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Death Valley is in for a great showdown on Saturday as the #10 North Carolina State Wolfpack travel to take on the #5 Clemson Tigers. It's a big test for both the NC State football squad, which is their first stiff competition, and the Clemson football squad, which isfresh off of a triumphant overtime win at Wake Forest.
The matchup contains ACC and College Football Playoff implications, so both the Wolfpack and Tigers will be ready to go. NC State won last year's matchup and Clemson has not forgotten it. As we prepare for such an important contest, let's take a look at three bold predictions for NC State football's huge game against Clemson.
3. The offense finally comes alive
Against the two FBS opponents the Wolfpack have taken on in 2022, they've put up an average of 24 points per game. While solid, you'd definitely like to see more from a team ranked tenth in the country. It's as if all the puzzle pieces are there, they're just not all connected at the moment. Of course, the same was said of Clemson, who seemingly had struggled to put up serious offense for an entire year plus, until this past weekend against Wake Forest where they won a shootout.
NC State is going to have to match that energy, just in case they need it, because although their defense is really good, if DJ Uiagalelei has finally found the form that got him loads of hype in 2020, they'll need to be able to put up points in a hurry. If they can do that, and finally put it all together on offense, this NC State team can stake a claim to very real College Football Playoff ambitions.
2. Clemson scores fewer than 30 points
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As mentioned, NC State has a really good defense. If you don't believe me, how does 13th in the country in yards allowed, 10th in rushing yards allowed and tied-for-8th in points allowed per game sound? This is a defense that can match up with the best offenses in the country and hold their own, and I truly believe they'll be the first team to hold Clemson under 30, which should give their offense enough room to go win the game for the Wolfpack.
If they can put pressure on Uiagalelei to make big-time throws by removing the run game altogether, they'll be in a much better position to keep the Tigers off the board for as long as possible. The longer between Clemson scoring drives the more likely that NC State prevails in this Top 10 clash.
1. NC State football takes the win
I know, I know, NC State hasn't won in Death Valley since 2002 and it wasn't even close the last time they went there in 2018. But this is a much stronger Wolfpack team, and a much more vulnerable Clemson football squad. One just has to remind themselves that the 2018 Clemson offense featured Trevor Lawrence, Hunter Renfrow, Tee Higgins, and Travis Etienne, all big-time contributors in the NFL today.
This Clemson team doesn't quite have that star power, and a very tightly organized and cohesive Wolfpack may be able to exploit that. Dave Doeren's squad got their signature win under his reign last year when they beat the Tigers at home, and it would be an even more impressive feat for them to do it again on the road. The last time NC State beat Clemson back-to-back was in 2002 and 2003, when the starting quarterback for the Wolfpack was Philip Rivers. I think it's time that changed. Wolfpack win.
