The Clemson Tigers will open ACC play Saturday when the NC State Wolfpack visit Death Valley for a noon ET kickoff.
It will be both teams’ first conference test of 2024. The Tigers (1-1), ranked No. 19 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll, will be facing a Wolfpack (2-1) squad that has won two of the past three meetings in the series since 2021, including last year’s 24-17 win in Raleigh.
Oddsmakers have Clemson listed as a 20.5-point favorite to win, per BetMGM Sportsbook, and the staff at USA TODAY Sports seem to agree with those odds.
In their weekly college football predictions released Thursday, the six-member panel of Dan Wolken, Paul Myerberg, Eddie Timanus, Scooby Axson, Jordan Mendoza and Erick Smith all predicted the Tigers to win Saturday’s game against the Wolfpack.
NC State starting quarterback Grayson McCall will miss Saturday’s game as coach Dave Doeren turns to true freshman CJ Bailey, a three-star recruit out of Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Hollywood, Fla.
On the injury front for Clemson, Tigers coach Dabo Swinney repeated this week that defensive tackle Peter Woods was still “day-to-day,” as was sophomore wide receiver Tyler Brown.
Woods was injured on a chop block in the first half of Clemson’s 66-20 victory over Appalachian State on Sept. 7. Brown was limited to just five snaps in the game due to an ankle injury.
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“He was out there (Monday),” Swinney said at his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “He is getting better every day. We’ll see how it goes Saturday.”
Saturday’s game between Clemson and NC State can be seen on ABC.
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