Tar Heels and Demon Deacons Ready to Entertain Once Again
The biggest question in the ACC in Week 11 is what will North Carolina and Wake Forest will do for an encore after they combined for 113 points and 1,161 yards.
North Carolina can take another step towards reaching the ACC title game and set up a likely matchup with Clemson.
Six of the seven games have college football odds point spreads under 10 points so this could be an entertaining slate of games.
According to the college football playoff odds, Clemson (-375) remains the favorite to win the ACC title followed by North Carolina as the Tar Heels are priced at +250.
Clemson fell to 10th in the College Football Playoffs and 12th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll while North Carolina is 15th in both of those rankings.
Let’s check the latest NCAAF picks, stats, injury reports, and NCAAF predictions. We’ve plenty of NCAAF expert picks for you to consider.
Game of the Week
North Carolina vs Wake Forest
- Game, time (TV): Saturday, Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
- Line: Wake Forest -3½
After reaching the ACC Championship Game last season, Wake Forest (6-3, 2-3 in the ACC) is now in a spoiler role as the Demon Deacons try to hand North Carolina (8-1, 5-0) its first conference loss of the season.
The game will feature two of the most productive quarterbacks in the ACC.
Tar Heels redshirt freshman Drake Maye leads the conference with 2,964 passing yards, 31 touchdown passes and a passer rating of 181.8.
Drake Maye on 10+ yard throws (Power 5):
🔹84 completions (1st)
🔹1,930 yards (1st)
🔹22 TDs (1st)
🔹135.7 Passer Rating (1st) pic.twitter.com/k7VwmLptKh— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 7, 2022
Wake Forest‘s Sam Hartman is second with 2,423 yards and 24 TD passes. He had five touchdown passes in last year’s game against North Carolina and four TDs in the 2020 game.
UNC’s Josh Downs leads the ACC with 63 catches despite missing two games while Wake Forest’s A.T. Perry has 47 catches. In last year’s wild 58-55 game, Perry had a pair of TD catches.
North Carolina leads the ACC with 40.6 points per game and has given up the most points as well.
Five of the last six games between the Tar Heels and Demon Deacons went over the total with an average of 76½ points in those contests. The total is set at 78 for this matchup.
Rest of the Schedule
Virginia Tech vs Duke
- Date, time (TV): Friday, Nov. 12, 12 noon ET (ESPN3)
- Line: Duke -9½
Duke (6-3, 3-2) needs to keep on winning and get some help from rival North Carolina to make an improbable run to the ACC Coastal Division title.
The Blue Devils were the only ACC team to allow more than 500 yards per game in 2021. The number has dropped under 400 this season.
Duke’s Riley Leonard leads all ACC quarterbacks with 577 rushing yards.
Virginia Tech (2-7, 1-5) is last in the conference in total offense, putting up 317 yards per game and just 4.7 yards per play.
Each of the last three games in the series went over the total. The total is at 50 for this matchup per the college football betting lines.
Pittsburgh vs Virginia
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Nov. 12, 12 noon ET (ACC Network)
- Line: -4½
Defending ACC champion Pittsburgh won’t be returning to the ACC title game. However, the Panthers can become bowl eligible and move to .500 in conference play with a win.
Pittsburgh’s Kedon Slovis and Brennan Armstrong are two of the lowest-rated starting quarterbacks in the ACC.
Pitt (5-4, 2-3) played without Israel Abanikanda, the conference rushing leader so keep an eye on his status.
Virginia’s offense went from leading the ACC with 516.3 yards per game a season ago to 366.3 in 2022. Quarterback Brennan Armstrong has rushed for nine TDs even while his passing numbers have fallen for the Cavaliers (3-6, 1-5).
Pitt has won five of the last six games against Virginia.
Louisville vs Clemson
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Nov. 12, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
- Line: Clemson -7
Clemson tumbled six spots to 10th in the College Football Playoff rankings but the Tigers are closing in on a return to the ACC title game.
Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has one touchdown pass and three interceptions over the last two games for Clemson (8-1, 6-0).
Since returning to action after missing the Virginia game, Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham has rushed for 84 yards over three games after topping the 100-yard mark in three of the first five games for the Cardinals (6-3, 3-3).
Clemson has won the last seven meetings against Louisville and the Tigers have covered in each of the last five matchups.
Boston College vs North Carolina State
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Nov. 12, 3:30 p.m. ET (ACC Network)
- Line: North Carolina State -19
North Carolina State (7-2, 3-2) is coming off back-to-back wins while averaging 340.5 yards per game as the Wolfpack is without injured starting quarterback Devin Leary.
The NC State defense has allowed 67 rushing yards over the last two games.
Boston College (2-7, 1-5) has dropped four games in a row. The Eagles have averaged the fewest rushing yards per game, putting up just 68.3 yards per contest.
The Eagles were without starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec in last week’s loss to Duke and it is uncertain if he will be able to play on Saturday.
Six of the last seven games between Boston College and North Carolina State went under the Las Vegas odds total. It might be hard to accomplish with the total set at 42. Something that could be of interest to those who bet online, the visiting team has won five of the last seven games in the series.
Miami vs Georgia Tech
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Nov. 12, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN3)
- Line: Georgia Tech -1½
Not too many people would have had Georgia Tech being ahead of Miami in the ACC’s Coastal Division standings heading into this matchup.
The Hurricanes (4-5, 2-3) were picked to win the division heading into the season but are currently tied for fourth and three games behind North Carolina.
Miami had 62 passing yards in last week’s loss to Florida State, the fewest since a 2018 bowl loss to Wisconsin.
Nine of the top 15 tacklers for the Hurricanes are freshmen or sophomores and that has led to some inconsistent play.
Georgia Tech (4-5, 3-3) is 3-2 since firing head coach Geoff Collins. The total offense and defense numbers are pretty much the same since the move.
Georgia Tech has scored touchdowns on just nine of its 31 drives into the red zone.
The Yellow Jackets have covered in each of the last four games with each of those contests being decided by seven points or less.
Florida State vs Syracuse
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Nov. 12, 8 p.m. ET (ACC Network)
- Line: Florida State -7
Both teams were 4-0 in September but have had issues maintaining that pace.
Florida State (6-3, 4-3) dropped three games in a row but have rebounded to win the last two including last week’s 45-3 blowout of rival Miami.
Syracuse (6-3, 3-2) has dropped three in a row after a 6-0 start.
Syracuse’s Sean Tucker and Trey Benson of Florida State are third and fourth in the ACC in rushing yards.
FSU‘s Jared Verse leads the conference with 12 tackles for loss.
The Seminoles have won nine of the last 10 games in the series with six of those games finishing over the total. The total is currently at 51.5 for Saturday’s game.
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