Cal Promises It's Not Looking Past a Friday Date at Virginia Tech

The schedule gets tougher for Cal beginning a week from now when the Bears face No. 16 Virginia, No. 19 Louisville and SMU in a span of four games to close the regular season.

Those three teams have a combined record of 8-1 in ACC play. Sprinkled in their is the Big Game at Stanford.

The Bears (5-2, 2-1) trek to Virginia Tech (2-5, 1-2) this week for a Friday night matchup against a program that fired its coach in mid-September and has dropped its past two games.

But the Bears promise they won’t be looking past the Hokies, who have won fewer than five games in a season just once over the past 33 seasons. Coach Justin Wilcox talks in the video above about how he doesn’t look at any matchup as a potential “trap” game.

“Each and every week, it’s who shows up and plays the best on game day,” Wilcox said. “These guys have talent. They have good coaches. That what we look at — not necessarily the record. I’m sure with a couple plays here and there, their record might be totally flipped.”

Actually, Virginia Tech has lost only one game by fewer than 13 points while Cal’s two most recent ACC victories came by margins of four and three points and weren’t secured until late takeaways by the defense.

Maybe that helps explain why Vegas oddsmakers made Tech a 4.5-point favorite.

Here are the Week 9 matchups in the ACC:

(Point spreads provided by DraftKings)

FRIDAY

— Cal (plus-4.5) at Virginia Tech, 4:30 p.m., ESPN

If this game is settled by a field goal, it may be bad news for the Bears (5-2, 2-1), who have not attempted one in their past three games and haven’t made one since Sept. 13 vs. Minnesota. Virginia Tech (2-5, 1-2) senior John Love is 12 for 14 this season, including a 56-yarder. Over four seasons, he is 51 for 58 with a 60-yarder.

SATURDAY

— Syracuse (plus-17.5) at No. 7 Georgia Tech, 9 am., ESPN

The Yellow Jackets (7-0, 4-0) have won four of their games by single-digit margins, but they already have matched their best win total since 2016. A victory over the Orange would give Georgia Tech its first 8-0 start since 1966. Syracuse (3-4, 1-3) has lost three in a row since beating Clemson 34-21 on the road on Sept. 20.

— No. 16 Virginia (minus-10) at North Carolina, 9 a.m., ACC Network

Few teams have dodged disaster quite like Virginia (6-1, 3-0), which beat Florida State in double-overtime, Louisville in overtime and Washington State 22-20 last week. Carola (2-4, 0-2) has dropped three in a row, including by a 21-18 score at Cal last Friday.

— SMU (minus-3.5) at Wake Forest, 9 a.m., The CW Network

The Mustangs (5-2, 3-0) have found their new quite to their liking. Since joining the ACC last season, SMU is 11-0 in regular-season ACC games. Wake (4-2, 1-2) comes off road wins vs. Virginia Tech and Oregon State but is just 2-2 at home.

— NC State (plus-7) at Pitt, 12:30 p.m., ACC Network

The Panthers (5-2, 3-1) have won three in a row averaging better than 37 points since handing the quarterback job to true freshman Mason Heintschel. NC State (4-3, 1-2) rides running back Hollywood Smothers, who is averaging 126 rushing yards in wins, only 79 in losses.

— Stanford (plus-30.5) at No. 9 Miami, 4 p.m., ESPN

The Cardinal (3-4, 2-2) played its best game of the season last week in a 20-13 win over Florida State, but the status of QB Ben Gulbranson, iwho njured his knee against the Seminoles, isn’t clear. The Hurricanes (5-1, 1-1) should be plenty motivated after a 24-21 home defeat to Louisville.

— Boston College (plus-24.5) at No. 19 Louisville, 4:30 p.m., ACC Network

This promises to be a tough one for the Eagles (1-6, 0-4), whose only win came over Fordham back on Aug. 30. Louisville 5-1, 2-1) knocked off then-No. 2 Miami 24-21 last week with wide receiver Chris Bell catching nine passes for 136 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

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