Week 12 ACC Betting Guide: Why Virginia will win on Saturday

Much to the chagrin of those of our Facebook followers who only want football articles titled "Fire Mike London Yesterday," the Weekly Betting Guide is BACK! There are eight ACC games on the docket in Week 12 and we still have a tie at the top of our Yahoo! Streaking The Lawn Pick 'Em league. Sometimes, haters, you just have to see the thing through.

Let's take a look at this week's games:

The Virginia Pick

Virginia is a 2.5-point home favorite against Duke.

I'm taking Virginia to win and cover here solely on the basis of superior coaching. Giggle.

And by that, I mean the Hoos will win because they're actually playing at a higher level than the Blue Devils at the moment. Duke has been embarrassed two weeks in a row. Virginia is 8-3 in its last 11 home games and is 7-2 ATS this year.

The Ranked Teams

#1 Clemson is a 29-point home favorite against Wake Forest

#4 Notre Dame is a 16.5-point favorite against Boston College at Fenway Park

#14 Florida State hosts Chattanooga this week. There is no line in the Yahoo! Pick 'Em league.

#17 North Carolina is a 6.5-point favorite on the road at Virginia Tech

I'm taking all of the favorites to cover in these games. Clemson got a scare last week at Syracuse. The Tigers won't mess around with Wake Forest. Notre Dame still needs to convince the committee it belongs in the College Football Playoff. It will easily handle a Boston College team that has struggled to score points all year.

UNC is flat out better than Virginia Tech. I know it will be emotional in Blacksburg on Saturday, but the Heels have looked phenomenal all season. They're simply at a different level at this point. And they'll have plenty of motivation themselves. A win against the Hokies puts Carolina in the ACC title game. They'll win by a touchdown. Meanwhile, I'll go out on a limb and say the Seminoles will pull it out against Chattanooga.

Playing Out The String

Pitt is a 2-point favorite at home against Louisville

N.C. State is a 17-point favorite at home against Syracuse

Miami hosts Georgia Tech. The line for that game is EVEN in the Yahoo! Pick 'Em league.

The clash between the Panthers and the Cardinals should settle the question of which team is the fourth-best in the ACC this season. Neither of these teams have a bad loss on their record this year, which is impressive. Louisville will probably go to a better bowl game no matter what based on travel reputation. I like the Panthers to cover by a field goal at home.

NC State hasn't won a home game since September. And at this point, their best win on the season looks like their Week 3 victory over Old Dominion. Let that settle in for a second. As you know by now, I'm a sucker for the Cuse this year. I'm taking the 17 points.

Finally, I like Miami to win at home against Georgia Tech. The Canes have more to play for this week.

Streaking The Lawn Pick 'Em Update

It's a three-player race in our pick 'em league with only two weeks left. "UVA Geek" and "HoosOn_First" are now tied with a 58-28 record. And "We suck. Wahoowa" is only one game back. 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 37th in the Streaking The Lawn pick 'em pool and 26-45 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.)