ACC Football: Game Predictions Straight up and Against the Spread for Week One
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Week one in college football has finally arrived and some of the biggest matchups of the weekend have ACC teams.
Tonight, Pitt and West Virginia renew their rivalry in the backyard brawl and Wake Forest gets to see what their offense can do without star quarterback Sam Hartman when the Demon Deacons take on VMI.
West Virginia and Pittsburgh revive one of the best rivalries in college football tonight
The ACC is also in some pivotal matchups on Saturday, but not in the way that you might think. NC State and North Carolina are both traveling to face a pair of group of five schools that want to pull the upset. The Wolfpack will take on East Carolina and the Tar Heels take on App State. The ACC needs both of these schools to win and avoid embarrassment. The conference is struggling with perception and losing the pair of games would not help.
So who wins these big matchups? Can Florida State take down LSU in New Orleans? Can Louisville get a big season opening win on the road at Syracuse?
Lets pick the games. All odds are courtesy of the Action Network
Note: I will have a prediction and breakdown of Georgia Tech vs Clemson later so I will not include Monday's game here.
Thursday
West Virginia At Pitt (-7.5)
Pitt running back Israel Abanikanda looks to lead the Panthers offense
The biggest game on Thursday night will be a great scene in Pittsburgh between two old rivals. The storylines in this game are going to be great. Both quarterbacks, Kedon Slovis and J.T Daniels, are former USC quarterbacks and will be going head-to-head. West Virginia has lost a lot to the transfer portal and head coach Neal Brown might be on the hot seat.
Pitt is going to have to replace the explosiveness of Jordan Addison and I think they may come out and run the ball tonight. I expect a lower scoring game with the Panthers getting a win in primetime.
Pitt 27, West Virginia 17 (Pitt Straight Up (SU) and Against the Spread (ATS))
VMI at Wake Forest (-31.5)
It will be interesting to see Wake Forest's offense without Hartman, but I expect it to be just fine in this game. There are other challenges ahead of Wake Forest and they will coast in this one.
Wake Forest 45, VMI 7 (Wake SU and ATS)
Friday
Virginia Tech linebacker Dax Hollifield looks to lead the Hokies defense on Friday
Virginia Tech (-6) At Old Dominion
This is dangerous territory for Virginia Tech. The Hokies have lost to Old Dominion on the road before and that would be a bad way to start off the Brent Pry tenure. Old Dominion is coming off of a six win season and bowl appearance. The Monarchs have some people thinking upset here, but I think Virginia Tech finds a way to survive the tricky road trip and get a win.
Virginia Tech 31, Old Dominion 14 (Virginia Tech SU and ATS)
Temple at Duke (-9)
This will be the first game for Duke under new head coach Mike Elko and they will be welcoming in what is projected to be one of the worst teams in the country, Temple.
Both of these teams are undergoing massive rebuilds and while I think Duke is the better team, I am not comfortable laying that many points with a team that I don't think is that good. Duke wins, but does not cover.
Duke 38, Temple 31 (Duke SU, Temple ATS)
Saturday
Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham is one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC
NC State (-11.5) At East Carolina
This has become a trendy potential upset pick, but I think the Wolfpack are legit and will take care of business on the road.
NC State 35, East Carolina 13 (NC State SU and ATS)
North Carolina (-1) At App State
This is the upset that I think will happen. I don't have a lot of confidence in North Carolina being able to stop the ground game of the Mountaineers. The Tar Heels offense will be fine, but their defense won't get enough stops and App State gets another win over North Carolina.
App State 34, UNC 30 (App State SU and ATS)
Rutgers At Boston College (-7)
The battle in the northeast is going to be a low-scoring game and I am going to lean on the team with the better quarterback and offense. Phil Jurkovec and Zay Flowers are one of the top tandems in the conference and I think that is the difference in this one.
Boston College 28, Rutgers 13 (Boston College SU and ATS)
Richmond at Virginia (-21.5)
Virginia is going to start the Tony Elliott era off with a win against their in-state FCS foe. Expect big numbers from quarterback Brennan Armstrong and these receivers.
Virginia 45, Richmond 17 (Virginia SU and ATS)
Bethune Cookman At Miami
There is not even a spread available for this game and that is because Miami is going to start off the Mario Cristobal era off with a monster win against an overmatched opponent.
Miami 65, Bethune Cookman 7
Louisville (-3.5) At Syracuse
One of the more under the radar games of the weekend will see Malik Cunningham and the Cardinals to go up to Syracuse to take on the Orange. This spread may seem small, but Syracuse could be a tougher out then people think and have the best running back in the ACC in Sean Tucker, along with a stingy defense.
However, I am pretty high on Louisville this year and think they find a way to win and cover on the road.
Louisville 31, Syracuse 20
Sunday
Florida State wide receiver Ontaria Wilson looks to get a big win against LSU
Florida State vs LSU (-3.5)
The biggest ACC game of the weekend will have Florida State taking on LSU in New Orleans on Sunday night. I think this is a fascinating game and the winner will get a big boost to its season. Florida State already has a win under their belt after beating Duquesne last week, but this is obviously a much different challenge.
LSU is keeping their quarterback situation under wraps, even though most seem to think Arizona State transfer Jayden Daniels will get the nod. I think it will come down to if Florida State can block a terrific LSU front four and I think the Tigers just have more talent than the Seminoles. Expect a close and competitive game that sees LSU get a win on Sunday.
LSU 24, Florida State 20 (LSU Straight up and Against the Spread)
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