ACC football picks: Charlotte at #1 Clemson & 5 more

The Clemson offensive Death Star is fully operational after Weak 3’s evisceration of Syracuse. Clemson is the favorite to win the national title and Trevor Lawrence is narrowly the second favorite to win the Heisman. Things are moving along smoothly in Death Valley, and with a remaining schedule that looks quite easy, there aren't any signs the Tigers will slow down.

Charlotte enters this contest 2-1 but has only played one team of note so far—Appalachian State. The 49ers lost that game in classic Conference USA shootout fashion, 56-41. Against Gardner-Webb and Massachusetts they gave up 28 and 17 points, respectively, which are warning signs of a sub-par defense that now has to hit the road and take on the best offense in the country.

Clemson has little reason to extend itself in this game, but head coach Dabo Swinney is a master motivator. He has convinced his players to measure themselves against themselves, and that is part of why they have managed to stay at the top of the college football mountain.

Dating back to last year, Clemson is 5-1 against the spread in its last six games, with the only loss a last-second, backdoor cover that meant nothing to the end result against Texas A&M. Charlotte is 5-12 ATS in its last 17 non-conference games and appears completely overmatched and incapable of stopping the Clemson offense. I expect several long touchdowns from the Clemson offense iand another easy victory for the No. 1 team in the land.

Pick: Clemson -41.5

Across the rest of the ACC, there should be much closer games.

Western Michigan at Syracuse (-5), Saturday, noon ET, ACC Network

Syracuse has had a disheartening two weeks. Will there be a hangover, or will this be the week to get back on track and refocus? I’m betting on head coach Dino Babers to rally the troops and cover.

Pick: Syracuse -5

Louisville at Florida State (-6.5), Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN

This looks like a sucker line, with FSU a touchdown favorite at home against a team projected to only get three or four wins this season, but I have to lay the points here. Florida State appeared to have its first cover of the season under wraps last week but let it go late. The addition of Jim Leavitt to the coaching staff and a week of his influence will make the difference.

Pick: Florida State -7

Elon (+28) at Wake Forest, Saturday, noon ET

Wake Forest is likely headed for one of its best regular season records in years, but this is a letdown game after a high-drama win over North Carolina. Elon can score points, and Wake Forest isn’t good enough to cover a spread this large against a team that should keep going.

Pick: Elon +28

#15 Central Florida (-11.5) at Pittsburgh, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Pittsburgh surprised me last week in a close loss to Penn State, but the coaching decision late to kick a field goal indicated to me that head coach Pat Narduzzi is too old-school to bet on reliably. He is a defensive coach by nature, but the modern game is driven by offense. Central Florida is on a mission and will continue that with an easy win and cover here.

Pick: UCF -11

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