Clemson vs. Wake Forest Total Pick
The Clemson Tigers hope to have star freshman Trevor Lawrence under center this Saturday when they visit Wake Forest. Even if Lawrence starts, will the game be relatively low-scoring for bettors at 3:30 p.m. ET?
Game Snapshot
317 Clemson Tigers at 318 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
3:30 p.m. ET, Saturday, October 6, 2018
BB&T Field, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Tigers are 18-point favorites to beat the Demon Deacons. The total, meanwhile, sits at 62.5 points. As of this writing, 60% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Demon Deacons.
Clemson Tigers
Clemson HC Dabo Swinney “definitely” expects freshman QB Trevor Lawrence (neck/head) to play against Wake Forest this weekend. Lawrence returned to practice as a full participant on Monday. “I definitely expect him to play,” Swinney said. “I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t.” Lawrence wanted to return to Saturday’s game against Syracuse after suffering the injury in the second quarter. But because team doctors couldn’t rule out a concussion at the time, Lawrence was ruled out. But it was determined Sunday that Lawrence was dealing with a neck injury rather than a concussion. “He got the crap knocked out of him,” Swinney said. “It was head and neck. He had some pain, and you get put in concussion protocol with anything that creates a symptom. That’s not something you mess with.”
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Wake Forest freshman QB Sam Hartman completed 15-of-17 passes for 241 yards and four touchdowns in Saturday’s 56-24 win over Rice. Hartman had a bounce-back game after struggling against No. 8 Notre Dame last week. The true freshman quarterback connected with Greg Dortch for all four of his touchdowns; Hartman had more touchdowns than incompletions by the way. The best throw of the day was to Dortch deep over the middle for a 55-yard touchdown but he was great all day long. Hartman owns a respectable 10/5 TD/INT ratio and is averaging 237 passing yards per game. Clemson will put a lot of pressure on the freshman quarterback next Saturday.
Betting Trends
Clemson
The under is 7-2-1 in the Tigers’ last 10 conference games.
Wake Forest
The over is 4-0 in the Demon Deacons’ last four games overall.
Prediction
The under has been a great bet when these two teams meet, cashing in seven of the last 10 meetings. The under is also 6-2 in the Tigers’ last eight games and 5-2 in their last seven games coming off a win. Hartman had a bounce-back game last week but that was versus Rice. He struggled against Notre Dame and will likely have issues moving the ball versus Clemson’s stout defense as well. The Tigers should score, but I don’t believe the Demon Deacons will contribute enough to push the scoring over the total. I like the under.
College Football Prediction: Clemson/Wake Forest under 62.5