#18 Clemson Tigers at Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Thursday, October 25, 2012, 7:30 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN
Groves Stadium – Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Opening Line: Clemson -14
Current Line: Clemson -11 1/2
Opening Total: 59 1/2
Current Total: 59
Opening Money Line: Clemson -405 / Wake Forest +335
Current Money Line: Clemson -400 / Wake Forest +330
The Clemson Tigers and Wake Forest Demon Deacons meet for the 78th time Thursday night in Winston-Salem. Clemson has dominated the series with a 59-17-1 record, including 21-10-1 at Wake Forest. The Tigers have won the last 3 games and 5 of the last 6 including 31-28 last year in Clemson.
The #18 Clemson Tigers are 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the ACC Atlantic under coach Dabo Swinney. The Tigers are a half game behind Florida St in the division standings, but Florida St holds the tiebreaker because of their 49-37 home win against Clemson. The Tigers have wins over Auburn in Atlanta 26-19, home wins over Ball St 52-27, Furman 41-7, Georgia Tech 47-31, and last week against Georgia Tech 38-17, and on the road at Boston College 45-31. Clemson is 5-2 ATS and the total is 4-2 this season. The Tigers were 7.5 point favorites in the Virginia Tech game and the total was 63.5.
Clemson is averaging 492.9 yards per game on offense, including 301.1 passing yards and 191.7 rushing yards per game. The Tigers are outscoring teams 41-26 this season. Clemson is in the top 20 nationally in total offense, passing, and points per game. The Tigers are +7 in turnovers. Clemson has allowed 15 sacks. The Tigers are 67/123 on third and fourth down conversions, and 31/32 scoring in the red zone with 22 touchdowns. On defense, Clemson is allowing 440.3 total yards including 237.7 passing yards and 202.6 rushing yards. The Tigers are 63rd or worse in all categories on defense, including #93 in total defense and #102 in rushing defense. The Tigers have forced 15 turnovers and 9 sacks. Clemson opponents are 37/112 on third and fourth down conversions and 17/21 scoring in the red zone with 12 touchdowns.
Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd has completed 149 of 222 passes (67.1%) for 1,908 yards with 15 touchdowns and 6 interceptions, along with 91 carries, 251 yards and 4 touchdowns. Running back Andre Ellington has 135 carries, 693 yards and 7 touchdowns, along with 8 catches, 145 yards and a touchdown. Roderick McDowell has 32 carries, 156 yards and 5 touchdowns. Receiver DeAndre Hopkins has 52 catches, 845 yards and 9 touchdowns. Brandon Ford has 20 catches, 234 yards and 4 touchdowns. Sammy Watkins has 24 catches and 202 yards, along with 11 carries, 98 yards and a touchdown.
Wake Forest is 4-3 this season and 2-3 in the ACC under coach Jim Grobe. The Demon Deacons have losses at Florida St 52-0 and Maryland 19-14, along with a 34-27 home loss. Wake Forest has home wins over Liberty 20-17, North Carolina 28-27, and Army 49-37, along with a road win at Virginia 16-10 last week. The Demon Deacons are 4-3 ATS and the total is 3-3. Wake was a 3 point favorite and the total was 51.5 in the Virginia game.
Wake Forest is averaging 316.1 yards per game on offense, including 195.6 passing yards and 120.6 rushing yards. The Demon Deacons are being outscored 28-22 this season. Wake Forest is #111 in total and rushing offense, and #97 in passing and points scored per game out of 124 teams. The Deacons are +5 in turnovers. Wake has allowed 13 sacks this season. The Deacons are 36/115 on third and fourth down conversions and 17-19 scoring in the red zone with 13 touchdowns. Wake Forest allows 405 yards per game on defense, including 221.3 passing yards and 183.7 rushing yards. Wake has forced 13 turnovers and 15 sacks. Deacon opponents are 60/133 on third and fourth down conversions and 26/28 scoring in the red zone with 19 touchdowns.
Wake Forest quarterback Tanner Price has completed 105 of 207 passes (50.7%) for 1,327 yards with 7 touchdowns and 4 interceptions, along with 49 carries for 58 yards and 2 touchdowns. He has been sacked 12 times this season. Running back Josh Harris has 102 carries, 432 yards and 4 touchdowns, along with 7 catches for 29 yards. Deandre Martin has 65 carries, 299 yards and 5 touchdowns, along with 4 catches for 47 yards. Receiver Michael Campanaro has 38 catches, 429 yards with 3 touchdowns, along with 10 catches, 63 yards and a touchdown. He is probable with a hand injury. Terence Davis has 19 catches, 283 yards and a touchdown. Fullback Tommy Bohanon has no carries but does have 9 catches, 114 yards and 3 touchdowns. Three receivers and a tight end including Sherman Ragland III, Airyn Willis, Matt James and Neil Basford are listed as questionable or out Thursday night. Ragland has 10 catches for 140 yards but none of the other three have more than one catch.
Clemson is 5-0 ATS in ACC games, 4-0 overall, 6-1 in October, 8-3 after a cover, and 7-3 in road games. The last 4 games in this series have gone under the total. The Tigers are 1-4-1 ATS in their last six trips to Winston-Salem.
Wake Forest is 4-1 ATS after allowing 100 rushing yards or less, and after scoring and allowing less than 20 points, 15-5-2 at home against teams with winning road records, 5-2 in ACC games and after gaining less than 275 total yards, 4-9 against teams with winning records, and 1-5 after a straight up win. The home team is 5-2 ATS in this series recently.
Clemson is coming off their best defensive performances of the year last week against a rebuilding Virginia Tech team. The Tigers should be able to build on that against a Wake Forest team that struggles to move the ball and score. Meanwhile, the Wake Forest defense is average at best and will be tested severely by the high octane Clemson attack. I think the Tigers just have too much for the Demon Deacons, and Clemson wins easily.
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