Around the Conference Table: ACC College Football Week 10
Presented by Saucy Asian
New Season, New Conference, New Table. Let’s take a look around the ACC.
#20 SMU 48, #18 Pitt 25
Ben: Would have been a better GameDay matchup imo
Piotr T Le: SMU is for real, and the game wasn't as close as the score indicates. It would be funny for us to be the reason why they are held out of the ACC Championship?
Callie Wake: It appears SMU's close game last week was just a hiccup. The results are pretty unsurprising overall though (I didn't expect Pitt to remain undefeated) especially after how close the score was when we played them a few weeks ago.
Nick Kranz: A sobering game when you consider Cal's chances to pull a road upset in the last game of the regular season. SMU has been getting better week by week and they have a pretty clear path to the ACC championship game.
Berkelium97: SMU looks like the real deal. Pitt...not so much.
#5 Miami 53, Duke 31
Berkelium97: Miami reminds me more and more of the 2022-23 USC teams where Caleb Williams would survey the field, scramble around, and then yeet the ball in the general direction of an absurdly talented receiver who would come up with a spectacular play. Meanwhile the defense would play just well enough for the offense to carry the team. The Ward-Restrepo connection is incredible.
mpete91: Miami Number 1 Fraud Alert now that Pitt lost. Someone is going to find a way to get over them here soon.
Piotr T Le: Never in doubt. Miami's defense is on fraud watch but as long as Cam Ward has some mana left in him, he'll keep winning games.
Callie Wake: Once again, Miami captures another come from behind victory. I have so many questions about Miami on both sides of the ball, specifically how the number 2 team in the country is allowing on average 24 points per game, but a win is a win. Credit where credit is due, Cam Ward and the Miami offense look really good this year.
Nick Kranz: Miami's defense is definitely bad enough that it should cost them a game in the regular season, but I'm skeptical that Virginia, Boston College, or Syracuse has the juice to do it. But SMU in a hypothetical ACC title game . . .
NC State 59, Stanford 28
Nick Kranz: A classic example of two teams going in opposite directions; NC State has found a quarterback and an identity, and Stanford appears to be giving up on their season, and that's how a team that hasn't scored into the 40s nearly puts up 60.
Berkelium97: LSJU now has the second-worst defense among all P4 teams. Our run game against their defense will be the battle of the negligible force against the trivially movable object.
mpete91: I have never said anything bad about NC State.
Piotr T Le: Stanford is woeful. I get there is a rebuild going on with some restrictions on transfers. But man. They are the worst P4 school right now, and it's not close.
Callie Wake: Honestly I needed NC State to win so badly. This bodes extremely well for us in 3 weeks. Also I had to look this up but apparently LSJU hasn't won a home game against an FBS opponent since 2022. If my math is right, it's been 26-ish straight regular season weeks since Furd won a game on the farm against an FBS opponent (Oct. 22 2022, LSJU 15 - ASU 14).
North Carolina 35, Florida State 11
Callie Wake: Same as it ever was, same as it ever was. I'm slamming my head against my desk every week over FSU. Would've been nice to see Mack Brown humiliated by FSU, but alas, we can't have anything nice.
Nick Kranz: With each passing week, Cal's loss in Tallahassee becomes more and more maddening. Of FSU's five straight losses since they beat Cal, only one game was even as close as seven points and the rest were all by 16 points or more. I don't exactly know WHY, but FSU is terribad, and losing to them is as bad as hypothetical loses to Wake Forest or Stanford
Berkelium97: Every FSU loss hurts more and more.
Ben: Only like 2 more years of thhis FSU!
Piotr T Le:... Goddamnit we're their only ACC win. This is how it feels like when Cal offered itself to Fail State University as it's 1 FBS win:
Syracuse 38, Virginia Tech 31 (Overtime)
Piotr T Le: Cuse is gettable because they play with incredible levels of variance. Here they were able to beat a team that was on paper more talented. If this Cuse shows up against Cal, we're in trouble.
Callie Wake: Didn't watch, from what I saw of the recap: despite a slow start, Syracuse got hot and went to work. LeQuint had VT's number all game long.
Nick Kranz: Can you force Kyle McCord into bad decisions? If yes, Syracuse loses. Virginia Tech couldn't, and Syracuse emerges with a mild upset win at home
mpete91: Might have to try using Orange as a spice this Thanksgiving.
Louisville 33, #11 Clemson 21
mpete91: DABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Piotr T Le: lol Clemson
Callie Wake: Massive upset. Louisville came into this game angry, and left with a statement W. Clemson did not look ready for this one at all. Looks like the chance to play Miami in the conference championship is still up for grabs.
Nick Kranz: I didn't see this coming, and based on the box score it required some special teams randomness to make it this decisive, but kudos to Louisville to dealing a decisive blow against another school that voted to keep Cal out of the ACC.
Berkelium97: During that fourth quarter Clemson's offense did an excellent job bleeding the clock and maintaining a two-TD scoring gap. The only problem is they were losing.
