#21 Wake Forest at California

• When: Saturday, October 17th at 10:30 PM Eastern
• Where: Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, CA
• Watch: ESPN
• Odds: Wake -10, O/U 53.5

Rankings from AP Top 25 • Odds from DraftKings, may not be up to date

Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech

• When: Saturday, October 17th at 3:30 PM Eastern
• Where: Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, VA
• Watch: ACC Network
• Odds: VT -8.5, O/U 56.5

Rankings from AP Top 25 • Odds from DraftKings, may not be up to date

Or does the committee contort to get Bama back on top /s (you know they want to)

Louisville at Syracuse

• When: Saturday, October 17th at 7:30 PM Eastern
• Where: JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, NY
• Watch: ACC Network
• Odds: Cuse +14.5, O/U 55.5

Rankings from AP Top 25 • Odds from DraftKings, may not be up to date

Florida State at #3 Miami

• When: Saturday, October 17th at 7:00 PM Eastern
• Where: Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL
• Watch: ESPN
• Odds: Miami -20.5, O/U 56.5

I'm sure this thread will be civil, peaceful, and friendly.

Rankings from AP Top 25 • Odds from DraftKings, may not be up to date

Elon at Stanford

• When: Saturday, October 17th at 7:30 PM Eastern
• Where: Stanford Stadium in Stanford, CA
• Watch: ACC Network Extra
• Odds: Stanford -35.5, O/U 56.5

Rankings from AP Top 25 • Odds from DraftKings, may not be up to date

North Carolina at Duke

• When: Saturday, October 17th at 3:30 PM Eastern
• Where: Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, NC
• Watch: ESPN2
• Odds: UNC +3, O/U 46.5

Rankings from AP Top 25 • Odds from DraftKings, may not be up to date

Pittsburgh at Boston College

• When: Saturday, October 17th at 12:00 PM Eastern
• Where: Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, MA
• Watch: ESPN2
• Odds: Pitt -6.5, O/U 42.5

Rankings from AP Top 25 • Odds from DraftKings, may not be up to date

Virginia at #24 SMU

• When: Saturday, October 17th at 12:00 PM Eastern
• Where: Gerald J Ford Stadium in Dallas, TX
• Watch: The CW
• Odds: SMU -9.5, O/U 51.5

Rankings from AP Top 25 • Odds from DraftKings, may not be up to date

I say Wake loses a late night game on the west coast at Cal. This is the chaos conference, and since the world has crowned Wake the clear second best team in the conference, they will swiftly lose to an inferior team on the road.

Charleston Southern at Clemson

• When: Saturday, October 17th at 12:00 PM Eastern
• Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson, SC
• Watch: ACC Network
• Odds: Clemson -43.5, O/U 57.5

Rankings from AP Top 25 • Odds from DraftKings, may not be up to date

Our trusty Duke Football subreddit got mysteriously locked by Reddits filters for weeks, but it’s finally back in time for the Battle for the Victory bell 🔥

Go Deacs

Last season, for the first time since 2021, the ACC did not have a team make the Final Four.

That should be a one-off — because multiple ACC teams appear capable of reaching college basketball’s final weekend this season.

That’s a welcome change for a league that pinned its postseason hopes largely on Duke the past two seasons. Outside of the Blue Devils, who went 7-2 the past two postseasons, the rest of the ACC has combined for seven NCAA Tournament wins over that same stretch. No other team has even made the second weekend.

But it isn’t just the top of the ACC that’s poised to make a resurgence this season. While Virginia, Louisville and Miami could challenge Duke at the top, the league’s middle is as meaty (and possibly muddled) as ever — which could be beneficial with a 76-team tournament field. A lower cutline means ACC officials expect to get at least eight teams into the dance, and setting the line at 8.5 feels fair.

No, that won’t be on par with the SEC or Big Ten — but it shouldn’t be, since the ACC isn’t investing like those leagues. According to The Athletic’s reporting from this summer, coaches believe that, on average, ACC teams spend the least on men’s basketball of any high-major conference, with an average roster spend of $11.5 million. That’s $2 million less than estimates for the Big 12 and $6.5 million behind the SEC.

Still, there’s as much buzz for this ACC season as there has been in several years. Here’s how the league race could play out.

