CLEMSON, S.C. -- North Carolina State is seeking to turn the Atlantic Coast Conference from a runaway into a free-for-all this season.Halfway through the season, third-ranked Clemson (6-0, 3-0 ACC) is a heavy favorite to win its second straight ACC title and earn another berth in the College Football Playoffs.But the Tigers path is shrouded with potential speed bumps -- starting with North Carolina State (4-1, 1-0) on Saturday.- Florida State has Oct. 29 circled on its calendar; thats when the No. 14 Seminoles host the Tigers in Tallahassee. Clemson is just 1-11 in its past 12 visits to Florida State.- ACC newcomers Syracuse and Pittsburgh bring feisty attitudes in seeking their first victories at Death Valley next month.- Clemson wraps up its season at Wake Forest, which has been a house of horrors and crusher of Tiger dreams through the years.The Tigers are saying all the right things about the possible pitfalls.Its a long season and a lot of football left, Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson said.Clemson seized control of the ACC two weeks ago with its dramatic, 42-36 win against Louisville and Heisman Trophy favorite Lamar Jackson.Still, college football history is filled with sure bets that went bust in some of the unlikeliest ways.Seminoles coach Jimbo Fisher, his teams ACC chances last year cut down on an unlikely kick-six TD by struggling Georgia Tech , isnt abandoning hope of a title run by his two-loss team.Fisher believes even the best teams in the conference must scratch and claw for victory most weeks.Thats what the ACC has become, the coach said.Nearly everyone has a chance.In the Atlantic Division, Wake Forest and Louisville are one-loss ACC teams hoping for a Clemson to get upset.In the Coastal, once a mish-mosh of middling teams -- at this point two years ago all seven teams in the division looked like they could finish 4-4 -- perennial powers Miami and Virginia Tech are scrapping for the top.The 17th-ranked Hokies (4-1, 2-0) and new coach Justin Fuente won a showdown game at North Carolina last week and will try and keep things going at Syracuse this week.Virginia and new coach Bronco Mendenhall, also without a league loss in the Coastal, shook off an 0-3 start to win two straight.We got to keep rolling, Virginia nose tackle Donte Wilkins said. We got two good ones back to back, trying to make it three, trying to take over the ACC.No. 16 Miami, North Carolina and Pitt are right behind Virginia Tech and Virginia with one ACC loss -- and lots of optimism about their title hopes.We still have our dream of an ACC championship, Pitt quarterback Nathan Peterman said. It is not in our hands, exactly. But in a sense it is, because we have to go out there and win the rest.They face long odds: No Coastal Division team has won the ACC title since Georgia Tech in 2009.Clemsons road to the title game in Orlando, Florida continues Saturday with defensive minded North Carolina State, which slogged out a 10-3 win over Notre Dame last week in the midst of Hurricane Matthew.Were dealing with a 4-1 record right now and moving on to be 5-1, Wolfpack defensive end Kentavius Street said.If they are able to win their fifth game of the North Carolina State is eighth in the country in yards allowed -- and its group of all senior and junior starters wants to wipe away the odor of allowing 97 points and 1,116 yards the past two blowout losses to Clemson.I think were better than weve been, North Carolina State coach Dave Doeren said.Florida State knows something about that.The Seminoles (4-2, 1-2) looked finished after its 63-20 drubbing at Louisville last month, but have revived their ACC title hopes after a 20-19 win over Miami on Saturday night.We took a step forward, Seminoles tailback Dalvin Cook said of the Miami win, and well keep going from there.Theyll face the pesky Demon Deacons (5-1, 2-1) on Saturday before taking a week off to get ready for Clemson.The Tigers have had trouble at Wake Forest, where they are just 4-3 since 2003. Their last loss in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 2008 led to the ouster of coach Tommy Bowden and elevation of young receivers coach Dabo Swinney to head coach.Swinney, who has won 23 of his last 24 wins, is mindful of the ACC minefield awaiting his program the next month and a half.The Clemson coach said he doesnt know if this is the strongest the ACC has been during his tenure, saying other people have to answer that.Swinney does know one thing about winning in the ACC these days: Its hard.---AP Sports Writers Jimmy Golen in Boston, Hank Kurz in Richmond, Virginia, and Joedy McCreary in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report. R. C. Owens Jersey . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. Trent Dilfer Jersey . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. http://www.custompatriotsjersey.com/custom-kevan-barlow-jersey-large-1181f.html . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. Ty Law Jersey . