This Week in the ACC: Will We See Tricks or Treats on Halloween?

The eight game schedule of conference matchups has a few intriguing games, but others that won't warrant chocolates

Miami quarterback Darian Mensah | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Week 9 of the ACC season gives us eight conference games, all played on Saturday, otherwise known as Halloween.

So how do we assess this week’s slate of games?

Well, in keeping with the holiday, there are tricks (most of them) and treats (a few).

*** Tosh Lupoi talks in the video above about how Cal will prepare for an NC State team that made a coaching change this week.

Here goes: 

THIS WEEK IN THE ACC

Point spreads by DraftKings

Saturday

No. 19 SMU (minus-10.5) at Syracuse, 9 a.m., ESPN2

SMU (6-1, 4-1) shares second place with No. 14 Wake Forest (6-1, 4-1). November 14 looms as a showdown between the Mustangs and Demon Deacons, with the winner likely headed to the ACC title game to face Miami. Before that, the Orange (3-4, 1-4) hopes to make this a trap game. Syracuse comes off a 31-30 overtime victory at North Carolina, which came on the heels of an eight-point loss to Louisville and a three-point defeat to Virginia. Halloween verdict: Treat

Cal (plus-7) at NC State, 9 a.m., ACC Network

The Bears (3-5, 2-3) have something to prove after last week’s catastrophic second half. The Wolfpack (3-4, 1-3) will try to catch a second wind after the firing of coach Dan Doeren following a loss at Stanford. These are lower-division squads in the ACC, but the matchup promises to be competitive and unpredictable. Halloween verdict: Treat

Boston College (plus-7) at Duke, 9 a.m., CW Network

Winners of two in a row and competitive in losses to SMU and Virginia Tech, BC (4-3, 2-2) is making a case to be the most surprising team in the conference. The Blue Devils (5-2, 2-2) were that team a year ago, winning the ACC championship game. This matchup features team that run the ball a lot and run it effectively. Halloween verdict: Trick

Stanford (plus-22.5) at Louisville, 12:30 p.m., ACC Network

The Cardinal (4-4, 2-3) also has won two in a row, although one of those victories came at the expense of Elon. Before that, Stanford lost back-to-back to Wake and Notre Dame by a combined 115-10. So we’re reserving judgment. Louisville (4-3, 3-2) brings the ACC’s No. 2 scoring offense (38.7 ppg) against the worst scoring defense (35.5 ppg). Halloween verdict: Trick

Virginia (plus-12.5) at No. 14 Wake Forest, 12:45 p.m., ESPN2 

The Cavaliers (4-4, 2-3) have scored 16 points or fewer in three of their past four games, losing all three. Wake (6-1, 4-1) has won four in a row and by an average margin of more than 37 points over the past three. Halloween verdict: Trick

 Clemson (plus-6) at Florida State, 4 p.m., ACC Network

There was a time — not that long ago — that this would have been an ACC titanic. But the Tigers (4-3, 2-2) can’t play offense and Seminoles (3-4, 1-3) struggle on defense. Halloween verdict: Trick

No. 1 Miami (minus-14) at North Carolina, 4:30 p.m., ABC

The Hurricanes (7-0, 5-0) are worth watching simply to see what QB Darian Mensah (81.4 percent, 22 TDs, 1 INT) and WR Malachi Toney (66 catches, 11 TDs) might do next. Bill Belichick’s Tar Heels (4-3, 2-2) had started to make us believers until their 31-30 home loss to Syracuse last week. Even so . . . Halloween verdict: Treat

Georgia Tech (plus-7.5) at Pitt, 4:30 p.m., ESPN2

The Yellow Jackets (2-5, 1-3) have just one victory over an FBS opponent. The Panthers (5-3, 2-3) scored 192 points through five wins to start the season but just 61 in three losses since starting QB Mason Heintschel went down. Halloween verdict: Trick

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. 

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