Clemson Football Gameday vs Wake Forest: Odds, broadcast, predictions

Clemson Football will face a longtime ACC adversary in Death Valley before they take their bye week.

What: Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Clemson Tigers

When: Saturday 3:30 PM Eastern

Where: Clemson Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina

How to watch: The game will be broadcast on the ACC Network and available in the ESPN app.

How to listen: Clemson Athletic Network

Broadcasters:Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich, and Sherree Burruss will call the game on the ACC Network. As usual, Don Munson will call the game on the Clemson Athletic Network, along with Tim Bouret and Reggie Merriweather.

Forecast: 68 degrees and sunny at kickoff

Moneyline, Spread and Over/Under:

History: From Oppo Research – Clemson leads the all-time series 70-17-1 over the Deacons. The Tigers currently hold a fourteen-game win streak against Wake, which is one shy of their longest win streak in the series. Clemson won 15 straight contests against the Demon Deacons from 1977 to 1991. Clemson won last season’s contest in overtime 51-45 at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winston-Salem.

Prediction: Wake Forest at Clemson Football

I was on the Sam Hartman bandwagon at Notre Dame this offseason. At the same time, I couldn’t see how Wake would replace him, AT Perry or Kobie Turner and still be as good as they have been in the last couple seasons.

Mitch Griffis is not a bad quarterback in my opinion, but he isn’t a seasoned vet like Hartman. He tries to play hero ball a little too much. This makes Griffis susceptible to turnovers.

Given the manner that Clemson can put pressure on the quarterback, I think the Tigers should be able to force at least one turnover Saturday, and probably more.

So on one hand, I think this game could get out of hand for the Deacs. On the other hand, there is this one superstitious thing I can never shake these days.

I don’t think the Tigers play particularly well in the final game before a bye week. I have no reasonable explanation why this has happened as many times as it has in recent years.

It is hard to quantify it by looking at past results. I can point at 2022 Syracuse when DJ Uiagalelei fell apart, or 2021 Boston College when the Tigers struggled to a 19-13 win.

That 2019 North Carolina game when they had to stop Sam Hartman on a 2-pt conversion? Right before a bye week.

There are examples when the Tigers blew out their opponent the week before a bye too. Last time they played Wake before a bye was 2018, and Clemson won 63-3.

I’ve just come to not trust Clemson before a bye, and if there was ever a team to have a bad day before the bye week, it would be this one.

I am taking Clemson to win, but Wake Forest to cover, and I will take the over on points.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change