National experts predict Clemson's chances to blow out NC State

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Will Clemson cover a nearly three-touchdown spread over NC State?

Unlike some of the noise pre-Appalachian State, talk of a straight-up upset is nowhere to be found, and the Tigers head into the noon matchup in Death Valley (ABC) as a 19.5-point favorite currently. A major factor in the spread movement and Clemson picks seems to be the Wolfpack being projected to start a true freshman QB in CJ Bailey.

All of CBS Sports' panelists take the Tigers to get the win, with six of the eight predicting Clemson to win by more than 20.5 points.

In the affiliated Cover 3 podcast, none had the spread as a lock one way or another, but three of the four took unders, with one each out of Clemson's score (under 32.5 points), NC State's score (under 13.5 points) and the game points total (under 44.5 points).

247Sports' two predictors each take Clemson to beat the Wolfpack by more than 19.5:

(Chris) Hummer (Clemson -19.5) — I'd be curious what this line would look like if NC State could start Grayson McCall instead of true freshman CJ Bailey. As it is, give me the Tigers. I haven't been particularly encouraged by what I've seen from NC State so far this season, including last week when it fell in a massive hole against Louisiana Tech. Plus, the Wolfpack are catching Clemson coming off a bye week. The Tigers roll and restore some of the national confidence they lost after being blown out by Georgia in Week 1. … Clemson 35, NC State 14.

(Brad) Crawford (Clemson -19.5) — We'll see what kind of team Dave Doeren has inside that locker room this weekend for NC State, considering all of us are taking the Tigers in a Death Valley white-washing. There was no fight in the Wolfpack after the first quarter against Tennessee two weeks back and they were lucky to beat Louisiana Tech at home last weekend. This is not the featured ACC showdown we assumed it would be during the offseason, but maybe it'll be closer than most of us (say). But I'm not picking it. ... Clemson 31, NC State 10.

Clemson opened as a 15.5-point favorite on Sunday. The Tigers haven't lost at home to NC State since 2002, besting the Wolfpack by an average of 16 points in Death Valley meetings in that span.

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