Clemson vs. Wake Forest Prediction: Tigers look to keep streaking |
David Hood
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- Friday, October 11 2024
For the second consecutive week, the Tigers are on the road in ACC play, this time heading to Wake Forest for a showdown at high noon.
Can the Tigers win the all-important turnover battle? Can Clemson go to 4-0 in league play? Can the Tigers win their 16th in a row against a conference opponent? We will find out on Saturday. NO. 10/11 CLEMSON (4-1, 3-0 ACC) at WAKE FOREST (2-3, 1-1 ACC) WHEN: SATURDAY, OCT. 12, NOON ET CLEMSON/WAKE FOREST SERIES HISTORY OVERALL: Clemson leads series, 71-17-1 NOTABLE *Clemson is 4-0 this season when it wins the turnover margin and 0-1 when it loses that metric. Dating to last season, the turnover margin has been a bellwether for Clemson in its last 12 games. The Tigers are 9-3 in their last 12 games, and Clemson won the turnover margin in all nine wins and lost the turnover margin in all three losses. Clemson has lost only three turnovers this season, tied for eighth-fewest nationally. Clemson's three giveaways are its fewest through five games since 2005 (three). *Clemson's four victories in 2024 have shared several commonalities, but chief among them have been the Tigers' fast starts and their turnover efficiency. Clemson has outscored opponents 90-0 in the first quarter of games this season, and Clemson's first-quarter scoring differential of +18.0 points leads the nation. This season marks Clemson's first time holding opponents scoreless in the first quarter of each of the first five games of a season since 1990. *Clemson joins Miami (2-0), SMU (2-0), Virginia (2-0) and Pitt (1-0) as one of only five teams to be undefeated in ACC play. Media members ranked those schools second, third, seventh, 16th and 13th, respectively, in the ACC preseason poll. Going into the game week, Clemson was one of six FBS schools nationally to have already collected at least three conference victories, joining Texas Tech (3-0 in the Big 12), Indiana (3-0 in the Big Ten) and Texas A&M (3-0 in the SEC), Army (4-0 in the American) and Navy (3-0 in the American). * Clemson is attempting to improve to 72-17-1 all-time against Wake Forest. It would pull Wake Forest within one defeat of Clemson’s most-defeated opponent, South Carolina, which Clemson has beaten 73 times. - Clemson is attempting to win its 16th consecutive game against Wake Forest to take sole possession of the longest winning streak in series history (passing its 15 from 1977-91). Clemson’s current 15-game winning streak since 2009 against Wake Forest is the Tigers’ longest active winning streak against an ACC foe. * Clemson is attempting to earn its fourth 16-game winning streak against a single opponent in school history, joining a 32-game streak against Furman (1938-present), a 29-game streak against Virginia (1955-89) and an 18-game streak against The Citadel (1932-present). It would join the Virginia streak as one of two winning streaks of 16-plus games against current FBS programs in Clemson history. ABOUT WAKE FOREST The Demon Deacons are 45th nationally in total offense, ranking 25th in pass offense and just 75th in rushing offense. Senior quarterback Hank Bachmeier drives the machine, and he’s a solid 112-for-176 (63.6 percent) for 1313 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also third on the team with 34 carries for 95 yards. The leading rusher is Demond Claiborne, who sits just behind Phil Mafah in the ACC at 471 yards, good for fourth. Senior Taylor Morin is the deep threat, hauling in 26 passes for 345 yards, good for 12th