Clemson vs. N.C. State Prediction
Following a crushing loss last week in South Bend, will N.C. State rebound and at least cover versus Clemson this afternoon?
ODDSMAKERS LIKE: Clemson. According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Tigers are 7-point road favorites versus the Wolfpack, who were 7.5-point home underdogs for most of the week. As for the total, the number hit the board at 51 and that’s where it currently sits at the majority of online sportsbooks.
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THE PUBLIC LIKES: Clemson. As of Saturday morning, 63% of tickets were on the Tigers minus the points.
HISTORICAL TRENDS LIKE: Conflicted. The road team is 13-4 against the spread in the last 17 meetings between these two teams while the Tigers are 6-2 against the spread in their last eight road games against the Wolfpack. That said, the underdog has covered in five of the last seven meetings between these two teams and Clemson is just 2-5 against the number in its last seven games versus N.C. State.
WHO WE LIKE: N.C. State. Clemson was fortunate to escape last year’s meeting with a victory, as N.C. State missed a last-second field goal in regulartion before falling to the Tigers in overtime. That Clemson team, mind you, had Deshaun Watson at quarterback and wound up beating Alabama in the national championship game.
My concern about the Wolfpack is they could be without all-purpose running back Nyheim Hines, who suffered an ankle injury in the first quarter of last week’s loss to Notre Dame. He’s questionable and if he doesn’t play, that’s a significant blow to a N.C. State team that had its bubble burst a week ago in South Bend.
That said, Dabo Swinney’s Tigers haven’t been covering many numbers lately. They’re 1-5 against the spread in their last six weeks and while Notre Dame ran all over N.C. State a week ago, the Wolfpack still have one of the most dominant defensive lines in the ACC. Plus, if you watched that ND-N.C. State game, the final score wasn’t indicative of how close the game was until the third quarter. In that crucial frame, the Wolfpack were stopped on downs inside the Irish 10-yard line, which doomed their chances of getting back into the game. A pick-six was also crippling in the first half, but that was the only interception quarterback Ryan Finley has thrown all year.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 10 PICK: N.C. STATE WOLFPACK +7