Week 5 Primer
Week 5 is here and there is a ton of things going on in the ACC. Clemson went on the road and survived Wake Forest in Double Overtime in what was the game of the year so far in the ACC, NC State, Syracuse, and Florida State joined Clemson in getting to 4-0 on the season, the ACC has 5 ranked teams this week (6 in the Coaches Poll), and in not-so-great news, the Geoff Collins era is over at Georgia Tech; although, Collins may not be too upset after reportedly having an $11 million buyout.
Week 5 has 2 huge matchups in the conference with Wake Forest traveling to Florida State to try to stay alive in the Atlantic Division, and the biggest game in the country belongs to the ACC with a top ten matchup of NC State going to Clemson with the winner taking a huge advantage in the Atlantic race. Both of these games are on ABC, and I can't remember the last time the ACC had big enough games to lock down ABC for both the 3:30 and 7:30 slot. Should be a fun day tomorrow.
Week 5 Power Rankings
1) Clemson 4-0 (2-0)
Last Week: W 51-45 (2OT) @ Wake Forest
This Week: vs #10 NC State
2) NC State 4-0 (0-0)
Last Week: W 41-10 vs UConn
This Week: @ #5 Clemson
3) Florida State 4-0 (2-0)
Last Week: W 44-14 vs Boston College
This Week: vs #22 Wake Forest
4) Wake Forest 3-1 (0-1)
Last Week: L 45-51 (2OT) vs Clemson
This Week: @ #23 Florida State
5) Pitt 3-1 (0-0)
Last Week: W 45-24 vs Rhode Island
This Week: vs Georgia Tech
6) Syracuse 4-0 (2-0)
Last Week: W 22-20 vs Virginia
This Week: vs Wagner
7) North Carolina 3-1 (0-0)
Last Week: L 32-45 vs Notre Dame
This Week: vs Virginia Tech
8) Miami 2-2 (0-0)
Last Week: L 31-45 vs Middle Tennessee
This Week: BYE
9) Louisville 2-2 (0-2)
Last Week: W 41-3 vs South Florida
This Week: @ Boston College
10) Duke 3-1 (0-0)
Last Week: L 27-35 @ Kansas
This Week: vs Virginia
11) Virginia 2-2 (0-1)
Last Week: L 20-22 @ Syracuse
This Week: @ Duke
12) Virginia Tech 2-2 (1-0)
Last Week: L 10-33 vs West Virginia
This Week: @ North Carolina
13) Boston College 1-3 (0-2)
Last Week: L 14-44 @ Florida State
This Week: vs Louisville
14) Georgia Tech 1-3 (0-1)
Last Week: L 10-27 @ UCF
This Week: @ #24 Pitt
Week 5 Game Picks
Last Week:
ACC Guru: 6-5
Woodrow’s Winners: 5-6
Season Total:
ACC Guru: 25-23
Woodrow’s Winners: 22-25
Louisville at Boston College (+15.5) Saturday 12 PM ACCN
Woodrow's Winners: BC is so, so, so bad. I don't trust this Louisville team with this high a spread on the road, but I can't in good conscience take BC here. Louisville.
ACC Guru: Completely agree. BC looks terrible, and Louisville seems to be rounding into form after their bad start in Syracuse. Louisville big.
Wake Forest at Florida State (-7) Saturday 3:30 PM ABC
Woodrow's Winners: I know a rat line when I see it. This is screaming at you to take Wake. So I will take FSU.
ACC Guru: Welp, I'm taking the cheese! This line absolutely stinks, but I I think both of these teams are really good, and I don't care where they play, this seems like a one-possession game one way or the other. Sprinkle a little Wake ML on this one, too.
Virginia Tech at North Carolina (-9) Saturday 3:30 PM ACCN
Woodrow's Winners: Only team worse in the ACC this year other than BC might be Tech (sigh). Last week was so bad, and while I think the talent is there, this one can get out of hand because we simply can't score. Sadly, the Tar Heels roll.
ACC Guru: Virginia Tech's offense has shown me no reason to believe it can keep up with UNC's offense, but a cure to a bad offense just might be Carolina's defense. I think the Hokies force a couple turnover and UNC allows enough big plays for Tech to keep it within single digits.
Wagner at Syracuse (-55) Saturday 5 PM ESPN+
Woodrow's Winners: Syracuse laying 55 points! In football! I will never pick someone that high--too much has to go right. Give me Wagner.
ACC Guru: The Over/Under on this game is 59, meaning the score is supposed to be 55-4. That seems absurd. I'm on the Seahawks as well.
NC State at Clemson (-6.5) Saturday 7:30 PM ABC
Woodrow's Winners: I think this is the second rattiest line of the weekend. Clemson is not the Clemson of old and they are getting less than a touchdown at home? WOLFPACK!
ACC Guru: This game might not only decide the Atlantic Division winner, but also the ACC POY with Leary and Uiagalelei going head to head. This is NC State's Super Bowl, but Clemson is looking for revenge from last year. This should be a great game, but I think Clemson wins and barely covers.
Virginia at Duke (-2.5) Saturday 7:30 PM ESPN3
Woodrow's Winners: Yuck. I think these two are reverse on what their records show--UVA slightly better than what they are and Duke slightly worse. Duke at home by a field goal sounds right.
ACC Guru: The Virginia defense actually leads the conference in sacks and is 5th in points allowed. The offense actually looked competent in the 2nd half against Syracuse and Armstrong started getting into rhythm with his "all-star" receivers. I think they keep the momentum rolling and win outright.
Georgia Tech at Pitt (-22) Saturday 8 PM ACCN
Woodrow's Winners: GT is the reason I'm below .500...but now have a new coach. Forgive me father for I am sinning again. GT!
ACC Guru: The Ramblin' Wreck is already wrecked. You enjoy that crash. It's not getting any better for the Yellow Jackets. I'm taking Pitt by 4+ Touchdowns.
ACC Survivor Pool Update
We had 4 more people get eliminated last week, mostly thanks to Middle Tennessee. This week most people think Syracuse will be able take down mighty Wagner, with a few other teams teams sprinkled in. Things start getting interesting in the next couple weeks with more conference games and more byes on the schedule.