in the league. Linebackers Dylan Hazen (39 tackles), Branson Combs (28), and Quincy Bryant (27) do most of the heavy lifting, but safety Nick Andersen leads the team in tackles with 60. That means ballcarriers – and receivers – are getting deep downfield. Indeed, Wake Forest is 125th nationally in total defense and is 99th in rushing defense, giving up 169 yards per game. The pass defense is worse, ranking 127th, giving up 291.4 yards per game. The Demon Deacons don’t get much pressure on the quarterback, registering just six sacks on the season. Against Clemson’s offense, which has been flying high since the opener, that’s not optimal. ABOUT CLEMSON We wrote earlier that the Tigers have been taking care of the football, and it’s allowed them to average over 500 yards per game and over 40 points per game since the opener. Quarterback Cade Klubnik is 92-of-143 for 1219 yards with 14 touchdowns and just two interceptions. However, he is second on the team with 28 rushes for 168 yards and another four touchdowns. Antonio Williams is the team’s leading receiver, with 19 catches for 280 yards and four touchdowns. Tight end Jake Briningstool is second on the team with 17 catches, but freshman Bryant Wesco is second in yards with 262. Clemson’s defense is now up to 80th in total defense after holding Florida State to just 250 yards last week. Clemson has ten sacks, led by T.J. Parker’s four. WHAT WILL HAPPEN Wake Forest is better than it's played, and they will give the Tigers fits for a while on Saturday. But the defense is small on the back end and isn’t good enough to pressure Klubnik into mistakes. The Tigers have too many weapons and horses and will gradually pull away. Krispy Kreme for all in the locker room. FINAL SCORE: CLEMSON 47, WAKE FOREST 20 TigerNet picks * Points: 3 pts for best correct prediction of the week (tiebreaker is Clemson score), 2 pts for picking score exactly, 1 pt for picking the correct winner
WHERE: ALLEGACY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION STADIUM (31,500), WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.
TELEVISION: ESPN (Dave Pasch, Dusty Dvoracek, Taylor McGregor)
RADIO: Clemson Athletic Network (Don Munson, Tim Bourret, Reggie Merriweather)
SATELLITE RADIO: SiriusXM 161 or 193
- HOME: Clemson leads series, 41-7
- ROAD: Clemson leads series, 27-10-1
- NEUTRAL: Clemson leads series, 3-0
- LAST MEETING: Oct. 7, 2023 (17-12, W)
- STREAK: Clemson, Won 15
David Hood - TigerNet senior writer - 47-20 Clemson
Mickey Plyler - The Roar 105.5 morning show host - 44-20 Clemson
Nikki Hood - Staff writer - 52-14 Clemson
Brandon Rink - Associate editor - 45-20 Clemson
Tony Crumpton - Associate editor - 48-13 Clemson
Ryan Kantor - Contributing Writer - 48-14 Clemson
Ariana Pensy - Intern - 35-14 Clemson
Merrell Mann - Photographer - 42-13 Clemson
Brooks Thomason - Intern - 38-17 Clemson
Grayson Mann - Staff writer - 45-10 Clemson
Game
Actual
David Hood
Plyler
Nikki Hood
Rink
Crumpton
Kantor
Pensy
M. Mann
Thomason
G. Mann
Georgia
34-3 UGA
27-24 CU
23-21 CU
24-17 CU
29-20 UGA
27-20 UGA
28-21 UGA
24-17 UGA
17-14 CU
27-21 UGA
27-23 UGA
App State
66-20 CU
34-14 CU
30-16 CU CU
38-17 CU
34-17 CU
31-17 CU
35-10 CU
30-10 CU
31-10 CU
31-13 CU
28-10 CU
NC State
59-35 CU
34-13 CU
38-16 CU
42-20 CU
30-13 CU
28-10 CU
35-14 CU
34-17 CU
38-17 CU
31-10 CU
31-10 CU
Stanford
40-14 CU
44-20 CU
48-17 CU
38-10 CU
44-16 CU
42-14 CU
41-17 CU
45-17 CU
48-21 CU
40-20 CU
41-17 CU
FSU
29-13 CU
41-13 CU
42-10 CU
42-17 CU
38-16 CU
35-14 CU
40-14 CU
55-7 CU
44-20 CU
31-16 CU
45-14 CU
Points
-
4
4
9
8
8
5
5
4
8
5
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