ACC Week 8 Odds, Predictions Against the Spread & Lines

Clemson Looks to Take Down the Only Other Undefeated Team in the ACC

Things don’t get much easier for Syracuse. A week after defeating North Carolina State, the Orange hit the road to face perennial ACC powerhouse Clemson Tigers in the game of the week of the conference. When looking at the ACC Week 8 odds, can there be any other game to begin with other than the showdown between Syracuse and Clemson?

This is just the second road game for the Orange while Clemson is 3-0 at home.

The Week 8 ACC schedule begins with a Virginia-Georgia Tech matchup on Thursday. Miami and Pittsburgh look to remain within a game of first-place North Carolina in the ACC Coastal Division. What a difference a year makes. The Pittsburgh Panthers won the ACC championship a season ago but currently are slight underdogs to a mediocre Louisville squad.

Syracuse Orange made the biggest jump in the national polls, moving up four spots to No. 14 in both the Associated Press and American Football Coaches Association polls. Clemson is currently fifth in both polls with Wake Forest ranked 13th while North Carolina and North Carolina State check in at No. 22 and 23 in both rankings.

Game of the Week

Syracuse is the surprise team in the ACC. It started with a 24-point win over Louisville in the season opener. After narrow wins over Purdue Boilermakers and Virginia, the Orange took down North Carolina State to set up this huge showdown with a Clemson team favored to win the ACC title.

Some skeptics might point to the fact that NC State didn’t have starting quarterback Devin Leary but that was out of the hands of the Orange. Syracuse limited North Carolina State to 255 yards of total offense in the 24-9 victory. Quarterbacks Garrett Shrader of Syracuse and DJ Uiagalelei of Clemson have made remarkable strides this season.

Shrader is third in the ACC in total offense with Uiagalelei ranking fourth. They weren’t in the top 10 a season ago. It will be interesting to see the two top rushing defenses in the conference dealing with Syracuse’s Sean Tucker and Will Shipley of Clemson, who rank second and fifth in the ACC in rushing yards per game.

The Tigers have won eight of the last nine games against the Orange but Syracuse has covered in six of those matchups.

Other Games to Watch

The first team to 20 wins? When looking at the college football over under numbers, has there ever been a game screaming to take the under than this showdown of offensively challenged squads?

Virginia and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are at the bottom of the ACC in scoring offense. The Cavaliers average 17.8 points with the Yellow Jackets coming in at 17.3.

They rank 13th and 14th in offensive plays of 20 yards or longer. The teams scored touchdowns on just 17 of 41 trips to the red zone.

It has been a struggle for both quarterbacks. Brennan Armstrong has five TD passes and seven interceptions while Jeff Sims averages the fewest passing yards per game than any other starting QB in the ACC.

Virginia Cavaliers has won three of the last four games in the series and has covered in each of those victories.

After a slow start, Miami Hurricanes quarterback Tyler Van Dyke is starting to resemble the player who took the ACC by storm a season ago. He has thrown for 841 yards with five touchdowns and one interception over the last two games.

Miami (3-3, 1-1) is off to a slow start. However, when looking at the ACC football standings, Miami only have one conference loss. Duke (4-3, 1-2) looks to move to 2-2 in conference play.

Duke is second in the ACC in rushing offense with Riley Leonard leading four Blue Devils with more than 250 rushing yards. Duke has given up more yards than any other ACC expect for North Carolina.

• Duke is tied for second for the most takeaways in the ACC and a conference-best 10 fumble recoveries.
• Miami’s Corey Flagg leads the ACC with 9.5 tackles for loss.
• Miami has won the last two games against Duke by a combined score of 95-10.

Despite helping Wake Forest reach the ACC title game a season ago, he is somehow flying under the radar this season. All he has done is post the second-highest passer rating in the conference. Hartman has 16 TD passes and only two interceptions. The Week 8 ACC odds view this as the most lopsided matchup of the week.

Boston College’s Phil Jurkovec, is being touted as a top quarterback prospect for the upcoming NFL Draft. He is currently priced at +1400 to be the No. 1 overall draft pick. However, he is 10th in the ACC in passing efficiency. He looks for Zay Flowers, the ACC leader with 42 receptions and 556 receiving yards, early and often.

Wake Forest (5-1, 1-1) and Boston College Eagles (2-4, 1-3) are ninth and 10th in the ACC in yards per play allowed. Perhaps that will help a BC offense that is last in the conference with 305.8 yards per game.

The road team has won each of the last seven games in the series. Ten of the last 11 games between the teams finished under the total.

When looking at the ACC Week 8 odds, seeing defending ACC champion Pittsburgh as the underdog is pretty interesting.

Pittsburgh’s offense looks much different with quarterback Kenny Pickett in the NFL and receiver Jordan Addison now at USC. Running back Israel Abanikanda leads the ACC with 830 rushing yards and 889 yards from scrimmage.

Quarterbacks Kedon Slovis of Pittsburgh and Malik Cunningham of Louisville Cardinals have combined for just eight TD passes. Tyler Hudson leads Louisville with 29 catches and 413 receiving yards.

Pittsburgh (4-2, 1-1) has won six of the last seven games against Louisville (3-3, 1-3). Six of the last eight games in the series finished under the total.

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