The Wolfpacker made its official predictions live Friday morning for Saturday afternoon's game at Carter-Finley Stadium between Clemson and NC State, but what are others thinking?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, most of the picks are coming for Clemson.
The trio of Pete Thamel, Dan Wetzel and Pat Forde broke down the game on their podcast. Thamel explained why he was picking Clemson.
"I just don’t trust NC State," Thamel explained. "This is has been years in the making. I did pick them preseason to be a surprise team, but hopefully Carter-Finley is jumping. NC State, great fanbase, they deserve a great moment like this but … I feel like Clemson defensively, Brent Venables will have those guys dialed up, he’ll figure them. Clemson wins by two touchdowns."
Forde added, "The other strong belief here is that Clemson can’t be this bad. Eventually they’ll start getting some things going. It’s not like they don’t have talent. The offensive line is an issue. Otherwise there are no issues. If you look, NC State couldn’t run the ball to save their lives against Mississippi State … it’s going to be worse against Clemson and that front because Clemson will eat them alive up front.”
Wetzel didn't explain if he likes NC State to win, but he does think the Pack will cover.
"I have a feeling NC State will test the Tigers in their first true road game of the season and keep this game close enough," Wetzel added.
Stewart Mandel of The Athletic likes Clemson, 27-16.
"You have to think this is the week Clemson’s offense snaps out of whatever trance it’s been operating under for three weeks and puts on a competent performance," he wrote. "Competent will be enough. NC State scored 10 points against Mississippi State and is facing a defense that’s yet to allow a touchdown."
ESPN’s PickCenter has Clemson taking a victory with a projected score of 27.4-19.1.
Athlon's is predicting a 20-13 Clemson victory.
"The Clemson offense is going to get better," it wrote. "But will it be this week? After watching their performance versus Georgia Tech, it's hard to imagine that the Tiger staff can flip a switch and suddenly the team will score 40 points against this Wolfpack defense. The good news from a Clemson perspective is that the Tigers won't give up a whole lot of points either. Rushing yards will be hard to come by for both teams, which places more emphasis on each of the quarterbacks. For the first time all year, Clemson will allow a defensive touchdown. However, [D.J.] Uiagalelei will throw for a couple of scores and Clemson will survive."
The spread is currently Clemson favored by 10 points. Over at CBS Sports, all seven analysts predicted a Clemson win, but five of the seven picked the Wolfpack to cover the spread.
"Carter-Finley Stadium can be a great home field advantage for the Wolfpack and I think they'll have an impact on yet another edition of this series that will be undecided into the fourth quarter," Chip Patterson wrote. "Clemson's defense will keep it low scoring, and low scoring favors the underdogs."
CollegeFootballNews also had it as a close Clemson victory, 23-16.
"The Tigers O will continue to be lousy, but the D will come up with stop after stop to keep the game alive," it predicted. "NC State’s offense will stall on third downs, DJ Uiagalelei will hit on one big second half throw, and the upset bid will come up just short."
Sporting News had Clemson by a tad more comfortable margin of 28-16.
"NC State must get off to a quick start in the running game with Knight, and [Devin] Leary will take a few shots early while Clemson settles in," it wrote. "If NC State can limit the chunk plays and keep Uiagalelei off rhythm, then it should be a one-score game at halftime. Clemson, however, has not allowed an offensive TD through three games. Bryan Bresee leads another strong defensive effort, and the Tigers cover the 9.5-point spread."
Locally, radio host Joe Giglio of 99.9 The Fan is going with Clemson, 21-10, predicting a late touchdown from freshman running back Will Shipley to cover the spread.
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