Clemson Football: Tigers heavy favorite in matchup of undefeateds

Both Clemson football and Syracuse are undefeated as they roll into Saturday’s match-up in Death Valley, but you’d never know it from the point spread, which opened with the Tigers as a 14-point favorite over the Orange.

That line has dropped to 13 as of this writing with the total at 51.5, implying a score in the 32 to 19 range in favor of Clemson.

With the win and cover against Florida State the Tigers are now 4-3 against the number on the season against the spread and 4-3 on the over.

The Tigers have covered three consecutive weeks against N.C. State, Boston College and Florida State.

The battle of unbeaten teams is scheduled for a noon kickoff on ABC at Clemson Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

Clemson had another up-and-down game against the Seminoles, scoring at will at times and at other times going into a shell with an extremely conservative game plan that featured only 23 passes with a lot of those going to running backs and tight ends.

The Tigers also struggled on defense at times and tackled poorly at Doak-Campbell Stadium last Saturday.

The only common opponent between the two was not really in comparable situations. Both teams hosted North Carolina State, but Clemson’s home win by 10 came with the Wolfpack having star quarterback Devin Leary healthy, while Syracuse’s 15-point win came after Leary was ruled out for the season, making a weak State offense downright impotent.

Early Lean

This number seems about right given the relative strengths of the teams and given that the game will be played at Death Valley.

The Orange gets a break in the noon game time, which makes for a less rowdy and intimidating crowd of orange-clad lunatics.

Clemson football will attempt to cover the spread for the fourth straight game against Syracuse

Clemson tends to play to the level of its opponent, get a comfortable lead and then play conservatively, theoretically saving its firepower for the next opponent.

I can see the Tigers covering and I can see a scenario where the Tigers give up a late score and fail to cover at this number, so early on I would consider betting on the total and going under 51.

RubbingTheRock.com will have a final call on the best bet as the game gets closer.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change