Not a Christmas Tree: ACC Picks and the Box Truck at Norvell’s
Welcome back to Sideline Notes — the written side of Cheering from the Sidelines with Misty and Erin.
Order of business this week: Florida State first, because that is the house rule. Then the actual Thursday night ACC game, Pitt hosting Syracuse. Then UNC at Clemson on Saturday. Then everybody else, because if we are going to stare at Vegas all week, we might as well stare at the whole league.
Grab the sweet tea. Here we go!
Florida State at No. 10 Alabama - Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET • ABC • Bryant-Denny Stadium
Spread: Alabama −19.5
This is the one we already previewed on the pod. Bye week after the SMU heartbreak. Road trip to Tuscaloosa. The building that eats visiting teams for lunch and asks for seconds.
And because this is Florida State in 2026, we cannot talk about Saturday without talking about the box truck.
A box truck showed up outside Mike Norvell’s house in Tallahassee this week. The internet did what the internet does. Moving day. Hot seat. Buyout math. Somebody in the replies asked if there was a Christmas tree in the front yard, which is how you know Noles are on X inspecting every post. There was a truck, a rumor, and a coach who got asked about it and laughed.
“About what at my house?” Norvell said. Then he called it awesome that people were watching his driveway, said he does not live online, and pointed the whole circus back at the team. Fine. We will also note, as two women who have watched a lot of husbands “just running an errand,” that a box truck in the driveway in September is a bold look when your athletic director already got fired and Alabama is on deck.
He is still the head coach this Saturday. The Christmas tree can wait. Bryant-Denny cannot.
Do we think the Noles walk out of Bryant-Denny with a win? We are sorority sisters, not delusional. A 19-and-a-half-point hole in that building is a mountain. Do we think this team is three-touchdowns worse than Alabama on a Saturday in September? That is a different question. GO NOLES anyway. That is not optional.
Syracuse at Pittsburgh - Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ET • ESPN • Acrisure Stadium
Spread: Pitt −10.5
This is the real Thursday night game. First ACC kick of the week. Pitt is 2–0 after beating Miami (OH) and grinding out UCF 12–7. Syracuse is 1–1 and already 0–1 in league play.
Our read: Pitt, and it may not be close once the second half starts.
North Carolina at Clemson -Saturday, noon ET • ESPN • Memorial Stadium
Spread: Clemson −3.5
Noon kick in Death Valley. Belichick vs. Dabo. Clemson opened as much as a 9.5-point favorite. That number has collapsed to −3.5. When Vegas gives back six points in a week, somebody in the desert watched the same two games we did.
Clemson went to Baton Rouge and got run over 51–10. Then they beat Georgia Southern 22–7 at home and still looked like a team searching for an identity — and, depending on the report you believe, a healthy starting quarterback. UNC is 2–0, stingy on defense, and walking in with a defense that has not allowed much to anybody yet.
The public is all over UNC +3.5 (some books have nearly 70 percent of tickets on the Heels). Models are split. Dimers has Clemson 24–21. College Football News has UNC 23–20. ESPN’s FPI has it basically a coin flip with a slight Clemson lean.
Low total tells you what both defenses are supposed to be. It also tells you Clemson’s offense has been a problem.
Our read: This is the ACC game most likely to get weird. Home field still matters in Clemson, but a 3.5-point favorite that just absorbed a 41-point loss is not a team we are laying points on without a flinch.
The Rest of the ACC
No. 5 Miami at Wake Forest - Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET • ESPN
Spread: Miami −20.5
Miami has looked like the class of the league. Wake is 2–0 against teams that are not Miami. Twenty and a half on the road is a statement line. The Canes can cover it if they play the full four quarters instead of the “we already won, let’s get cute” version we have all seen from Coral Gables before.
Our read: Wake’s best hope is keeping the entertainment value high.
Saturday
Mercer at Georgia Tech - Noon • ACCN • Georgia Tech −38.5 to −41.5
NC State at Vanderbilt - 12:45 p.m. • SEC Network • Vanderbilt −3.5
Maine at Boston College - 2 p.m. • ACCNX • BC −39.5
No. 16 SMU at No. 23 Louisville - 3:30 p.m. • ESPN2 • Louisville −1.5
The real ACC game on the board after FSU and UNC. SMU is 2-0 after beating us and UC Davis. Louisville is 1–1 after the Ole Miss slugfest. The Mustangs are ranked higher. The Cardinals are getting points at home. Total is a touchdown-fest number. This one decides who sits next to Miami in the early ACC conversation.
Sideline lean: SMU in a one-score game. We have seen this offense up close. It does not travel scared.
Wagner at California - 3:30 p.m. • ACCN
Stanford at Duke - 4 p.m. • The CW • Duke −9.5
Virginia Tech at Maryland - 7:30 p.m. • FOX/FS1 • Virginia Tech −2.5 to −3.5
West Virginia vs. No. 25 Virginia - 7:30 p.m. • ACCN • Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte (Duke’s Mayo Classic) Virginia −9.5 to −10.5