The three biggest ACC football questions of the week. Here we go for Week 2
Will Pittsburgh’s season take off with a win over UCF?
Miami, Louisville, SMU, and Virginia are getting all the discussion as the ACC’s top teams, but teams like Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech are waiting in the wings. Beat UCF and the Panthers should be able to get 4-0 before facing Virginia Tech. Mason Heintschel threw for over 450 yards against Miami (Ohio). UCF is an upgrade in competition, and a victory sets up a chance for Pitt to reel off some wins and get into the top 25.
What if Georgia Tech loses to Tennessee and falls to 0-2?
2 games in, and Georgia Tech’s season may be on the brink if they lose to Tennessee. Just to make a bowl, Georgia Tech will have to go 6-4, and that includes games with Georgia and Louisville. They would be losers of 6 of their last 7 games, and 3 straight home games. Georgia Tech may be able to recover from another loss, but I’d put the chances at less than 20%. I do think they will play better against Tennessee than Colorado; I’m not sure it will matter. We will see.
Will Syracuse or Duke become a darkhorse ACC contender this weekend?
If you are looking for a dark horse in the ACC. It could come out of a 2-0 start from Syracuse or Duke. Syracuse, coming off a 3-win season, could get to 2 – 0 with a win over a Cal team that collapsed late against UCLA. With Steve Angeli back and healthy at QB, the Orange could start to become a team to watch in the ACC. I like them against Cal. Duke has been exceeding expectations for years, and I wouldn’t bet against them under Manny Diaz, but Illinois on the road might be too tall a task.
