Why are these wagers bad? Because if you follow them you’ll probably have to call your successful doctor-lawyer brother begging for money to pay off your bookie before he kidnaps your dog again. He’s just so nice that the shakedowns don’t come across near as threatening as he wants them to.
If you read the Big XII preview, you know we like to see what Vegas thinks about things for the upcoming season. Unfortunately for you, I’m making the picks this time. Now that I’m legally off the hook from having to accept responsibility for the outcomes resulting in following my wagers, let’s look at what the ACC will have in store for the college football world.
BEST BET
SYRACUSE – under 5
Vegas Insiders has the o/u for regular season wins at 5. Syracuse isn’t projected to make a bowl game and the schedule is tough with three road games against ranked opponents. If the Orange get more than four wins, I’ll let my dad and brothers whip batteries at me for half an hour.
Worst Bet
CLEMSON – over 10.5
The Tigers missed the playoffs last year and they’re mad about that, which can lead to opponents having the Sunday scaries. But the QB position doesn’t seem as settled as it’s being presented. DJ Uiagalelei struggled last year and they have a five-star freshman on campus getting some reps. That issue could take weeks to sort out unless DJ balls out. Plus the overall quality of the conference has seemingly improved. Eleven wins is a tall order even for the best teams.
BACKUP: GA TECH – over 3.5
Say what you will about Geoff Collins’ performance with the Yellow Jackets on the field, but there’s only one coach in the world whose offensive line has a NIL deal with Hooters. That has to count for something among those who don’t have a reserved booth at Beef O’Brady’s.
This one isn’t football related but it takes a real Shyamalan twist at the end.
And that’ll probably be the most interesting thing to happen for the Yellow Jackets this season. With a o/u of 3.5, hit the under hard and start getting you some jet ski money for the spring.
Dark Horse Bet
NC STATE – over 8.5
The Wolfpack enters the 2022 season ranked 13th in the AP preseason poll for the seventh time in school history. It’s the first time being ranked in the preseason poll since 2003 and ties the highest preseason ranking with the 1975 squad. With only two games against teams ranked in the AP preseason poll, there should be pressure on Dave Doeren and staff to produce because this is a prime opportunity for the Pack to progress as a program. The o/u for wins is 8.5 for the Wolfpack, which was picked by ACC media members to finish second in the Atlantic Division. NC State has a favorable schedule as well, so I think this is their season to remind the big boys they can be a pain in the ass sometimes. I like the Pack for at least nine wins.
Fanbase likely to find themselves on messageboardgeniuses.com
The hype surrounding Mario Cristobal’s return to Coral Gables is pretty sizable and the expectations are high after a middling 7-5 season in 2021. The o/u is set at 8.5 but we’ll get some material if things sputter to start the season. But honestly, if I’m a Canes fan, I don’t care about the record. I want to see the swagger back. College football culture needs the return of the U.
BONUS: Notre Dame
The Irish really wanted this preview to be its own post but it’s been a solid 30 years since something like that was needed so they’ve agreed to sort of mostly participate and I’m pretty sure they’re okay with being here. The B1G preview keeps asking me what I’m going to talk about and how ND fans feel about the future. It’s so nice of them to keep checking in.
So Carpetbaggin’ Brian Kelly cut bait and got down to Baton Rouge, giving the ND program an incredible opportunity to move into the next phase of college football’s evolution by hiring someone young and energetic like Marcus Freeman. I think ND might’ve finally realized that operating a football program on standards built when teams traveled by train to games no longer work in today’s environment.
I was going to break down the Irish’s betting line but the B1G preview called again asking something about TV contracts and market sizes so I guess I need to go find my cable bill and figure out how big my Harris Teeter is. Enjoy these posts of Irish fans making predictions about their upcoming season and college football in general instead.
Bon appetit degenerates.
Follow me on Twitter @BamaWill06 for more terrible things to read.
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