6-1-1 last week for 29-19-1 for the year. 0-1 for my lock of the week for 4-2 for the year (nearly had the outright win). https://cal.forums.rivals.com/threads/lets-pick-the-acc-week-5-games.33010/

Home team in Italics

UNLV by 5.5 over Syracuse - No idea. Syracuse?

Virginia by 3.5 over BC - Interesting line. I think BC wins outright.

Pitt by 2.5 over North Carolina - Despite all evidence I continue to think North Carolina is decent.

NC State by 5.5 over Wake Forest - Wake is the worst team in the ACC. NC State covers.

Louisville by 6.5 over SMU - Two overrated teams. SMU more so.. Louisville covers.

Virginia Tech by 9.5 over the Furd - Furd covers. Wouldn't be surprised if they win outright.

Clemson by 14.5 over Florida State - They are who we thought they were and we let them off the hook! Clemson.

Miami by 12.5 over Cal - Good defensive and offensive lines are generally a problem for wilcox teams. See Oregon last year. The game is at home and wilcox will do a moral victory special. Cal covers.



Non conference lock of the week: Bama by 23.5 over Vandy - Vandy is solid and Bama will be in full letdown mode. Vandy covers easily.

The upcoming home game against Miami is one of the biggest Cal football games in a very long time (given the ESPN gameday).

Here are a few factors that might play in Cal’s favor (hopefully contributing to a Cal win this Saturday).

• Kickoff at 7:30pm PT. That means the game will run from roughly 10:30pm ET to 1:30am ET
• Travel. Miami has to fly a long way to Berkeley, which they’re not used to making long trips
• Healthy. Cal will hopefully be as healthy as they’ve been all year long, including Jaydn Ott and the OL (especially if McDonald and hopefully Vatikani plays)
• Home crowd. Will we see one of the best attended home games so far this year (given the ESPN gameday)???
• Bye week. Cal has had 14 days to prepare for this game, while Miami will have had only 8 days. Yes, I know Cal is not great off bye weeks, but hopefully this time it is better
• Cal knows from Pac 12 days QB Cam Ward and RB Damian Martinez, plus HC Mario Cristobal
• Last time Cam Ward came to Berkeley (Nov 2023), Cal beat Wazzu 42-39 despite Ward throwing for 350+ yards.
• A big part of the 2023 Cal win was getting turnovers (3 fumbles and 1 INT off Ward). In 2022, although Cal lost that road game at Wazzu, Cal did intercept Ward twice in that game too. Getting a Cal win in 2024 will definitely require winning the turnover battle