No. 4 Miami may be sitting alone at the top of the ACC, but the race behind the Hurricanes is still jammed. Entering Week 6, 13 league teams have no more than one conference loss, which leaves the fight for the No. 2 spot wide open even if Miami looks a step ahead of everybody else.
The Hurricanes are idle this week, but they’re still the standard in the league at 3-0 in ACC play. Pitt is right behind at 2-0, while Duke has opened conference play 1-0.
SMU, Wake Forest and Clemson are all sitting at 2-1, and seven more teams, Cal included, have only one ACC defeat. For now, the assumption is that Miami will make it to the Dec.
5 ACC championship game in Charlotte, NC. Figuring out who meets the Hurricanes there is the harder part.
Cal’s path gets a little more serious if the Bears can take down visiting Virginia Tech. Cal has only one win over an FBS opponent, and the Bears will need more than that to stay in the conversation. The Hokies also come in at 1-1 in conference play, but they look like a team with enough offense to make things difficult.
One of the more intriguing matchups Saturday sends Florida State to Louisville at 4 p.m. on ESPN. The Seminoles rolled Virginia 38-7 last week behind fifth-year quarterback Ashton Daniels, who tied a 58-year-old program record by rushing for five touchdowns.
Florida State is 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the ACC. Louisville is 2-3 and 1-2, with a strange profile: two wins by an average of 28 points, three losses by three points apiece.
At 9 a.m. on ESPN, North Carolina visits No. 25 Pittsburgh.
The Panthers are 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the ACC after backup Holden Geriner helped them rally past Virginia Tech 35-33 following the season-ending knee injury to quarterback Mason Heintschel. Pitt’s comeback was its first from 14 points down in a conference win since 2002, according to ESPN.
North Carolina comes in at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in league play after making Notre Dame work in a 37-26 loss.
Wake Forest and NC State meet at 9 a.m. on The CW, and the Demon Deacons arrive off one of the loudest statements of the week. Quarterback Gio Lopez ran for three touchdowns and threw two more in Wake’s 57-3 win over Stanford, the program’s biggest ACC victory by margin.
Wake is 4-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play. NC State, now 3-2 and 1-1, beat Louisville 31-28 last week and has won three of the last four meetings with Wake.
Duke’s 4-0 start has been fueled by sophomore Nate Sheppard, who leads the nation with 161.0 rushing yards per game and averages 7.1 yards per carry. That kind of production could spell trouble for Georgia Tech, which is 1-3 overall, 0-1 in the ACC, and ranks 123rd nationally against the run at 189 yards allowed per game.
No. 3 Notre Dame hosts Stanford at 12:30 p.m. on NBC after the Cardinal’s 57-3 loss at Wake Forest, a defeat that matched Stanford’s worst since a 72-0 loss to UCLA in 1954 and extended its road losing streak to 13 games. Notre Dame has won 15 straight, and every one of those victories has come by double digits.
Later at 12:30 p.m. on ACC Network, Virginia Tech visits Cal. The Bears will need to protect whoever is under center, because the Hokies lead the ACC with 18 sacks. Defensive ends Aycen Stevens, with 5.5 sacks, and Cortez Harris, with five, are both among the conference’s top four in that category.
Syracuse travels to Virginia at 4:30 p.m. on ACC Network in a game that pairs two teams trying to steady themselves after sharp swings in performance. The Orange are 2-2 overall and 0-2 in the league, and they’ve averaged 54 points in their two wins but only 15.5 in their two losses. Virginia is 3-2 and 1-1 after the 38-7 defeat to Florida State, and the Cavaliers have given up just 14 points in each of their three wins while allowing 38 in both losses.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
In Other News...
Cal Offense Suddenly Has One Big Question Before Virginia Tech
Cals offense looked a lot different in the second half against UNLV, when Tosh Lupoi handed the play-calling duties to Pat McCann and the unit responded with 24 points after halftime. The switch gave Cal a needed spark and, just as important, it introduced a new layer of uncertainty heading into a tougher matchup with Virginia Tech, where the Bears are still searching for the right rhythm and identity on that side of the ball.
Virginia Tech coach James Franklin acknowledged the uncertainty around what Cal might do next, pointing both to the change in who is calling the plays and to the absence of several key players from the Bears roster. For Cal, the question is no longer whether the offense can look more productive than it did early against UNLV. It is whether that second-half burst was a one-game adjustment or the start of something more stable when the Bears take the field again. [Read more 🡒]
Mark Madsen Is Selling Bigger Cal Expectations Despite Major Changes
Mark Madsen is still working his way back after knee surgery, but the Cal coach made time to join ACC media day remotely as the Bears begin shaping a new season around a different-looking roster. Coming off a 22-win campaign, Cal has plenty of reason to talk bigger in year two under Madsen, even with several transfers gone and new recruits arriving to fill out the rotation.
The challenge now is turning that optimism into production, especially with so much of last seasons offense having to be replaced. Madsen has made clear the Bears expect more, and the first chance to see how the pieces fit comes Nov. 2, when Cal opens against Adams State at Haas Pavilion. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Made A Desperate Offensive Change Fans Need To Watch
Cals offense was already searching for answers when the UNLV game hit halftime, and the Bears made a change that spoke volumes about how urgently they wanted a spark. Tosh Lupoi confirmed that playcalling duties moved from offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville to pass game coordinator Pat McCann in the middle of the game, a switch made as the Bears were chasing the scoreboard and trying to steady an attack that had not been meeting expectations.
The timing only added to the sense of pressure around the decision, with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele exiting after a concussion and athletic director Ron Rivera acknowledging the offense had fallen short of what the program wanted. McCanns adjustment did help Cal briefly wrest control back, even if the finish still went UNLVs way, and it leaves the Bears with an obvious question hanging over the next stretch: whether this was a one-game rescue or the start of something more permanent. [Read more 🡒]