This Week in the ACC: Finding the No. 2 Team Still a Long Haul

While No. 4 Miami appears light years above of the pack atop the ACC standings, it’s a surprising reality entering Week 6 of the season that there are still 13 teams with no more than a single defeat in conference play.

The Hurricanes, idle this week, are the ACC leader at 3-0. Pitt is 2-0 and Duke, 4-0 overall, won its only conference game so far.

SMU, Wake Forest and Clemson all are situated in the near shadow of those three at 2-1 and seven more schools, including Cal, have just a single ACC defeat.

For our purposes here, we’re going to assume that the Hurricanes — whose plus-39.8 average margin of victory is highest among any Power Four team — will find its way to the Dec. 5 ACC championship game at Charlotte, NC.

Projecting who the ‘Canes might be matched against is trickier. Twelve teams still trail by no more than a game in the loss column.

If Cal, which owns just a single victory over an FBS opponent, wants to be taken seriously in this pursuit, the Bears will have to shock a visiting Virginia Tech team that shares Cal’s 1-1 ACC record but appears to have far too much offense.

THIS WEEK IN THE ACC

Point spreads by DraftKings

Friday

Florida State (plus-3.5) at Louisville 4 p.m., ESPN

Fifth-year quarterback Ashton Daniels tied a 58-year-old program record by rushing for five touchdowns as FSU (3-2, 1-1) crushed Virginia 38-7 on Saturday. Louisville (2-3, 1-2) has won twice by an average of 28 points and lost three times by three points each.

Saturday

North Carolina (plus-3.5) at No. 25 Pittsburgh, 9 a.m., ESPN

After a season-ending knee injury to quarterback Mason Heintschel, backup Holden Geriner helped the Panthers (5-0, 2-0 ACC) battle back to beat Virginia Tech 35-33, their first rally from 14 points down in a conference victory since 2002, per ESPN. The Tar Heels (2-2, 1-1) made Notre Dame work for a 37-26 victory.

Wake Forest (minus-3.5) at NC State, 9 a.m., The CW

Quarterback Gio Lopez ran for three touchdowns and threw two more as Wake (4-1, 2-1) crushed Stanford 57-3, the Demon Deacons’ largest margin of victory in an ACC game. NC State (3-2, 1-1), coming off a 31-28 win over Louisville, has beaten Wake three of the past four seasons.

Duke (minus-7) at Georgia Tech, 12:30 p.m., ESPN2

The Blue Devils (4-0, 1-0) are powered by sophomore Nate Sheppard, who leads the nation with 161.0 rushing yards per game lead the nation. He averages 7.1 yards per attempt, which could pose a problem for the Yellow Jackets (1-3, 0-1), who rank 123rd nationally in run defense, allowing 189 yards per game.

Stanford (plus-38.5) at No. 3 Notre Dame, 12:30 p.m., NBC

Stanford’s 57-3 loss at Wake Forest was its worst margin of defeat since a 72-0 loss to UCLA in 1954 and was its 13th consecutive road loss. The Fighting Irish have won 15 games in a row, all by double-digit margins. Yikes.

Virginia Tech (minus-9.5) at Cal, 12:30 p.m., ACC Network

Whoever is playing quarterback Saturday for the Bears (2-3, 1-1) will have to be aware that the Hokies (4-1, 1-1) lead the ACC with 18 sacks. Defensive ends Aycen Stevens (5.5 sacks) and Cortez Harris (5) rank among the top-4 in the conference in the category.

Syracuse (plus-9.5) at Virginia, 4:30 p.m., ACC Network

The Orange (2-2, 0-2) arrives just in time for the Cavaliers (3-2, 1-1), who will be smarting after their 38-7 loss to Florida State. Syracuse averaged 54 points in its two wins, just 15.5 in two losses. Likewise, Virginia allowed a total of just 14 points in its three victories, but was gashed for 38 in each of its setbacks.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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