Cal Faces Pivotal Challenge vs. No. 15 Virginia in the ACC This Week

The team we can’t quite figure out takes on the first of two straight Top-25 opponents on Saturday.

Cal (5-3, 2-2 ACC), which began the season with three straight victories but is 2-3 since, is host to No. 15 Virginia (7-1, 4-0 ACC) on Saturday afternoon.

The Bears need one more victory — No. 16 Louisville, Stanford and SMU loom in their final three games — and must split the final four in order to reach seven wins and creep above the dreaded .500 regular season.

*** Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele talks in the video above about his response when Cal receivers drop passes, which has been an issue the past couple games

Cal could easily lost all four of its conference games, escaping Boston College and North Carolina thanks to late-game takeaways by the defense.

Meanwhile, Virginia could have dropped any or all of its past four victories, which came in overtime (twice), double-overtime (once) and by two points thanks to a late safety against Washington State.

Hold on tight, the next four games are gonna be crazy.

Here are the Week 10 matchups in the ACC:

(Point spreads provided by DraftKings)

FRIDAY

— North Carolina (plus-2.5) at Syracuse, 4:30 p.m., ESPN

Bill Belichick’s team is clearly getting better — ask Cal or Virginia — but the Tar Heels remain winless in three ACC games. Maybe is happens at Syracuse, which is 1-4 in the ACC and has matched UNC’s four-game skid.

SATURDAY

— No. 10 Miami (minus-10) at SMU, 9 a.m., ESPN

SMU (5-3, 3-1) hasn’t been as productive as a year ago, when it started its maiden voyage in the ACC with an 11-1 overall record to earn a spot in the conference championship game (the Mustangs lost 34-31 to Clemson). This is a big chance for SMU, which didn’t have to play Miami (5-1, 2-1) a year ago. They’re gonna have to do it against the best defensive team in the ACC. Good luck.

— Duke (plus-3.5) at Clemson, 9 a.m., ACC Network

One of these teams has only one ACC defeat, and it’s not Clemson. Due (4-3, 3-1) still may find the going tough against Clemson (2-3, 1-3), which is due to demonstrate some pride after what has been a disappointing season for the ACC favorites.

— No. 16 Louisville (minus-10) at Virginia Tech, noon, CW Network

The Cardinals (6-1, 3-1) aren’t likely to be looking past Tech 3-5, 2-2) to Cal next week. Louisville is 2-0 on the road and the Hokies have lost three times on their home field.

— No. 12 Notre Dame (minus-28.5) at Boston College, 12:30 p.m., ESPN

The Eagles (1-7) have been outscored by 100 points in their five ACC games. They step out of conference here against a Fighting Irish squad that has won five in a row after losing to Miami and Texas A&M by a combined four points in their first two games. Sounds like a big day for the Notre Dame running back tandem of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, who have a combined 1,267 rushing yards through seven games.

— Pittsburgh (minus-14) at Stanford, 12:30 p.m., ACC Network

Cal fans don’t want to hear this but Stanford (3-5, 2-3) is getting a little better, not that you could tell in the second half of its 42-7 loss at Miami. Pitt (6-2, 4-1) has averaged 41 points in four victories since freshman Mason Heinschel moved into the starting quarterback role. He passed for 423 yards and three TDs last week vs. NC State.

— No. 15 Virginia (minus-4.5) at Cal, 12:45 p.m., ESPN2

I have little feel what might happen in this game. Virginia (7-1, 4-0) has shown it can win the close game and it hasn’t lost since Sept. 6. I keep waiting for the Bears (5-3, 2-2) to stop drawing false start penalties, dropping passes or missing tackles. Will that happen on Saturday . . . ever?

— No. 8 Georgia Tech (minus-6.5) at NC State, 4:30 p.m., ESPN2

Georgia Tech (8-0, 5-0) quarterback Haynes King has completed 72 percent of his passes and has run for 12 touchdowns. He’ll be a handful for NC State (4-4, 1-3), which allowed 89 points in losses to Notre Dame and Pitt.

— Wake Forest (plus-7.5) at Florida State, 4:30 p.m., ACC Network

Vegas isn’t convinced Wake (5-2, 2-2) can win here despite the Seminoles (3-4, 0-4), which has dropped four straight ACC games by single-digit margins.

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