ACC Football Game Picks: Who Wins Louisville-Notre Dame Game?

Cal has a bye in a weekend in which all the home teams are favored in games involving ACC teams

Louisville Cardinals quarterback Tyler Shough / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

How much of an advantage is the home field in a college football? Well, the home team is the favorite in all nine games involving ACC teams this weekend.

Cal will sit back and watch the competition this week as it enjoys a bye before next week’s game against No. 7 Miami, which hopes to impress a national television audience Friday night against Virginia Tech.

Louisville’s road game against Notre Dame is the game of national interest, but the Duke-North Carolina rivalry game will be the most interesting for folks in the Tar Heel state.

Last week: Jeff 4-8, Jake 6-6

Season: Jeff 33-23, Jake 32-24

All picks against the spread 

Betting line from vegasinsider.com

Friday

— Virginia Tech (plus-19.5) at Miami, 4:30 p.m., ESPN

Jake:  The Hurricanes don’t want to look bad as the only college game on national TV on Friday. Pick: Miami

Jeff: Miami’s average margin of victory through four games is 42 points and the Hurricanes are at home for their ACC opener. Pick: Miami

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Saturday 

— Western Kentucky (plus-13) at Boston College, 9 a.m., ACC Network

Jake:  Western Kentucky is better since Caden Veltkamp became its starting quarterback, and that should be enough to cover.   Pick: Western Kentucky

Jeff: I remain a BC believer. Both teams are 3-1 with a loss to a top-25 team. The Eagles lost by 6 to Missouri. WKU got crunched by 63 points against Alabama. Pick: Boston College

— Northern Illinois (plus-6.5) at North Carolina State, 9 a.m., The CW Network

Jake:  Northern Illinois’ home loss to Buffalo last week cancels out its big win over Notre Dame. North Carolina State has been a major disappointment, but I’ll hold my nose and . . .  Pick: North Carolina State

Jeff: The Huskies of the MAC were good enough to win on the road vs. Notre Dame. NC State played two games vs. Top-25 foes and lost by a combined total of 65 points. Getting the points, I’ll go with the visitors. Pick: Northern Illinois 

— Holy Cross (plus-28.5) at Syracuse, 9 a.m., ESPN+/ACC Extra

Jake: Expect Orange QB Kyle McCord to have a big game against Holy Cross, an FCS Patriot League title contender that is in over its head. Pick: Syracuse

Jeff: Syracuse is coming off a home defeat to Stanford while Holy Cross, at 1-3, has lost three times by a total of 11 points. The spread is too big. I hope. Pick: Holy Cross

— Louisville (plus-6) at Notre Dame, 12:30 p.m., Peacock

Jake: The margin in Louisville’s 31-19 win over Georgia Tech last week was deceiving: One TD came on a fumble return and another came on a blocked field goal. Pick: Notre Dame

Jeff: Best game of the day involving an ACC team. The Irish own a win over a good but not great Texas A&M team. Louisville scores a lot of points so I like its chances of keeping this close. Pick: Louisville

— Louisiana (plus-3) at Wake Forest, 12:30 p.m., ACC Network

Jake:  Wake QB Hank Bachmeier gets sacked too much, but if he can stay upright, the Demon Deacons should squeak out a win and cover. Pick: Wake Forest

Jeff: I’m struggling with this one. Wake is at home and should win this game, but the Demons Decons have lost twice since a win over North Carolina A&T. Pick: Wake Forest

— North Carolina (plus-2.5) at Duke, 1 p.m., ESPN2

Jake: UNC coach Mack Brown has won 13 straight games against the Blue Devils, but the Tar Heels are reeling after that embarrassing loss to James Madison. Pick: Duke

Jeff: Duke has beaten no one of significance but is 4-0. UNC allowed 70 points to James Madison. Pick: Duke

— Stanford (plus-21.5) at Clemson, 4 p.m., ESPN

Jake:  Clemson and QB Cade Klubnik have been rolling since the loss to Georgia. Stanford went cross country to beat Syracuse last week, but the Tigers are a different animal. Pick: Clemson

Jeff: Clemson looks like it’s figuring things out. Stanford will find this more difficult than winning at Syracuse. Pick: Clemson

— Florida State (plus-5.5) at SMU, 5 p.m., ACC Network

Jake:  Neither team has been as good as expected, but both showed signs of life in wins last week.  We’re not convinced the Seminoles have turned things around, though. Pick: SMU

Jeff: The Seminoles didn’t knock me out in a game Cal should have/could have won. SMU scored 66 points last week.  Pick: SMU

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