Wake Forest vs Clemson Odds: Clemson’s Defense Will Be Ready For Wake Forest

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons will hit the road to take on the Clemson Tigers.

A meeting against Clemson often meant playing one of the most challenging teams in the ACC and college football. But that’s not the case this year.

Clemson is 3-2 and ranked below at least five other ACC teams, including Florida State, Miami, Duke, North Carolina, and Louisville.

Duke and Florida State already earned wins against the Tigers. Can Wake Forest be the next team to knock off Clemson?

Take a look at the Wake Forest vs Clemson odds for one of the ACC matchups on the NCAA Football schedule this week.

Wake Forest Lacks Quarterback Talent

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons would have a lot of press right now if Sam Hartman stayed put in Wake Forest.

But with one college season left, Hartman decided to enter the transfer portal and found a home with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Hartman’s got Notre Dame ranked in the Top 25. They almost knocked off Ohio State and just defeated Duke.

The veteran quarterback hasn’t played incredibly well. He has limited turnovers but isn’t having those 400-yard games throwing the football.

Everyone at Notre Dame was hoping that the Fighting Irish would unleash Hartman. They haven’t. Notre Dame ruined Hartman.

Wake Forest wouldn’t have.

Hartman explained that he didn’t want to spend his entire career with the same team. Because of COVID-19, Hartman was granted a sixth year of eligibility and left Wake Forest in the dumps.

The Wake Forest offense has only earned 249.8 yards in the air with sophomore Mitch Griffis. He’s thrown nine touchdowns but also has six interceptions and a QBR of 30.7, which is 117th in college football.

Griffis will mature and grow. But Wake Forest could’ve had a massive game against Clemson with Hartman at quarterback.

What it could’ve been.

Clemson Won’t Make The CFP

The Clemson Tigers won’t make the College Football Playoff and likely won’t even get a chance to play in the ACC Championship game.

The ACC got a whole lot better this year, as acknowledged above. It’s a gauntlet each week.

Right now, Clemson’s offense is inept. They’ve added 457.2 yards per game. That’s the good part. But the execution has lacked. Cade Klubnick has thrown for 1239 yards and 11 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Will Shipley has rushed for 353 yards and two touchdowns.

But that hasn’t been good enough.

Clemson’s coming off a solid performance against Syracuse in a 31-14 win. But they scored 21 points off turnovers. Clemson either scored on their own defensively or gave Klubnik a half of a field to work with.

The offense isn’t getting the job done regularly.Therefore, with two losses and many massive games left on the college football schedule, Clemson will have to suffer another year without making the College Football Playoff.

Below, we’ll break down the Wake Forest vs Clemson odds for Saturday’s ACC action.

Wake Forest vs Clemson Odds

On Saturday, the Clemson Tigers are 21-point favorites against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The total for this game is sitting at 52.5.

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons might be 3-1 this season. But they’ve gone 1-3 against the spread this season. Wake Forest has only played teams like Elon, Vanderbilt, Old Dominion, and Georgia Tech. The schedule has been a bit weak up to this point.And yet, even as favorites against Georgia Tech, Wake Forest lost 30-16.

Meanwhile, the total has gone under twice and pushed twice. Oddsmakers have done a great job with the NCAA lines football regarding totals for Wake Forest games.

On the other hand, Clemson covered as 7.5-point favorites against Syracuse last time out. That pushed them to 2-3 against the spread this season. The Tigers have been favorites in four of five games but are just 3-2 this season.

Finally, the Tigers have watched the Under hit in three of five games. The Under has also hit in their last two games.

Is Wake Forest Actually Good?

Wake Forest is tough to assess. They’ve played well as a team but haven’t had the most challenging competition.

Expectations have been a bit high for the Demon Deacons early. But they’re just starting to get situated with a new quarterback in Mitch Griffis.

We already talked about Griffis earlier. But he hasn’t put up good numbers for Wake Forest. He’s got a lot of talent around him and is even playing behind a great offensive line unit. But he’s making poor throws and bad reads.If the quarterback isn’t playing well, the team won’t play well.

Against Clemson, the probability that Griffis plays poorly is high.

Clemson has held teams to 266.4 yards per game, including 183.2 yards in the air and just 83.2 yards on the ground. The Tigers have been dominant against the run and have a very good secondary that will force Griffis into more mistakes.

Griffis already has six interceptions in four games against mediocre defense. Clemson’s a top-25 defense in college football, if not better.

Cade Klubnik Needs To Take What The Defense Gives Him

The Clemson Tigers have sophomore Cade Klubnik in at quarterback this season. He’s had some good moments but also could be doing better.Klubnik has limited interceptions to two this season and has a couple of talented receivers by his side. The run game for Clemson has also been terrific, earning 184.4 yards per game on the ground, thanks to Will Shipley.

Clemson will face a Wake Forest defense that only allows 338.5 yards per game. But we’re taking that number with a grain of salt.Wake Forest held Elon to 17 points, gave Vanderbilt 20 points, and allowed Old Domionn to score 24 in its first three games. In the Demon Deacons’ most recent game, Georgia Tech scored 30 points on Wake Forest.

The defense is good, but not good enough. Not against a Clemson offense that is much more talented and stronger up front.If Cade Klubnik can take what’s given to him, limit turnovers, and put together long drives, Clemson will win in a low-scoring game.

Therefore, 21 points is a little much for Clemson. But the Under makes the most sense. We’ll grab the Under at 52.5. Wake Forest won’t score often.

For NCAAF betting news, odds, analysis and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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