Clemson vs Louisville early preseason fearless prediction and game preview.
CFN Podcast
Louisville preview in 60 seconds
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How crazy is it to try predicting a college football game months in advance when 1) there wasn’t any spring ball, 2) there aren’t any real depth charts to go off of, 3) no one has ANY clue how to get sports going again, and 4) we don’t even know what the 2020 season is going to be?
Just crazy enough to potentially get some fantastic values on the early lines.
You can bet now at BetMGM on a whole lot of college football games – including going really insane looking at lines in November – with the possibility of hitting something big.
We’ll be diving in a whole lot deeper when we do this for real just before the season – crossing fingers that there is one. But for now …
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Clemson vs Louisville Broadcast
Date: Saturday, September 12
Game Time: COMING
Venue: Memorial Stadium, Clemson, SC
Network: COMING
– All of the CFN Fearless Predictions
Clemson vs Louisville Game Preview: Preseason Version
Why Louisville Will Win
There’s not going to be any sort pressure on the Cardinal side – likely No. 1 Clemson is supposed to win this in a walk. The high-powered UofL team should be able to turn it loose. The offense has the pieces to keep up just about any sort of a pace.
The line gets everyone back from the end of the season – Mekhi Becton didn’t play in the bowl game – to block for QB Micale Cunningham and a loaded group of skill parts.
Of course Clemson has the talent to reload in any spot in a big hurry, but it’ll only have one game to get the offensive line in place after losing four starters. The pass rush wasn’t there for Louisville last season, but the back eight is going to be a major plus right away, at least in terms of experience.
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Why Clemson Will Win
The Louisville defense wasn’t anything special last season, and now it has to do some work on a defensive front that wasn’t exactly bursting with size before.
Yeah, the Clemson offensive line might need a wee bit to get everything in sync, but the situation is hardly a major concern. It should be able to handle itself just fine against the Cardinal front seven.
The other side of the line is the bigger deal.
Everyone might be back on the Cardinal O line – at least from the bowl game – but it still coming off a season when it was dead last in the nation in allowing tackles for loss. Turn the Clemson defensive front loose from the start, and let it wreck the gameplan.
What’s Going To Happen
It’s sort of crazy that these two programs have only faced six times.
Remember, Louisville used to be in the Big East and American Athletic Conference before joining the ACC in 2014. It’s not like the two schools are that close – they’re over 400 miles apart – in what’s been an interesting new battle.
The Cardinals and Lamar Jackson had the Tigers in big, big trouble in a wild 2016 shootout, and each of the first three battles between the two schools were decided by six points or fewer. And then …
Clemson won 47-21 in 2017, followed it up by a 77-16 nail-biter that actually could’ve been even worse, and then stomped away for a 45-10 last year.
Louisville has never beaten Clemson, and it’s not going to happen this year, either.
Both teams will have an ACC game under its belt – Clemson starts out at Georgia Tech and Louisville begins with NC State – so it’s not like they’ll come in stone cold.
The Cardinal offense will be stronger and sharper than it’s been over the last few years in the series, but at home, the Clemson machine will take over in the first half and will keep up scoring early in the second.
However, just how much will the Tigers keep pushing so early in the season? They’ll win easily, but covering will be a question in the final few minutes.
Clemson vs Louisville Prediction, Line: Preseason Version
Clemson 41, Louisville 17
Bet on this game now at BetMGM
Clemson -23.5
Money Line: Clemson -5000, Louisville +1400
ATS Preseason Confidence out of 5: 1.5
Must See Rating: 3
5: The Last Dance: Unedited version with all the swearing
1: The Last Dance: Edited version with all the beeps
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