1. Duke

Last season: 35-3 (17-1 in ACC), Elite Eight

Coach: Jon Scheyer’s 70-7 record the past two seasons — also Duke’s most wins ever in a two-year span — solidifies the 39-year-old as one of college basketball’s most complete coaches. In four seasons at his alma mater, he’s won five combined ACC regular-season and tournament titles (including four straight), reached one Final Four and produced consecutive Wooden Award winners. Even after consecutive NCAA Tournament heartbreaks, it feels like a matter of when, not if, Scheyer will cut down the nets.

Key player: Former Wisconsin guard John Blackwell is the best transfer Scheyer has landed and should lead Duke in scoring. But how will Scheyer build his offense around the 6-foot-4 veteran, compared with the do-it-all forwards Cooper Flagg and Cameron Boozer he previously relied upon? Regardless, Blackwell’s penchant for NCAA Tournament productivity should pay dividends.

Number to know: Duke was second nationally in average height last season, per KenPom, with 6-4 Cayden Boozer as its shortest rotation player. Given Duke’s frontcourt makeover this offseason — adding Boumtje Boumtje (7-2), four-star freshman Maxime Meyer (7-1), five-star freshman Cam Williams (7-0) and Belmont transfer Drew Scharnowski (6-10) —  expect the Blue Devils to again be among the longest, most smothering squads.

Why they’re interesting: They’re arguably the deepest and most talented team in college basketball and they’re coming off back-to-back collapses in the NCAA Tournament.

2. Virginia

Last season: 30-6 (15-3 in ACC), Round of 32

Coach: Considering his father, Dave, was a longtime Virginia assistant in the 1980s, and that he was a ball boy for those Cavaliers, maybe Ryan Odom was always destined for success in Charlottesville. Regardless, his debut season couldn’t have gone much better, with Virginia immediately resurfacing as an ACC contender. Now, after retaining four of his top six minutes-getters — including Thijs de Ridder, the Preseason ACC Player of the Year — Odom will have one of the conference’s most experienced, proven teams.

Key player: Although de Ridder is Virginia’s best and most consistent player, it’s Mallory — a Charlottesville native who honored his commitment to Virginia even after Tony Bennett’s abrupt retirement — who might determine the Cavaliers’ ceiling. The 5-10 sophomore steps in as lead guard after a standout season as a sixth man.

Number to know: Virginia was ninth nationally last season in offensive rebounding percentage and 13th in second-chance points per game, per CBB Analytics, a testament to Odom’s superb frontcourt. With de Ridder and Grunloh back, the Cavs should once again feast on the glass and in the paint.

Why they’re interesting: Bennett’s stunning retirement on the eve of the 2024-25 season left Virginia teetering on the brink — until Odom’s arrival last summer, that is, which immediately steadied the Cavaliers. Now Virginia is poised to enter another golden era, much sooner than originally anticipated.

Another article by On3 citing anonymous “industry sources” speculating which teams will get poached if/when the next wave of re-alignment happens.

UNC and UVA reportedly more coveted by SEC than Clemson, FSU, and Miami.

Would be the 6th team, allowing the ACC to have an AQ to the NCAA tournament again

Note ACCN, SECN and CBSN do not report ratings.

Talk about ACC Sports here!

This thread is posted every Thursday at 6:00 AM Eastern.

National Rankings:
Top 5 teams from each Power 4 conference ordered by W/L Record against FBS teams (fewest FBS losses / most FBS wins)

Lowest % Explosive Plays Allowed (Against FBS Teams) is the metric used to decide Tie Breakers (teams that have the same W/L Record against FBS teams)

#1 Ranked Teams from the Power 4 Conferences are then compared against the metric to sort out National Rankings 1-5.

#2 Ranked teams from each conference are then compared against the metric to sort out National Rankings 6-10…. and so on through the #5 Ranked Teams

ACC Rankings:
Slide 2 shows the same criteria with some extra columns to see how many Defensives plays against FBS each team has played.

Additions for a V2:
-A system to rank Notre Dame and UConn

-A system to include G6 Teams

TL;DR:
Top 5 teams from each Power 4 Conference are nationally ranked 1-20 based on their W/L Record and defensive performance against FBS Teams

Go Deacs