Week 11 Betting Guide: ACC Games

With Separation Saturday behind us, we’re coming down the home stretch on the 2015 ACC football season. Seven games are on tap this weekend and a lot remains undecided. Can Clemson run the table? Will North Carolina clinch the division? Will Virginia break its road losing streak? Let’s dig into Week 11 to find out.

The Virginia Pick

Virginia is a 14-point underdog on the road against Louisville

If you'd bet money on Virginia this season, you would have done very well for yourself. The Hoos might be 3-6, but they’re 6-2 against the spread. I look for UVA to cover again this week on the road at Louisville. Mike London’s team is playing well enough to stay in games, but unfortunately not well enough to win many of them. Ultimately, these close losses will cost London his job.

The Atlantic Division

#1 Clemson is a 27.5-point favorite on the road at Syracuse

#4 Notre Dame is a 27-point favorite at home against Wake Forest

#16 Florida State is a 10-point favorite on the road at NC State

The Clemson and Notre Dame games are interesting from a motivation perspective. For the Tigers, all they need to do against Syracuse is win comfortably and come home healthy. The Irish, in contrast, might need more style points to impress the College Football Playoff committee. They won’t get many by blowing out Wake Forest, but it certainly couldn’t hurt them to run up the score a little bit. Meanwhile, Florida State enters what would be a classic trap game in Raleigh against NC State. The Wolfpack, however, haven’t won a home game since they beat Eastern Kentucky in September! I’m taking the Noles, the Cuse, and the Irish to cover.

The Coastal Division

#23 North Carolina is a 13-point home favorite against Miami

Duke is a 3.5-point home favorite against Pittsburgh

Georgia Tech is a 3-point home favorite against Virginia Tech

Carolina established itself as the best team in the division last week by pantsing Duke in Chapel Hill. Can the Heels match that effort against a resurgent Miami team? The Canes are 2-0 since Al Golden’s firing. I like Miami to cover and Carolina to win.

I told you last week that I was unimpressed with Duke. Then I went ahead and pick the Devils to cover against UNC. I learned my lesson in the process. Each of Pitt's three games this year have been to teams who are now ranked in the AP Top-20. I think they’ll win outright in Durham.

Finally, the Frank Beamer retirement saga officially kicks off against Georgia Tech. My heart is squarely with the Yellow Jackets, but this just seems like it will be one of those annoying Virginia Tech wins that we Wahoo fans are so used to watching. We’re not picking this game in our Streaking the Lawn Pick ‘Em, but I’d take the Hokies.

Streaking The Lawn Pick 'Em Update

The field has tightened considerably in our pick 'em pool. "UVA Geek" and "We Suck. Wahoowa" are now tied with a 53-27 record. And three other contestants are only one game behind at 52-28. Head over to Yahoo! to check out full standings and submit your entry for the week. Good luck!

(As always, these picks are for entertainment purposes only. I'm 39th in the Streaking The Lawn pick 'em pool and 22-43 against the spread. Please don't bet money based on the "wisdom"  you've just read. I'm agnostic to whether you bet money generally.)