ACC Football Game Picks: Cal's Final Dress Rehearsal Before ACC Debut

The Bears host San Diego State the week before taking on a struggling but potentially dangerous Florida State squad

Justin Wilcox celebrates Cal's win at Auburn / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK

It’s a scenario for Saturday we could not have imagined: With one week to go before Cal makes its debut in the Atlantic Coast Conference against defending champion Florida State, the Bears will be trying to remain unbeaten and the Seminoles will try to avoid staying winless.

Cal, which beat UC Davis and Auburn in its first two outings, is a heavy favorite to mprove to 3-0 with a win over San Diego State on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.

The Cal-SDSU game now has an intriguing twist: A matchup between a team that just left the Pac-12 and one positioned to join the league in 2026.

FSU, 13-0 during the regular season a year ago, lost to Georgia Tech in Ireland and Boston College at home to open this season at 0-2 and last in the ACC standings. After a week off to regroup, the Seminoles play Memphis, which crushed two overmatched foes by a combined score of 78-17.

Cal coach Justin Wilcox talks in the video above about Saturday's matchup vs. the Aztecs, led by first-year coach Sean Lewis and freshman quarterback Danny O'Neil.

Here are this week’s games involving ACC teams and our picks:

Last week: Jeff 11-3, Jake 9-5

Season: Jake 21-11, Jeff 21-11

All picks against the spread 

Betting line from sisportsbook.com

Saturday

— Memphis (plus-6.5) at Florida State, 9 a.m., ESPN

Jake: Are the Seminoles mad or sad about their 0-2 start. If they’re mad they might crush Memphis, but if they’re sad it could be 0-3. Pick: Florida State

Jeff: Can the Seminoles win this game by 7 points? Can they win it at all? They will have had two weeks to fix the mess that has been the start of this season. Without a lot of confidence . . . Pick: Florida State

— Louisiana Tech (plus-21.5) at North Carolina State, 9 a.m., ACC Network

Jake: The Wolf Pack wants to erase its embarrassing performance against Tennessee by dominating a Louisiana Tech team that had to struggle to beat Nicholls. But is NC State really any good? Pick: North Carolina State

Jeff: NC State should win this game, and decisively. But by 22 points? The Wolfpack only beat Western Carolina by 17, and the Caramounts are 0-2. Pick: Louisiana Tech

— No. 24 Boston College (plus-16.5) at No. 6 Missouri, 9:45 a.m., SEC Network

Jake: It’s still difficult to evaluate the significance of Boston College’s road win over Florida State, and Missouri looks like an SEC contender. Pick: Boston College

Jeff: Mizzou has allowed a total of 82 passing yards in two shutout victories, but BC thrives on a ground attack that is producing nearly 283 rushing yards per game. If the Eagles can run the ball and shorten the game, they can make this game competitive. Pick: Boston College

— Ball State (no line) at Miami, 12:30 p.m., ACC Network

Jake: Cam Ward will put up big numbers, but this might not be the blowout people expect. Pick: Miami

Jeff: If there was a line on this game, what would it be? Maybe 30 points? Even that may be enough with the Hurricanes winning their first two games by an average margin of 35.5. Pick: Miami

— VMI (no line) at Georgia Tech, 12:30 p.m., ESPN+/ACC Extra

Jake: The Virginia Military Institute lost at home to Bucknell last week. Enough said. Pick: Georgia Tech

Jeff: Winless VMI lost 41-7 to William and Mary. This could be ugly. Pick: Georgia Tech

— West Virginia (minus-2.5) at Pittsburgh, 12:30 p.m., ESPN2

Jake: Pitt QB Eli Holstein was lousy for three quarters but great in the fourth quarter of the Panthers’ win over Cincinnati. We figure he’ll carry that momentum into this heated rivalry game. Pick: Pitt

Jeff: This is a big rivalry, and not a real friendly one. The Panthers have some momentum after a big road win over Cincinnati. Pick: Pittsburgh

— UConn (plus-16.5) at Duke, 3 p.m., ESPN+/ACC Extra

Jake: Duke QB Maalik Murphy seemed to find his groove in the overtime against Northwestern, and he’ll continue a high level of play against UConn. Pick: Duke

Jeff: Most years, this would be a terrific basketball game. This matchup, not so much. We’re not terribly impressed by UConn’s 46-point win over Merrimack. Pick: Duke

— North Carolina Central (no line) at North Carolina, 3 p.m., ESPN+/ACC Extra

Jake: UNC QB Conner Harrell has been OK, not great, since the loss of Max Johnson for the season. OK is good enough against North Carolina Central. Pick: North Carolina

Jeff: A big game for running back Omarion Hampton. Well, a big half . . . which will be plenty. Pick: North Carolina

— Virginia Tech (minus-14.5) at Old Dominion, 3 p.m., ESPN+

Jake: Old Dominion is 0-2 but the two losses were by a combined margin of 10 points, and Virginia Tech still has to prove it’s as good as its preseason hype. Pick: Old Dominion

Jeff: The Hokies lost in overtime to Vanderbilt two weeks ago in their previous road game, but Old Dominion (0-2) isn’t going to match that performance. Pick: Virginia Tech 

— No. 5 Ole Miss (minus-23.5) at Wake Forest, 3:30 p.m., CW Network

Jake: Mississippi has won its first two games by a combined margin of 125 points, but this is still a huge spread considering the game is at Wake Forest. Pick: Wake Forest

Jeff: One-time USC quarterback Jaxson Dart and the Rebels lead the nation in passing yards (463 yards per game). They could feast on a Demon Deacons defense that ranks 105th nationally against the pass. Pick: Ole Miss

— Maryland (minus-2.5) at Virginia, 5 p.m., ACC Network

Jake: Virginia rallied to beat Wake Forest on the road last week, so the Cavaliers and quarterback Anthony Colandrea are feeling pretty good about themselves. Pick: Virginia

Jeff: Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea threw three interceptions last year in a 42-14 road loss to the Terps. Colandrea has passed for 654 yards and five touchdowns through a pair of victories and will be eager to square things at home. Pick: Virginia

— San Diego State (plus-18.5) at Cal, 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Jake: Cal is getting massive kudos for its win over Auburn while the Aztecs were shut out by Oregon State. But Cal may not have enough offense to cover. Pick: San Diego State

Jeff: The Bears will win this game — the home has prevailed in all previous eight matchups. But without four or five (if Jaydn Ott doesn’t play) offensive starters, Cal may struggle to score enough points to cover this spread. Pick: San Diego State