Clemson (7-3, 5-2 ACC) plays host to No. 10 Wake Forest (9-1, 6-0) at 12 p.m. on Saturday at Death Valley. The Tigers hope to stay in contention for a seventh consecutive appearance in the ACC Championship Game, while the Demon Deacons look to clinch their first Atlantic Division title since 2006.
On The Crowd’s Line, former South Carolina and college football head coach Lou Holtz and former ESPN analyst Mark May gave their predictions for the game, with May picking Clemson to win 28-26 and Holtz picking the Tigers to lose 31-24.
You can check out their full comments below:
May: “Clemson is a 3.5-point favorite in this game, and they’re not even ranked. Sam Hartman, the quarterback for Wake, has done a terrific job all season long throwing the football. He’s eighth in the nation with 3,163 yards passing. But if you look at this offense, they’re second in scoring at almost 45 points a game. So, you know they’re going to score some points. But what leads Clemson is their defense. Brent Venables, their defensive coordinator, has done a terrific job with this defense. They don’t give up a lot of points. They’re third in scoring (defense) in the nation, and they’ve got talent on that side of the ball. But their offensive line has been horrendous this year, that’s where they’ve had problems – not running the ball effectively or efficiently. So, I think Wake is going to put points up, even though this defense is terrific on Clemson. It’s not going to be as high scoring as most people think. I’m going to take Wake and the 3.5 points in this game. I’m going to say Clemson wins this game in an upset over No. 10 Wake, but Wake covers the number. The final score is going to be 28 to 26.”
Holtz: “Who would’ve thought it was possible when everybody buried Clemson that if they beat Wake Forest, they could very easily win their division and play in the (ACC) championship game. But you mentioned, Mark, their offensive line is very, very poor. Their quarterback has had trouble. He’s only thrown eight touchdowns and seven interceptions, and I’ve been impressed with him. The defense at Clemson is absolutely outstanding each and every week. However, there’s going to be a week where they just don’t quite show up, and I think it’s going to be this time. I think we do not give Coach (Dave) Clawson near enough credit at Wake Forest. True, they are 9-1. True, they are the surprise team in the division, and it’s also true they haven’t beaten anybody real special. The one real good football team they played was North Carolina, and they lost that football game. Hartman, the quarterback, is now a four-year starter. Threw for I think it’s 30 touchdowns, only eight interceptions. The receiver, (A.T.) Perry, has 47 receptions, and 11 of those went for a touchdown. I think that even though it’s at Clemson, even though it’s going to determine who’s going to represent who in the championship game, I look for Wake Forest to upset Clemson, 31 to 24. Clemson’s offense is very suspect. Wake Forest has a great offense and a poor defense, so it’s a perfect matchup. The strength of each team is offset by the strength of the other team. But I think Wake Forest wins – 31, Clemson 24, in an upset. I know that they may rush me off to the insane asylum after that prediction, but I think it’s going to work out.”
#WF @ #Clemson: @ClemsonFB is led by their D this year, they don't give up a lot of points. But their o-line has been horrendous, not running the ball effectively or efficiently. @WakeFB will put points up, but #Clemson wins 28-26. @TheCrowdsLine
— Mark May (@mark_may) November 19, 2021
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