ACC Week 9 Betting Odds: Huge Games on Tap for Wake Forest and North Carolina
No. 21 North Carolina Looks to Remain Perfect in Atlantic Coast Conference Play
Defending ACC Champion Pittsburgh Facing Must-Win Contest on Saturday
When looking at the ACC Week 9 betting odds, this is not going to go down as the most compelling week of play in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season.
With the struggles by Miami and North Carolina State, some of the teams expected to challenge ACC front-runners for the conference title have faded a bit.
When looking at the ACC football standings, defending ACC champion Pittsburgh already has two conference losses so another one to Coastal Division-leading North Carolina would pretty much end any hope the Panthers have to playing for another conference championship.
Clemson, which is ranked fifth in both the Associated Press and American Football Coaches Association polls, is idle this week as is surprising Duke.
That leaves No. 10 Wake Forest and No. 16 Syracuse as the top-ranked ACC teams in action this week. North Carolina (+400) is second only to Clemson in the odds to win the ACC title according to the sportsbook. The Tar Heels come in at +15000 in the odds to win the national title while Wake Forest’s title odds are priced at +25000.
Game of the Week
North Carolina Tar Heels vs Pittsburgh Panthers
- Date, time (TV): (ACC Network)
- Line: North Carolina -3
Defending ACC champion Pittsburgh (4-3, 1-2 in the ACC) has the second-best defensive pass efficiency rating among ACC teams as the Panthers are allowing opponents to complete just 53% of their passes; however, they haven’t faced North Carolina redshirt freshman Drake Maye yet.
Maye leads the conference with 2,283 passing yards, 24 TD passes and a 184.8 passing rating. Eight different Tar Heels have at least 10 catches led by Josh Downs’ 37 in just five games for North Carolina (6-1, 3-0).
Pittsburgh’s Israel Abanikanda leads the ACC with 959 rushing yards. The winning team has at least 30 points in seven of the last eight meetings. Pittsburgh has won the last two games and covered in both of them; however, the ACC Week 9 betting odds are currently listing the host Panthers as an underdog.
Rest of the Schedule
Virginia Tech Hokies vs North Carolina State Wolfpack
- Date, time (TV): (ESPN)
- Line: North Carolina State -13.5
With starting quarterback Devin Leary out for the season, Jack Chambers is set to make his second start for North Carolina State (5-2, 1-2). He had only 160 yards and no touchdowns in a loss to Syracuse.
Marshall transfer, Grant Wells has only seven TD passes for Virginia Tech (2-5, 1-3) and now he faces the No. 2 rated defense in the ACC.
Virginia Tech has won five games in a row against North Carolina State, although this will be just the second meeting between the teams in the last seven seasons. The college football betting lines is projecting a comfortable win by NC State.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Syracuse Orange
- Date, time (TV): (ABC)
- Line: Syracuse -3
Quarterback Garrett Shrader and running back Sean Tucker will look to exploit a Notre Dame defense that allowed 146 rushing yards and 5.2 yards per carry to UNLV the last time out. Shrader’s improvement as a passer has helped Syracuse (6-1) average 80 more passing yards than it did a season ago.
Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne is just 27 of 55 passing over the last two games. Tight end Michael Mayer is coming off a 115-yard effort against UNLV.
When the teams met in 2020, Notre Dame was listed by the college football betting lines as a 34-point favorite, The Fighting Irish didn’t cover, but did win 45-21.
Boston College Eagles vs UConn Huskies
- Date, time (TV): (CBS Sports Network)
- Line: Boston College -8
Boston College (2-5) has won its last three games against UConn by an average of 28.3 points.
UConn has shown signs of growth under head coach Jim Mora Jr., however, in two games against ACC opponents this season, the Huskies have been outscored 89-24.
It’s been a so-so season to date for BC quarterback Phil Jurkovec as he has thrown six interceptions and is completing just 59% of his passes. Perhaps a matchup with UConn is what he needs to get going as he looks to help Boston College snap a two-game losing streak.
Zay Flowers leads the ACC with 52 catches and 691 receiving yards.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs Florida State Seminoles
- Date, time (TV): (ACC Network)
- Line: Florida State -23.5
There have been some positive signs since Georgia Tech made the decision to fire head coach Geoff Collins; however, this could be a challenging weekend for the Yellow Jackets (3-4, 2-2).
Florida State (4-3, 2-3) is in the top three in the ACC in both total offense and total defense. The Seminoles have lost three games in a row, all to ranked teams, but now face a Georgia Tech team that is 13th in the ACC in total offense.
Something for those who bet online to consider, Georgia Tech has won four of the last six games against Florida State and has covered in each of the last eight meetings.
Miami Hurricanes vs Virginia Cavaliers
- Date, time (TV): (ESPN3)
- Line: Miami -2.5
It might be hard to find a more disappointing team this season than Miami. The Hurricanes (3-4, 1-2) were favored to win the ACC Coastal Division title under first-year head coach Mario Cristobal. However, after committing eight turnovers in a loss to Duke, the Hurricanes are tied for fourth in the division.
Virginia (3-4, 1-3) has scored the fewest points in the ACC under new coach Tony Elliott. The Cavaliers went from averaging 393 passing yards per game a season ago to putting up only 231 this season.
When looking at the ACC Week 9 betting odds, Virginia has covered against the college football odds in seven of the last nine matchups against Miami.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs Louisville Cardinals
- Date, time (TV): (ACC Network)
- Line: Wake Forest -4.5
When the season began, this game was circled thanks to the quarterback matchup. Wake Forest’s Sam Hartman has been as advertised with 1,755 passing yards, 21 TD passes and only three interceptions. Louisville’s Malik Cunningham has only five touchdown passes, although he has run for nine scores.
Wake Forest’s lone ACC loss was an overtime thriller to Clemson so the Demon Deacons (6-1, 2-1) need to win out and get some help to make a return trip to the ACC championship game. Louisville (4-3, 2-3) is focusing on becoming bowl eligible. The teams have averaged 85 points over the last five meetings.
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