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It is an ACC Battle as Wake Forest visits Clemson. It is time to continue our College Football odds series with a Wake Forest-Clemson prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
Wake Forest enters the game at 3-1, but 0-1 in conference play. They opened with a 37-17 win over Elon and then a 16-point victory over Vanderbilt. There were signs of trouble to come though for Wake Forest. The next week they traveled to Old Dominion. Against ODU, Wake Forest was down 17-0 at the half and would be down 24-7 mid-way through the third quarter. They would come back though, and win 27-24. There was no comeback the next week though. Wake Forest was down 20-3 at the half and managed to make it a one-touchdown game in the fourth quarter. Still, Georgia Tech would add a touchdown and win 30-16.
Meanwhile, Clemson is 3-2 on the year. They lost the opening week to DUke but rebounded to destroy Charleston Southern and FAU a combined 114-31. After that, they played Florida State. Clemson had two different ten-point leads in the game but would allow a touchdown with 31 seconds left for Florida State to tie it up. Then, in overtime, Florida State would score, but Clemson could not answer and they would fall 31-24. Clemson would rebound though, and take a 31-14 win over Syracuse the next week to move to 3-2.
Here are the college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Wake Forest-Clemson Odds
Wake Forest: +20.5 (-102)
Clemson: -20.5 (-120)
Over: 52.5 (-110)
Under: 52.5 (-110)
How to Watch Wake Forest vs. Clemson Week 6
TV: ACC Network
Stream: ESPN App
Time: 3:30 PM ET/ 12:30 PM PT
*Watch college football LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Wake Forest Will Cover The Spread
Article Continues Below
Mitch Griffis leads the Wake Forest offense. On the year he is 76-127 passing for 999 yards and nine touchdowns. He was great in the first two games but has struggled in the last two. In the last two games, he has thrown five interceptions and 11 other turnover-worthy passes. One of the major issues has been pressure. Griffis faced just 20 pressures in the first two games, with seven sacks. In the last two games, he has faced 35 pressures with 12 sacks. The pressure has affected Griffis with higher incompletion rates and more turnover-worthy-passes.
Meanwhile, Wake Forest does have a solid, but not exceptional, running game from Demond Claiborne and Justice Ellison. Claiborne has run for 311 yards this year and two scores. He is averaging almost five yards per carry this year and has scored twice this season. He also is averaging 3.1 yards after contact this season and has forced 18 missed tackles. Ellison has run for 250 yards, but just played in three games so far. He is averaging 5.7 yards per carry and has six carries over 15 yards this season.
Jahmal Banks has been a reliable receiver for Wake Forest. He has brought in 24 of 30 targets this year for 276 yards and three scores. Still, there is work to do for him. He is averaging just 1.6 yards after the catch this year. If he can make a miss and bring that average up, Wake Forest can score a lot more. Further, Taylor Morin has 239 yards this year and two scores, but like Banks, has not been great after the catch. Overall, Wake Forest averaged just four yards after the catch this season.
The defense will need to get good pressure on Cade Klubnik in this game. This year, they have 19 sacks with 68 pressures. The leader of the pass rush is Jasheen Davis. He has 19 pressures this year with five sacks. Meanwhile, Jacob Roberts has eight pressures and five sacks this season. Wake Forest has struggled at times in pass coverage. They have allowed six pass touchdowns this season, but they still have six interceptions. DaShawn Jones has allowed 11 of 22 targets his way to be completed with two touchdowns, but three interceptions this year.
Why Clemson Will Cover The Spread
Cade Klubnik leads the Clemson offense, and he needs to step up in this game. This year he has completed just 118 passes on 183 attempts. He does have 11 touchdowns this year with six big-time throws according to PFF. Klubnik does have two interceptions this year, but the bigger issue is passes that could become interceptions. He has nine other turnover-worthy passes this year. Klubnik has struggled with pressure in the last two games. He was sacked twice in the first three games, but seven times in the last two.
Meanwhile, Clemson has a good one-two punch in the running game. Will Shipley has run for 371 yards this season on 73 rushes. He is getting solid blocking as well. Shipley is getting over two yards down field before their first contact this season. Further, Shipley has created 17 missed tackles this year. Phil Mafah has 291 yards this year with four touchdowns as well. He is averaging 6.5 yards per carry and has scored four times this year. The big issue for the running game has been fumbles. They have seven fumbles this year, with five of them coming from Cade Klubnik.
Clemson comes in with a great run defense this year. They have over a 75 percent success rate on run defense while having 80 stops for offensive failures on run defense. Clemson has four guys with over ten tackles in the run game, all of them have seven or more stops for offensive failures this year, while the average depth of tackles for three of the four is less than 1.1 yards after the line of scrimmage. the other man, Barrett Carter, is sitting at just 2.4 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. They have also been solid against the pass this year. They have allowed five touchdowns, but also have five interceptions and three dropped interceptions this year,
Final Wake Forest-Clemson Prediction & Pick
Clemson is 3-2, but the two losses are to top-quality teams. In the other three games, they have been dominant. It has been a combination of solid defense, and great players from the offense. Cade Kulbnik has struggled the last two games, but this is a great spot for him to get right. Wake Forest has struggled all year, and that continues in this game. Clemson wins this one with ease.
Final Wake Forest-Clemson Prediction & Pick: Clemson -20.5 (-120)
