The bye week is finally over for the Clemson Tigers, and they come out of it in even better shape than when they came into it.
A chance to heal up day-to-day injuries and monitor the other games around the ACC, the Tigers head into their third game of the season as a now-16.5-point favorite against the NC State Wolfpack, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.
The spread changed slightly due to an event in NC State’s win over Louisiana Tech last Saturday: the injury of starting quarterback Grayson McCall. When the line opened, the Tigers had an 11.5-point advantage on their ACC foe, according to BetMGM. McCall is questionable to play against Clemson this Saturday, and Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren will detail the status as the week goes on.
In place of McCall is true freshman CJ Bailey, who threw for 156 yards and an interception against the Bulldogs last Saturday. He also scored a rushing touchdown while playing more than two quarters to relieve McCall.
For the Tigers, two key players have been nursing injuries throughout the rest of the week: defensive end Peter Woods and receiver Tyler Brown. Woods hurt his leg on a questionable block by an Appalachian State defender last week, and Brown only played the first drive of Clemson’s win and suffered an ankle injury. Swinney has advocated that both are “day-to-day” and shouldn’t miss a lot of time.
The large spread between the two programs is also due to the recent performances by the teams. NC State is 0-3 against the spread while the Tigers are 1-1 on the season so far, including a 46-point win over the Mountaineers in Week 2.
We can’t give an outlook about the game without mentioning Memorial Stadium, where the game will take place. Home-field advantage favors the Tigers immensely, with their one home game as a double-digit favorite this season being the statement night against Appalachian State.
The over/under is 48 points. Clemson is 1-1 so far this season on overs, while the Wolfpack are 2-1 on the over this season, with their only under of the year so far coming in Week 1 against Western Carolina.
If you would want to bet outright, Clemson is currently -750 to win the Textile Bowl this weekend, while the Wolfpack are an immense +525 underdog in their opening ACC win of the season.
Both of their respective losses have now-come against top-10 teams who play in the SEC. The Tigers suffered an opening loss to the now-No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs by a score of 34-3 while the Wolfpack were beaten by the now-No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers by a score of 51-10 in the Duke’s Mayo Classic in Charlotte.
