Chris Graham: ACC Football Week 1 Pick’Em

Friday, Aug. 31

Syracuse at Western Michigan, 6 p.m., CBSSN
Series: First Meeting
Line: Syracuse -6
Capsule: Can ‘Cuse stop the Western Michigan ground game? This one should be a nail-biter into the fourth quarter.
Pick: Syracuse 34, Western Michigan 24.

Army West Point at Duke, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Series: Duke leads 13-11-1; Last Meeting: Army 21, Duke 16 (2017)
Line: Duke -11.5
Capsule: Army beat Duke last season, and its triple-option is a beast to have to defend.
Pick: Duke 20, Army 14.

Saturday, Sept. 1

James Madison at NC State, Noon, ESPNU
Series: First Meeting
Line: NC State -13.5
Capsule: The Dukes should be in FBS, and would be, if JMU wasn’t located in the middle of nowhere TV market-wise.
Pick: NC State 38, JMU 37.

Furman at Clemson, 12:20 p.m., ACC Network
Series: Clemson leads, 42-10-4; Last Meeting: Clemson 41, Furman 7 (2012)
Line: Clemson -48.5
Capsule: Furman is picked to finish second in the SoCon, maybe the best conference in FCS.
Pick: Clemson 41, Furman 14.

Alcorn State at Georgia Tech, 12:30 p.m., RSN
Series: Georgia Tech leads, 1-0; Last Meeting: Georgia Tech 69, Alcorn State 6 (2015)
Line: Georgia Tech -43.5
Capsule: Alcorn State was picked first in the preseason poll in the SWAC East.
Pick: Georgia Tech 34, Alcorn State 14.

UMass at Boston College, 1 p.m., ACCNE
Series: Boston College leads, 21-5; Last Meeting: Boston College 26, UMass 7 (2016)
Line: Boston College -18.5
Capsule: UMass is already 1-0 on the season, with a blowout win over Duquesne.
Pick: Boston College 27, UMass 17.

Albany at Pitt, 3:30 p.m., ACCNE
Series: First Meeting
Line: Pitt -24
Capsule: Albany was tabbed to finish ninth in the preseason CAA poll>
Pick: Pitt 38, Albany 10.

UNC at Cal, 4 p.m., FOX
Series: Cal leads, 1-0; Last Meeting: Cal 35, UNC 30 (2017)
Line: Cal -7.5
Capsule: The Pac-12 media has Cal finishing fourth in the North.
Pick: UNC 24, Cal 21.

Richmond at UVA, 6 p.m., ACCNE
Series: UVA leads, 28-3-2; Last Meeting: Richmond 37, UVA 20 (2016)
Line: UVA -12
Capsule: Richmond laid the smack down on UVA in 2016. This one will be tight for a while.
Pick: UVA 31, Richmond 17.

Camping World Kickoff, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Fla.
Louisville vs. Alabama, 8 p.m., ABC
Series: Alabama leads, 2-1; Last Meeting: Louisville 34, Alabama 7 (1991)
Line: Alabama -25.5
Capsule: Louisville will miss Lamar Jackson. But it wouldn’t have mattered in this one.
Pick: Alabama 51, Louisville 3.

Sunday, Sept. 2

AdvoCare Classic, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Miami vs. LSU, 7:30 p.m., ABC
Series: LSU leads, 9-3; Last Meeting: LSU 40, Miami 3 (2005)
Line: Miami -3
Capsule: Can the ‘Canes recover from their late-season 2017 swoon?
Pick: Miami 28, LSU 17.

Monday, Sept. 3

Virginia Tech at Florida State, 8 p.m., ESPN
Series: FSU leads, 23-12-2; Last Meeting: Florida State 28, Virginia Tech 22 (2012)
Line: Florida State -5.5
Capsule: Virginia Tech is a bit young on D.
Pick: FSU 28, Virginia Tech 20.

Picks by Chris Graham