NCAAF Pick: North Carolina Wins ACC (+900) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Unaffected – so far – by conference realignment, the ACC heads into the 2023 campaign looking like a 2-horse race with Clemson and Florida State leading the NCAA football futures.
Key Facts
- The ACC has junked the previous Atlantic and Coastal Divisions for 2023.
- Clemson has the shortest odds to win the conference title at +150.
- Florida State will be led by Heisman hopeful Jordan Travis.
‘Round and ‘round and ‘round it goes. Where conference realignment stops, nobody knows.
While the Big Ten has been busy ransacking the PAC-12, along with the SEC luring Oklahoma and Texas from the Big 12, things have been relatively quiet in the ACC. It would be foolish to think the Atlantic Coast Conference will stand pat, but it would also be foolish to worry about that now with money to be made this year on the college football futures.
No Divisions & New Schedule for 2023
To be honest, I never quite got the hang of the two divisions in the conference for football, always had to doublecheck which teams made up the Coastal Division and which ones were in the Atlantic. So doing away with that alignment is just fine and dandy with me.
With that change, however, comes a new scheduling format, at least for the next couple of years.
After that, well, we get back to the big picture of conference realignment. Bettors will want to take a look at how things shake out on the schedule for 2023 before making wagers because there are some wide gaps of difficulty between some teams.
Tigers & ‘Noles Cream of the Crop
According to collegefootballnews.com, Clemson drew the second-toughest slate in the ACC with Florida State checking in at No. 4 on the list. While some will pick nits about that, the one thing we can all agree on is the toughest game for the Tigers and Seminoles will come in Week 4 against each other.
Clemson (+150) and Florida State (+185) sit atop the conference odds. The Tigers rank in the second tier of National Championship contenders at BetOnline with a +1200 return, while the Seminoles are in the third tier at +2500.
Dabo Swinney and the Tigers also face a firm test in Week 10 with a semi-conference matchup at home against Notre Dame, one of the half-dozen ACC games the Fighting Irish face this season. Florida State won’t have to take on the Irish, but have one of the toughest Week 1 opponents in the conference with a clash against LSU in Orlando.
Clemson should get 11 wins, with one of those coming at FSU’s expense. I’m leaning ‘under’ on Florida State’s 9½-win total despite having a Heisman contender at quarterback in Jordan Travis.
NCAAF Pick: Clemson Over 10 Wins (-115) at BetOnline
NCAAF Pick: Florida State Under 9½ (+110) at BetOnline
Can Cards or Heels Upset the Faves?
Trailing Clemson and Florida State on the ACC futures board are Louisville (+750) and North Carolina (+900), and both are threats to sneak their way into the conference title tilt.
For the Cardinals, it’s a case of sneaking past having to play either Clemson or Florida State on the regular season schedule. That’s a huge plus for Jeff Brohm’s bunch, and Louisville has a chance to grab the conference lead right at the outset with a Week 1 matchup in Atlanta against Georgia Tech.
Mack Brown and the Tar Heels don’t have to play Florida State either, but the schedule-maker sure didn’t do them any favors by having to close the season with road dates at Clemson (Week 12) and NC State (Week 13). I still like a small play on North Carolina to win the ACC Championship with the poor man’s Heisman contender, Drake Maye.
The Tar Heels open the season with a clash against South Carolina in Charlotte, which is where the conference championship will be played as well, and North Carolina has been bet up to a 3-point favorite on most NCAAF odds boards.
NCAAF Pick: North Carolina Wins ACC (+900) at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product
Pitt Tops Middle of ACC
The remaining 10 teams in the conference don’t impress much, with the foursome of NC State, Miami-FL, Pittsburgh and Duke the only ones with win total projections at 6.5 or higher. It might be a minor miracle for any others to make strong pushes for bowl eligibility.
The Wolfpack could at least muck things up for one of the contenders since they have home dates against Clemson, North Carolina and Louisville. We’ll have a better idea of just what Dave Doeren has when NC State hosts Notre Dame in Week 2.
The Panthers don’t have to go up against Clemson, and they have home-field advantage against Louisville, North Carolina and Florida State. A Week 4 upset of the Tar Heels could make Pat Narduzzi’s troops a popular NCAAF pick.
ACC Regular Season Win Totals
Odds as of August 7th, 2023, via BetOnline:
- Clemson: Over 10 (-125)
- Florida State: Over 9.5 (-140)
- Louisville: Under 8.5 (-155)
- North Carolina: Over 8 (-115)
- NC State: Over 6.5 (-150)
- Miami-FL: Under 7.5 (-150)
- Pittsburgh: Over 6.5 (-200)
- Duke: Under 6.5 (-155)
- Wake Forest: Under 6.5 (-145)
- Syracuse: Under 6 (-125)
- Virginia Tech: Under 5.5 (-145)
- Boston College: 5.5 (-145)
- Virginia: Under 3.5 (-150)
- Georgia Tech: Under 4.5 (-140)
Calculators
