Week 7 ACC Football Picks

The Week 7 ACC football picks include Florida State vs. Syracuse and North Carolina vs. Notre Dame, but not all of the games will stink.

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For example, the ACC Coastal has a meaningful game taking place on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta, and Louisville at Clemson might end up being a better contest than the point spread would lead one to believe.

Who rules in our conference this week?

Picks are against the spread as well as straight-up.

Week 7 ACC Football Picks:
Cincinnati at Miami (-15)

Saturday, 12pm ET (ESPN3)

Not much allure in this matchup as Cincinnati just got cleaned out by Memphis, while Miami has backslid to 3-3. Some picked them to win the ACC Coastal, but bowl eligibility becomes a problem for them if they fail to beat the Bearcats at home.

Fortunately for them, they should win, but it is not clear what they’ve done to deserve being a 15-point favorite over anyone that doesn’t play in the Sun Belt. If anything, it’s probably a commentary on how poorly Cincy has played. This game could go back and forth for a bit, maybe even in high-scoring fashion, but Cincinnati’s defense can’t stop a bowling ball going uphill. Miami | Cincinnati +15

Week 7 ACC Football Picks:
Florida State (-25) at Syracuse

Saturday, 12pm ET (ESPN)

Syracuse has played a few tough teams, but have rarely looked impressive at any point this season, even when facing some of the teams they should beat. Meanwhile, by this point last season, Florida State had already launched a full-scale tactical assault on the rest of college football. They’re not beating the stuffing out of everybody this year, but they are winning and taking care of the far lesser opposition.

Based on body of work, the Orange qualify as far lesser opposition; the only question is if the Seminoles cover. The answer is probably, unless there’s a backdoor cover in play. Florida State | FSU -25

Week 7 ACC Football Picks:
Duke at Georgia Tech (-4)

Saturday, 12:30pm ET (ESPN3)

Of all ACC games this week, this likely has the most actual significance, as it could propel Georgia Tech to 3-0 in the conference, and perhaps knock Duke out of the ACC Coastal running (though can anyone really be out of it in this division?)

David Cutcliffe has done a great job at Duke, but so has Paul Johnson at Tech this year. So long as the Jackets keep winning, just let it ride. Georgia Tech | GT -4

Week 7 ACC Football Picks:
North Carolina at Notre Dame (-17)

Saturday, 3:30pm ET (NBC)

Notre Dame keeps finding ways to win, much to our chagrin. (Hey, that rhymes.) Their first loss might be coming next week in Tallahassee, because it probably will not be here.

The Heels have been very disappointing this year and Notre Dame’s defense is as good as North Carolina’s is bad. Realistically, Carolina has to have a big offensive day to stay out front but it probably is not going to happen. However, 34-20 seems like a perfectly reasonable score. Notre Dame | UNC +17

Week 7 ACC Football Picks:
Boston College at North Carolina State (-4)

Saturday, 3:30pm ET (ESPN3)

The pick comes on Friday, as is tradition.

Week 7 ACC Football Picks:
Louisville at Clemson (-10)

Saturday, 3:30pm ET (ESPNU)

Louisville is a fine football team and should give the Tigers a game, but Clemson looks like they’re on a roll. They’ll tell you they should be on a four-game win streak right now, but they’ll settle with winning their fourth home game.

This is the best team the Fightin’ Petrinos have faced all year to date, but if Clemson covers, it’s probably not by a lot. Clemson | Clemson -10