This Week in the ACC: Cal Faces Stiffest Non-Conference Foe

Three ACC conference games are scheduled for Week 3 but Cal continues its four-week non-conference run in what is, without much question, its most challenging early matchup.

The Bears (2-0) and Minnesota (2-0) of the Big Ten Conference square off at Memorial Stadium on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

*** Cal coach Justin Wilcox reflects on the Bears' 35-3 win over Texas Southern in the video at the top of this story.

Cal closes out its non-league schedule next Saturday at San Diego State, then opens ACC play at Boston College on Sept. 27.

The weekend’s best game involving an ACC team may be No. 5 Miami (2-0) hosting in-state rival No. 18 South Florida (2-0), one week after the Bulls stunned another team from the Sunshine State.

Here are the Week 3 matchups:

(Point spreads provided by DraftKings)

THURSDAY

— NC State (minus-7) at Wake Forest, 4:30 p.m., ESPN

Quarterback CJ Bailey is completing better than 70 percent of his passes for NC State, but has just two TDs in a pair of close victories. Wake counters with a defense that has allowed just 19 points in two victories and senior running back Demond Claiborne, who rushed 10 times for 193 yards and three touchdowns last week against Western Carolina.

FRIDAY

— Colgate (plus-37.5) at Syracuse, 4 p.m., ACC Network

Colgate has lost two close games . . . to Monmouth and Villanova. Syracuse hasn’t gotten our attention yet this season and I’m not sure anything they do here will change that.

SATURDAY

— No. 12 Clemson (minus-3.5) at Georgia Tech, 9 a.m., ESPN

Clemson’s offense has been a disappointment, ranking just 14th in the ACC through two games at 18.5 points per outing. Preseason Heisman Trophy contender Cade Klubnik ranks 11th in the ACC in pass efficiency. Can the Tigers amp that up on the road against a 2-0 Tech squad averaging nearly 592 yards of offense?

— William & Mary (no line) at Virginia, 9 a.m., ACC Network

Virginia is coming off a non-conference loss to ACC rival NC State. Neither William nor Mary is likely to deny the Cavaliers in this one.

— SMU (minus-27.5) at Missouri State, 12:30 p.m., CBSSN

Missouri State surrendered 73 points in a season-opening loss to USC. That doesn’t bode well against an SMU squad eager to make up for losing to Baylor 48-45 in double-overtime last week.

— Pittsburgh (minus-7) at West Virginia, 12:30 p.m., ESPN

This is a serious rivalry game and Pittsburgh, averaging 53 points on offense and allowing just 1.1 yards per rush defensively, figures to be too much for the Mountaineers.

— Richmond (no line) at North Carolina, 12:30 p.m., ACC Network

Bill Belichick got that first college victory last week at Charlotte, but the Tar Heels are scoring just 17 points per game. That’s gonna change in this one.

— No. 18 USF (plus-17.5) at No. 5 Miami, 1:30 p.m., CW Network

South Florida is just the fourth team in the AP poll era (since 1936) to begin the season unranked and defeat two top-25 opponents. Knocking off No. 13 Florida in Gainesville last Saturday is being lauded as the best win in program victory. This would top that, but the Hurricanes won 50-15 last year and the Bulls have their attention.

— Old Dominion (plus-7) at Virginia Tech, 4 p.m., ACC Network

Virginia Tech’s defense, which is second-to-last in the ACC defending the run, must figure out a way to slow down Monarchs’ quarterback Colton Joseph, a two-way threat who has 353 passing yards and three TDs and 228 rushing yards (10.8 per attempt) and three more TDs.

— Duke (plus-0.5) at Tulane, 5 p.m., ESPN2

This will be interesting. Duke quarterback Darian Mensah, who leads the ACC with 723 passing yards, played last season at Tulane. The Green Wave is 2-0 without him and a slight favorite to make sure Mensah does not enjoy his homecoming.

— Minnesota (minus-1.5) at Cal, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

The line on this game dropped from 2.5 early in the week, perhaps because Vegas isn’t convinced Minnesota star running back Darius Taylor will be healthy enough to play. This is a huge game for the Bears, their best opponent on the non-conference slate.

— Boston College (minus-12.5) at Stanford, 7:30 p.m., ACC Network

The Cardinal is the lowest-scoring team (11.5 points) among the Power 4 conferences and the Eagles are one of the most potent offensive teams (53.0 points). It’s getting harder to find a victory on Stanford’s schedule.

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