It’s another week of ACC football and I’m running out of creative ways to introduce this article. With that, let’s just get to the previews for some of the league’s contests.
Pittsburgh @ UVa (+4.5) O/U 40: The Hoos continue their four game homestand against Pittsburgh on Saturday. UVa covered in its 31-28 loss to North Carolina last week and could do so again on Saturday. My concern is the continued lackluster play of Brennan Armstrong and of course the status of their skill position players who missed that last game. Pittsburgh has its third road tilt over the last four weeks after a very home friendly stretch to start the season. In many respects, they’ve been a disappointment themselves as their defense can’t get stops and their offense has been underwhelming. With a lot of question marks on both sides, it makes it hard to put a wager on this one. I do think there’s some value with the home team though if some of those WR’s return for this one.
Virginia Tech @ Duke (-9.5) O/U 49.5: The past two weeks the Hokies have actually scored some points, but have also blown 11 point leads on their way to one point losses. I said it last week and I’ll say it again, I really don’t know where this team’s head is at considering there will be no bowl in their future and really their season comes down to the last week in the rivalry game. I’d like to think the Hokies defense will show up in this one, but I also thought betting on UVa in Durham was a good idea. I know it’s crazy to say, but I’m still not a huge believer in the Blue Devils on the gridiron. My only lean here would be the over as I think Tech can score on Duke. Should we just pencil in another one point win for the home team after the road squad blows a double digit lead?
Florida State @ Syracuse (+6.5) O/U 51: Syracuse is all kinds of injured right now as every week brings another injury or two to this team. It was a winnable game in Pittsburgh last week for the Orange, but the backup QB struggled to get anything going and Sean Tucker was lightly used once again. Now it’s their final home game of the season, but who is going to be available. The coach has not said much about Garrett Shrader’s status so we won’t know before kickoff. Florida State is coming off demolishing their rival Miami last week and is playing their final road contest of the season before two at home. My lean here is to the home team, but I can’t wager on them until Saturday when maybe a leak comes out about the signal caller’s status.
Miami @ Georgia Tech (-1.5) O/U 44: This line is insane because before the season, the Canes might have been a double digit favorite. Now Miami is a slight underdog against a Georgia Tech team that may not be using their starting quarterback. If you thought Virginia Tech had checked out on the season, where is Miami at considering they just got blasted by their rival and had their fans leaving before halftime. The Yellow Jackets went over their 3.5 preseason win total number and all it took was firing Geoff Collins and getting some games against the lower part of the conference. There’s no way you could get me to bet on Miami in this one as this contest screams massive letdown. If Jeff Sims is in, I’ll be playing Georgia Tech.
Louisville @ Clemson (-7) O/U 52: Where’s Clemson’s motivation levels after getting embarrassed by Notre Dame last week? The lack of offense finally caught up to them and now they need some minor miracles to get into the college football playoffs. Louisville is smoking hot having won four in a row with solid offense and just enough defense to get by. If Clemson is focused, then they should win this game at home where they are tough to beat. The Cardinals haven’t played in Death Valley since 2018 when they lost 77-16 to the Tigers. This is the perfect contest to bet live as we’ll get an idea early if Clemson is motivated or if Louisville is going to give them a battle. Live betting is a great way to make some money on a Saturday when you have no idea what to expect.
Matt is the host of Border to Border from 3-4pm ET on 106.1 FM out of Richmond Virginia. He's a sports handicapper on Sportsmemo (Matt Josephs Betting Picks, Futures, & Predictions | Sportsmemo) and writes articles for Athlon Sports (Articles by Matt Josephs (Mid Major Matt) - AthlonSports.com | Expert Predictions, Picks, and Previews)
