The Stanford Cardinal 2-1 (1-0 ACC) and No. 15 Clemson Tigers 2-1 (1-0) meet at Memorial Stadium Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s college football odds around the NC State vs. Clemson odds, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
Last week, Stanford played the Syracuse Orange on the road and came away with a thrilling 26-24 win. QB Ashton Daniels had a good game. He completed 23 out of 38 passes, gaining 178 yards, but he also threw two interceptions.
Elic Ayomanor caught 7 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. This season, Stanford has scored 31.3 points per game and given up 21.7. Their offense is ranked 61st and their defense is ranked 62nd, so they can do better.
Clemson easily beat NC State by 24 points, jumping out to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter. They scored 59 points in the game. Quarterback Cade Klubnik completed 16 out of 24 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns. Running back Phil Mafah ran for 107 yards and a touchdown on just seven runs.
But the Tigers’ defense was bad; they let in 21 points in the fourth quarter, which shows they need to get better. Right now, Clemson scores 42.7 points per game, which is 15th in the country, but they allow 29.7 points per game, which is 102nd, so they’ll need to improve their defense to keep their winning streak going.
– Rankings: US LBM Coaches Poll, conducted by the American Football Coaches Association and USA TODAY Sports
Stanford vs. Clemson odds
Stanford vs. Clemson picks and predictions
Prediction
Clemson 38, Stanford 21.
PASS.
As the big favorite, Clemson (-2000) will win on Saturday, but I don’t think the Cardinal will get blown out. I’m going to bet on the spread.
BET STANFORD +21.5 (-110).
These two teams should keep things interesting. It’s been a good 31.3 points per game, and their offense looks ready to make some noise against a Clemson defense that has had some problems. The Tigers don’t have anyone who can really protect Ayomanor, which could give the Cardinal a big edge.
It makes a lot of sense to bet on Stanford to win the spread. Keep in mind that Stanford’s road team has won 11 of its last 13 games, and the 15th-ranked Tigers have failed to cover the spread in 3 straight games. Also, in Stanford’s last three games, the underdog has won all three.
BET OVER 57.5 (-110).
This season, Clemson has been great at home, scoring more points than the other team in both games at Memorial Stadium. They lost to Appalachian State by 66 points and then to NC State by 59 points. This attack knows how to score a lot of points quickly.
Also, don’t forget about Stanford; they’ve been getting a lot of points—over 26 in every game so far. They scored 41 points against Cal Poly a few weeks ago and hit the over in their first game against TCU. This means that both teams are in the top half of several important scoring stats. This means that they’ll have plenty of chances to score.
With both defenses letting up an average of 34 points and being in the middle of the pack, this game is likely to have a lot of points.