This Week in the ACC: How Many Incompletions Will Darian Mensah Throw?

Things get interesting this week in the ACC, where currently Cal sits alongside three top-25 teams atop the conference standings at 1-0.

No. 5 Miami visits Wake Forest in a duel of 2-0 teams that may or may not be competitive.

North Carolina and Clemson make their ACC season debuts in matchup where one team is perhaps better than we expected and the other not as good.

And Florida State, will trying to convince everyone it’s for real, gets an unforgiving measuring stick in front of a national TV audience on Saturday when it visits No. 10 Alabama.

Cal is back home to face FCS-level Wagner, coming off an embarrassing defeat the Bears say they won’t dwell on. Coach Tosh Lupoi talks in gthe video above about what he's looking for on Saturday -- on and off the field.

THIS WEEK IN THE ACC

Point spreads by DraftKings

THURSDAY

Syracuse (plus-10.5) at Pittsburgh, 4:30 p.m., ESPN

The Orange (1-1, 0-1 ACC), coming off its 21-18 loss at home to Cal, treks to Pittsburgh (2-0, 0-0), which showed some defense in a 12-7 win over Central Florida, holding the Knights scoreless until the final 3 minutes. Syracuse hasn't won at Pitt since 2001.

FRIDAY

No. 5 Miami (minus-20.5) at Wake Forest, 4:30 p.m., ESPN

Here’s a ridiculous statistic: Quarterback Darian Mensah, who directs the nation’s No. 2 scoring team at 61.0 points per game, has twice as many touchdown passes (8) as incompletions (4) for the Hurricanes (2-0, 1-0). Wake (2-0, 0-0) will try to combat that with a pass defense ranked 106th nationally.

SATURDAY

Mercer (no line) at Georgia Tech, 9 a.m., ACC Network

Early mixed returns on Georgia Tech QB Alberto Mendoza — Fernando’s little brother — who has passed for 458 yards but has two interceptions and just one TD pass in two defeats. Mercer (1-1) was ranked No. 14 in FCS before a 20-13 upset loss last week to Furman.

North Carolina (plus-3.5) at Clemson, 9 a.m., ESPN

So far, so good in Year 2 for UNC coach Bill Belichick, at least on the field. The Tar Heels (2-0, 0-0) have allowed just one touchdown in two victories and that came on a 25-yard drive after a punt return. Clemson (1-1, 0-0) actually has more to prove at this point after getting punked by LSU then beating Georgia Southern 22-7. Freshman Tait Reynolds will make his first start at quarterback after Chris Vizzina injured his arm.

NC State at Vanderbilt (plus-3.5), 9:45 a.m., SEC Network

Will the real Wolfpack (1-1) please stand up? NC State opened with a decisive 34-8 loss at Virginia, then crushed Richmond 73-0. Vanderbilt (2-0) will give five-star freshman prospect Jared Curtis his first career start after he completed 67 percent of his attempts off the bench the first two games.

Maine (no line) at Boston College, 11 a.m., ACC Network-X

Boston College (1-1) cannot afford to lose to an FCS opponent that is 1-2 and is scoring less than 13 points per game. BC’s weakness has been a defense that ranks 125th nationally against the run, allowing 204 rushing yards per game. Not sure Maine (1-2) can take advantage.

Florida State (plus-19.5) at No. 10 Alabama, 12:30 p.m., ABC

FSU (1-1) was tied against 17th-ranked SMU entering the fourth quarter before losing 27-24. The outcome preceded FSU athletic director Michael Alford being fired on Monday. Coach Mike Norvell, on shaky ground at 39-35 in his seventh season, would benefit from an upset win over the Crimson Tide (2-0), who are averaging 46.5 points.

No. 16 SMU (plus-1.5) at No. 23 Louisville, 12:30 p.m., ESPN2

SMU (2-0, 1-0) blasted Louisville (1-1) 38-6 last season behind a big-time effort by Kevin Jennings, who passed for 303 yards and three touchdowns. Jennings has been terrific through two games with 767 passing yards and eight TDs to go with a 77-percent completion rate. The Cardinals (1-1, 0-0) will counter with Ohio State transfer Lincoln Kienholz, who has passed or run for seven touchdowns through two games.

Wagner at Cal (no line), 12:30 p.m., ACC Network

Cal (1-1) has played 17 games against FCS teams since 2005. The Bears have won all 17, by an average score of 44-15. Only one game was settled by fewer than 12 points. Wagner (1-2) is coming off an 87-3 loss to James Madison.

Stanford (plus-9.5) at Duke, 1 p.m., CW Network

Stanford (1-1, 0-1) is allowing just 83.5 rushing yards per game at 3.1 yards per carry. But how will that translate against Duke (2-0, 0-0) and running back Nate Sheppard, who has rushed for an NCAA-leading 374 yards in two games? Sheppard totaled 1,132 yards as a freshman last season, then gained 227 yards against Tulane in the season opener.

No. 25 Virginia (minus-10.5) vs. West Virginia at Charlotte, NC, 4:30 p.m., ACC Network

These two schools met for the first time in 1898, but have not squared off since Virginia (2-0) beat West Virginia 48-22 in the 2002 Continental Tire Bowl and Mountaineers fans and campus officials were offended by the Virginia pep band’s halftime performance, which mocked West Virginia (2-0) with stereotypes.

Virginia Tech (minus-3) at Maryland, 4:30 p.m.

The Hokies (2-0) have scored 117 points — most in their first two games since they began playing football in 1892. The Terrapins (2-0) aren’t far behind in the scoring department, totaling 100 points so far.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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