After an exciting Week One, we are off and rolling again this evening as Louisville takes on Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. Justin Cates, Jeff Greenberg, and Mike McDaniel provide their picks below to all the Week Two ACC games on the slate. Will there be any surprises in the week one? Let’s find out.
#13 Louisville (1-0) Vs. Syracuse (1-0), 8:00 PM ET Friday, ESPN2
Line: Louisville -15.0
Cates: Louisville to win and cover
Greenberg: Louisville will win this game and cover. Too much too soon for Syracuse to handle in Babers’ first season.
McDaniel: Louisville wins and cover. Good luck stopping Lamar Jackson, Syracuse.
Virginia Tech (1-0) Vs. #17 Tennessee (1-0) at Bristol Motor Speedway, 8:00 PM ET Saturday, ABC
Line: Tennessee -11.5
Cates: Tennessee to win, Hokies to cover.
Greenberg: Tennessee got its wake-up call and will win at the track in Bristol, but Va Tech will keep it under the spread.
McDaniel: Tennessee wins but Virginia Tech will cover. I don’t like to put too much stock into the opening weekend, but the ‘Vols really struggled. They’ll be ready in a big-time match-up but the Hokies should keep this one close.
Boston College (0-1) Vs. UMass (0-1) at Gilette Stadium, 12:00 PM ET Saturday, ESPN3.com
Line: Boston College -17.0
Cates: BC to win, UMass to cover.
Greenberg: Boston College will shake off its jet lag, but not in time to cover the spread in its win here.
McDaniel: Can Boston College even score 17 points? They’ll win in a struggle against UMass, but not by 17. The Minutemen will cover.
NC State (1-0) Vs. East Carolina (1-0), 12:00 PM ET Saturday, ESPNU
Line: NC State -5.5
Cates: East Carolina to win.
Greenberg: The environment will be one of the best all weekend. The Pirates will come out firing the cannons and cover, but the Wolfpack’s running game will win the game for them.
McDaniel: This is a must-win for NC State in order to hit bowl eligibility in my opinion. I liked what I saw out of the Wolfpack in Week One, but they’ll have to be even better on Saturday to beat East Carolina. I think that they will. Wolfpack to win and cover.
Penn State (1-0) Vs. Pittsburgh (1-0), 12:00 PM ET Saturday, ESPN
Line: Pittsburgh -4.5
Cates: Pittsburgh to win.
Greenberg: Pitt is ready to represent western Pa, and will cover in their victory.
McDaniel: Pittsburgh wins and covers. The Panthers are just better across the board.
Charleston Southern (1-1) Vs. #3 Florida State (1-0), 12:30 PM ET Saturday, ACC Network Extra
Line: No Line
Cates: FSU to win.
Greenberg: FSU will win, but these guys won’t roll over for the Seminoles.
McDaniel: ‘Noles will win big. Half of Charleston Southern’s team is suspended over some formality over scholarship money relating to textbooks. Typical of the NCAA to come down hard the week CSU plays a national power.
Troy (1-0) Vs. #2 Clemson (1-0), 12:30 PM ET Saturday, ACC Network Extra
Line: Clemson -35.5
Cates: Clemson to win and cover.
Greenberg: Clemson will run down the hill after touching the rock, and won’t stop running until it puts up a big number. The Tigers will win but come up short of that spread.
McDaniel: It’s a good week for the Tigers offense to get rolling like we’re all used to. Clemson wins and covers.
Mercer (1-0) Vs. Georgia Tech (1-0, 1-0 ACC), 3:00 PM ET Saturday, ACC Network Extra
Line: No Line
Cates: GT to win.
Greenberg: GT will see how few times they’ll need to punt. I put the over/under at 2 as they cruise in this game.
McDaniel: I didn’t know Mercer had a football team….Georgia Tech by at least four touchdowns.
Wake Forest (1-0, 0-0 ACC) Vs. Duke (1-0, 0-0 ACC), 3:30 PM ET Saturday, ESPNU
Line: Duke -5.0
Cates: Duke to win and cover.
Greenberg: Wake Forest will come away with the upset as their defense gives Duke’s young QB trouble all day.
McDaniel: After watching Wake Forest struggle against Tulane last weekend, it only further affirmed my lack of belief in their offense. I love Duke to cover, and not sure this game will be all that close.
Florida Atlantic (1-0) Vs. #25 Miami (1-0), 6:00 PM ET Saturday, ACC Network Extra
Line: Miami -24.5
Cates: Miami to win and cover.
Greenberg: Miami will be showered and back in South Beach before Florida Atlantic knows what hit it then. The U will cover too.
McDaniel: Miami wins, covers, rolls, whatever other adjective you need. Like Georgia Tech, the Hurricanes will also win by at least four touchdowns.
North Carolina (0-1) Vs. Illinois (1-0), 7:30 PM ET Saturday, Big Ten Network
Line: North Carolina -7.0
Cates: UNC to win and cover.
Greenberg: UNC will be looking for the long ball to return this week, but keep an eye on Mr. Hood too. Heels win and cover.
McDaniel: Give the ball to Elijah Hood, and the Tar Heels cover. That simple.
Virginia (0-1) Vs. #24 Oregon (1-0), 10:30 PM ET Saturday, ESPN
Line: Oregon -24.5
Cates: Oregon to win, UVa to cover.
Greenberg: The Quack Attack is more lethal than spiders. They will cover and win.
McDaniel: Oregon, by a lot. They’ll cover.
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