College Football Week 4: Clemson vs. NC State Betting Predictions

North Carolina State Wolfpack (2-1 SU, 0-3 ATS) at Clemson Tigers (1-1, 1-1), 9/22/24 

When: noon ET Saturday, Sept. 22

Where: Memorial Stadium

TV: ABC

Betting Odds

Point spread: NCST +20.5/Clem -20.5

Money line: North Carolina St +750/Clemson -1200

Over/under: 48

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Atlantic Coast Conference contenders clash when Clemson and North Carolina State open their ACC slates Saturday afternoon at Death Valley (East).

The Tigers begin their conference slate as the favorites to win the conference title. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack think they’ve got a shot at playing in the ACC championship game themselves after missing by one game last season.

Clemson has dominated this rivalry for most of this century, and it’s favored by three touchdowns on Saturday. But NC State won this game last year.

The Line

The Week 4 CFB betting market opened Clemson at -20.5 over NC State, with an O/U of right around 48.5. Both numbers were holding steady in the early betting action.

North Carolina State Betting Preview

 
The Wolf Pack are 2-1 on the season after beating Louisiana Tech last Saturday 30-20. But it wasn’t easy. North Carolina State, favored by 20 points, trailed 17-6 at the half. State then used a pick-6 early in the third quarter to begin a 24-3 comeback, won the game but whiffed ATS.
 
The Pack also lost starting QB Grayson McCall to an undisclosed injury in the second quarter. Freshman CJ Bailey stepped in to lead the rally and word is he’ll get the start this Saturday.
 
North Carolina State out-gained the Bulldogs but only by a margin of 361-324.
 
The Pack opened this season with an underwhelming 38-21 win over Western Carolina (FCS) and never came close to covering at -33. They then got crushed at home to Tennessee 51-10, again whiffing ATS at +8.
 
NC State returned 13 starters this season from a team that played 9-4 last season and is expected to contend for a top-four finish in the ACC, perhaps even a spot in the conference championship game. But they ain’t shown much yet.
 
The Wolfpack are catching around +700 to win the ACC this season while playing against a wins O/U of 8.5.

Clemson Betting Preview

 
Meanwhile, the Tigers are 1-1 on the season after pounding Appalachian State two Saturdays ago 66-20. Clemson then had last week off.
 
The Tigers, favored at -17 over the Mountaineers, scored touchdowns the first eight times they touched the ball on their way toward the much-easier-than-anticipated victory.
 
Clemson outgained App State 712-363, and most of the yardage the Tigers’ defense gave up came in total garbage time.
 
Clemson opened this season three weeks ago with that ugly 34-3 loss to Georgia. The Tigers got totally out-played that day, managing just 188 yards of total offense.
 
Clemson returned 14 starters this season from a team that played 9-4 last season. The Tigers are lined at around +450 to win the ACC this season, playing against a wins O/U of 9.5. This means they can only stumble once more if they want to reach that over. But from here, it looks like Clemson will be favored for at least nine of its last ten games.
 

North Carolina State-Clemson Recent History

 
The Tigers took 15 of 16 meetings from the Wolfpack from 2004-19, but State is trying to fight back, winning two of the last three. Last year in Raleigh, the Pack used two big plays, a pick-6, and a long offensive score, to beat Clemson 24-17.
 
That game was played under a total of 44.

College Football Betting Trends

 
The home team is 4-2 SU and 5-1 ATS in the last six games of this series.
 

Totals Report

 
Overs are 2-1 in Wolfpack games this season, which are averaging 56 total points.
 
Totals are split 1-1 in Tigers games, which are averaging 62 points.
 

Free College Football Pick

 
Clemson gets our handicapping checkmarks at quarterback, with the better running game and the better defense. So far this season, North Carolina State is underachieving. Now, they’re going to throw a true freshman quarterback in for his first college start at a really tough place to play. Also, both these teams lost badly to quality opponents earlier this season; State’s loss was worse. We’ll give the points and take the Tigers.