The Clemson Tigers take on the South Carolina Gamecocks. Check out our college football odds series for our Clemson South Carolina prediction and pick. Find how to watch Clemson South Carolina.
The Clemson Tigers are truly struggling under coach Dabo Swinney. They used to be viewed as a lock to win the ACC championship and make the College Football Playoff every year. They used to belong with Alabama and Georgia as the programs which stood at the very top of the mountain. Now they look like a half-decent team which will go to a late-December bowl game, have a winning season, but won't come remotely close to winning its conference or making a New Year's Six bowl game. Clemson is ordinary right now, a product of Dabo's very public and widely-known refusal to use the transfer portal. Dabo's distaste for the portal has led him to veer away from it, whereas other coaches might hate the portal but will still dive into it, knowing they have to get good players from other places in order to compete well and win championships.
Nick Saban of Alabama didn't like the fact that college football was becoming a more wide-open game a decade ago, but he nevertheless made adjustments so that his Alabama teams could score a lot and win explosive games, instead of the defensive slugfests Saban prefers to play. Saban's willingness to evolve with the times is why he is still winning at Alabama, and it stands in marked contrast to Dabo's stubbornness, which is why Clemson is falling behind the great powerhouse programs in college football.
Clemson goes to South Carolina's home field trying to avoid consecutive losses to the rival Gamecocks. A loss here would represent a new low for Dabo in the transfer portal era.
Here are the Clemson-South Carolina College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Clemson-South Carolina Odds
Clemson Tigers: -7.5 (-110)
South Carolina Gamecocks: +7.5 (-110)
Over: 49.5 (-110)
Under: 49.5 (-110)
How To Watch Clemson vs South Carolina
Time: 7:30 pm ET / 4:30 pm PT
TV: SEC Network
Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Clemson Could Cover the Spread
Clemson is not a particularly good team, but South Carolina has struggled throughout a 5-6 season. The Gamecocks have not been able to play consistently good football on either side of the ball. Their offense has been hurt by a bad offensive line in front of quarterback Spencer Rattler. The passing game can't really function if the offensive line can't provide good protection for the quarterback. Clemson has a lot of flaws on its roster, but one of them is not the defensive line. Clemson's pass rush and its front four against South Carolina's offensive line is a mismatch, and that is what will help Clemson to not only win this game, but win it decisively.
Why South Carolina Could Cover the Spread
The Gamecocks, at 5-6, need one more win for a bowl bid. This is not just a rivalry game for the Gamecocks; it's a must-win situation if they want to have a bowl game to look forward to. Playing at home, one should expect South Carolina to play its best game of the season and to do the kinds of things it has previously failed to achieve over most of the past 11 games. South Carolina's best performance against a relatively ordinary Clemson team with a very average offense should enable South Carolina to at least cover the spread if not win outright.
Final Clemson-South Carolina Prediction & Pick
Past Clemson teams were great, and they would come into Columbia and thrash the Gamecocks. This is not a great Clemson team. South Carolina has a lot to play for and will keep this game close. Take South Carolina.
Final Clemson-South Carolina Prediction & Pick: South Carolina +7.5
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