at least one more week to secure a postseason berth.

The Tar Heels (6-3, 2-3 ACC) snapped a two-game losing streak by taking advantage of five Wake Forest turnovers, turning them into 28 points. Two Deacons mistakes – a fumble and an interception – came on their first two offensive series. North Carolina converted both into touchdowns and the rout was on.

CHAPEL HILL -- In addition to safety Matt Merletti, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last Saturday at Clemson, UNC will be without three other players this week against Wake Forest.

Tar Heel coach Everett Withers said Thursday that kicker Casey Barth (groin), receiver Reggie Wilkins (ankle) and tight end Sean Fitzpatrick (head) will sit out Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. game in Kenan Stadium.

Fullback Curtis Byrd, who has been slowed by a knee problem of late, will be available, Withers said.

DURHAM – Wake Forest’s football team found another way to sneak by Duke.

The Demon Deacons (5-2, 4-1 ACC) secured a 12th consecutive victory over the Blue Devils, rallying for a 24-23 win before an announced crowd of 22,258 at Wallace Wade Stadium. 

The Devils (3-4, 1-2) last beat the Deacs in 1999 and since it's been a tortuous stretch of head-shaking defeats. This one was no different.

Duke senior wide receiver Donovan Varner, one of the team's go-to players in its spread passing offense, injured his hamstring against Florida State last week and is questionable for Saturday's contest against Wake Forest.

Varner, one half of the "Killer V's" receiver tandem with junior Conner Vernon, is a first and second option for the Blue Devils (3-3, 1-1 ACC). His presence would certainly be missed in a game against the Deamon Deacons (4-2, 3-1), who eked out a 54-48 victory in a shootout against the Devils last season.

When these teams come together, points go up on the scoreboard. Duke is searching for its first win over the Deacs since 1999. That's 11 straight victories.

CHARLOTTE – North Carolina received 57 of a possible 59 first-place votes to finish atop the ACC media poll released Wednesday at the conference’s Operation Basketball media event.

The Tar Heels return all five starters, including preseason ACC player of the year selection Harrison Barnes, from a team that finished 29-8, reached an NCAA regional final and won first place in the ACC with a 14-2 conference record last season.

Duke was picked second in the poll, followed by Florida State, Virginia, Miami, Virginia Tech and Clemson. N.C. State was selected to finish eighth, with Maryland, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Boston College closing out the poll.

WINSTON-SALEM – A season ago, the Wake Forest defense folded like origami when pressed by aggressive ACC offenses.

“This ain’t the same defense,” said Wake Forest senior defensive end Kyle Wilber, whose team isn’t playing anything like the 2010 Demon Deacons team that finished 3-9, won just one ACC contest and were throttled 31-0 by Florida State.

These Deacs (4-1, 3-0 ACC) forced five turnovers – four interceptions – posted two sacks and recorded a safety in a 35-30 victory over the No. 23-ranked Seminoles on Saturday before an announced crowd of 33,116 at BB&T Field.

Wake, which had started 2-0 seven times in the conference’s 58-year history, starts 3-0 in the ACC for the first time ever.

WINSTON-SALEM – By no means was it all pretty, but Wake Forest overcame some first-half errors, gaffes and miscues to capture a convincing 48-5 victory over Gardner-Webb at BB&T Field on Saturday.

“I thought we were really disorganized early in the game,” Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe said. “But we settled down.”

And for the third week in a row, starting quarterback Tanner Price continued to showcase his slow-but-steady growth in leading the Demon Deacons (2-1, 1-0 ACC) over their in-state, Big South Conference, NCAA Division I-FCS opponents. Rushed, hurried and twice sacked, the sophomore completed 21 of 32 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns, spreading the ball to four receivers before he was pulled early in the second half. 

Wake Forest had lost seven straight ACC games and 11 in a row to conference teams outside of Duke before Saturday.

A visit from N.C. State changed all that. The Demon Deacons continued their recent home dominance of the Wolfpack with a 34-27 win at BB&T Field.