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. John Taylor Jersey . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. Gabby Douglas made Olympic history (again) in Rio. Four years after becoming the first black woman to capture the individual all-around gold medal, Douglas and teammate Aly Raisman became the first two American gymnasts to win gold in back-to-back Olympic Games.Even without her trip to Rio, the 20-year-old would have gone down as one of the best ever. With a host of endorsement deals, a best-selling book, a Lifetime biopic and even her own Barbie doll, Douglas legacy was set. But, despite the immense weight of expectations, she fought for another chance to compete at the highest level. Her reward? A spot on one of the greatest American gymnastics squads of all time.Douglas admits the experience had its highs and lows, thanks to the bullying she faced on social media. She also wouldnt trade her experience as part of the Final Five for anything. In between promotional appearances, she talked to us about her crazy schedule, her mentality post-Rio and her thoughts on Tokyo in 2020.Rio was amazing, but its nice to be finished. It was a really incredible experience to go back to the Olympics for a second time, even with some of the struggles I had while I was there. Of course, it was nice to get some merchandise (a gold medal!). As far as the competition goes, I wanted to be a little bit better, but thats something I have to accept.Mentally and physically, theres definitely some relief that its over. All the hype, the nerves, the pressure -- its a lot. Afterward, everyone is like, Woo! Time to relax. I seriously think I had pizza, fries and ice cream for a solid week when I got home. I even put fries on my pizza! Youve got to splurge sometimes, especially as an athlete.Ive done a lot of thinking since coming back from Rio. While I was there, I went through a really hard time in competition and on social media. For a little while, I lost sight of everything positive. Here I was, an all-around champion on another winning team, and I wasnt focusing on that because people were being so gross.Since then Ive realized that I have to pardon their comments because they just have no idea. They dont understand. Sometimes you have to step back and say, What did you do to defy odds today? Not many people get to experience the Olympics, go back a second time, and leave with medals around their neck.Social media isnt all bad. I was so grateful for the hashtag Leslie Jones started: #LOVE4GABBYUSA. She experienced some of the same things that I did with onliine bullying.dddddddddddd People can be so mean! After Leslie tweeted that hashtag, people like Kerry Washington, NeNe Leakes and Sanya Richards-Ross stood behind me and gave me a whole lot of love.And they werent the only ones. When I got back, people would come up to me and tell me not to worry about the haters. They would say things like, Youre amazing. Youre flawless. That really helped me get out of my funk.I spent time in the emergency room soon after the Olympics. I had a cyst in my mouth that was causing terrible pain. Not only did I have to get it removed, but I missed joining the rest of the team at the MTV Video Music Awards. Afterward, everyone was like, Beyoncé! Beyoncé! OK, Im not trying to brag here, but I did get to meet her during the NBA All-Star Weekend in 2013. She pulled me into her circle, Jay Z was there, and she even told me how inspirational I was. I guess that made it a little easier to miss the VMAs.Not long after the cyst put me in the hospital, I had to get my wisdom teeth removed, too. No fun! Im just incredibly glad that my mouth issues werent a problem in Rio. That would have been miserable.There hasnt been much time to unwind. In fact, Ive only spent about a week at home since I got back from Rio. Our appearance and sponsor schedules are fun, but also pretty grueling. During the Kelloggs Tour, we traveled to so many cities that I would wake up and say, Where am I? Whats going on? Whats my name?Early-morning and red-eye flights are far from my favorite things, but the fans kept us going. We got to give them more than a wave and a smile as part of the tour, which I loved. Wed do meet-and-greets and really get to talk to people.I never would have thought Id be in the position Im in today. I dont think it has really sunk in yet. As a gymnast, my mind is trained to move on to the next competition or the next event. One day Im going to look back at the memorabilia and medals I have in my living room at home and say, Wow, that was pretty amazing.What do you mean, retirement? When people use that word, I pretty much laugh and say, Come on! Tokyo 2020! Dominique Dawes, my role model, went to three Olympics. Shes my inspiration. Right now, we just finished the tour and everyone is looking forward to some time off. My vacation to Tahiti is the next thing on my list. One step at a time! ' ' '