Clemson vs. Wake Forest NCAA Football Spread Preview

Posted by Kenny Bell on Saturday,November 21, 2015 4:58, EDT in

With top-ranked Clemson hosting the lowly Wake Forest Demon Deacons in a mismatch of an ACC pairing on Saturday, there’s little doubt that the Tigers are going to win in Week 12 to remain unbeaten heading into their final regular season game next week. What college football betting fans everywhere need to know is whether or not Clemson will cover the spread as huge, four-touchdown-plus home favorites. Let’s find out now!

How To Bet the Demon Deacons @ Tigers NCAA Football Odds, TV & Game Info

When: Saturday, November 21, 3:30 PM ET
Where: Clemson Memorial Stadium, Clemson, South Carolina
TV: ESPN2
NCAAF Odds: Clemson -29
Over/Under: 48

Betting on the Clemson Tigers (10-0 SU, 5-5 ATS)

Clemson is coming off a closer-than-expected 37-27 win over Syracuse in Week 11 and never came close to covering the college football betting line as an insane 30.5-point road favorite. Quarterback Deshaun Watson completed 34 of 47 passes for 360 yards with two touchdowns and one interception while rushing 14 times for an additional 105 yards and one score. Running back Wayne Gallman added 66 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries and the Tigers’ defense limited Syracuse to 3-for-13 success on third downs. Now, the Tigers must remain focused against an even lesser foe.

“The biggest thing for us, we’ve got 18 days left to punch a ticket to the College Football Playoffs,” head coach Dabo Swinney said. “Let’s get dialed in.”
“I think we took a brief moment yesterday to lift our heads up and look at the finish line just to realize we are right there,” Clemson left guard Eric Mac Lain said. “But I think our mentality now is to keep our head down and sprint through it. We can’t have any kind of let up.”

Clemson is ranked 17th in scoring (38.5 ppg) and an equally encouraging 15th in points allowed (18.1 ppg).

Betting on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-7 SU, 5-5 ATS)

Wake Forest has lost four straight games including their humbling 28-7 road loss against Notre Dame as a 25.5-point underdog on Saturday. The Demon Deacons outgained the Fighting Irish by 340-282 yards in total offense while racking up 23 first downs to Notre Dame’s 15. Hell, the Demon Deacons even won the time of possession battle by over 11 minutes. Unfortunately, Wake Forest was only able to muster up seven third quarter points in their loss and gave up too many big plays to overcome in their ACC conference clash as Notre Dame scored once on a 98-yard touchdown run and once on a 28-yard interception return.

The Demon Deacons also failed to convert their red zone opportunities into points, going 1-for-4 in the red zone while getting stopped at the 1-yard-line in the second quarter. “I think we realized that we’re a more talented team and that we can play with anyone in the country,” sophomore quarterback John Wolford said. “It’s just a matter of execution, knowing your assignment, just not making stupid plays. Right now we’re still young, so for us to be in these games we have to be smart, we have to execute, and coming down to the end of games we have to try and find a way to win.”

Wolford completed 19 of 30 passes for 219 yards with one interception in the loss. Wake Forest has lost 13 consecutive games against Top 25 opponents. The Demon Deacons are ranked 120th in scoring (17.5 ppg) and 46th in points allowed (23.5 ppg).

My Expert Wake Forest @ Clemson Game Analysis and Pick

54 percent of public bettors likes Clemson to get the emphatic win and accompanying ATS cover, but I disagree and can see this contest playing out similarly to Clemson’s narrow 10-poit win in Week 11 – despite being an insane 30.5-point favorite. I know the Demon Deacons aren’t in the same class of teams as the top-ranked Tigers, but I also believe they’re going to cover the insane point spread in this contest with room to spare.

Despite their SU success this season, Clemson is just 3-9 ATS in their last 12 conference games, 1-5 ATS in their last half-dozen games against a team with a losing record and a dismal1-6 ATS in their last seven games in the month of November. Wake Forest may be nothing more than a young team trying to find its way right now, but the Demon Deacons are 4-1 ATS in their last five games following an SU loss, leading me to believe they’re going to come out with a fantastic effort to cover the spread in this mismatch of a matchup.

My Betting Pick: Clemson 38 Wake Forest 17