The No. 2 Clemson Tigers (-15) are set to face off against their ACC rival Florida State Seminoles at Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium. This vital afternoon game is scheduled to kick off at 12:00 p.m. ET and ABC has the TV rights.
Clemson Tigers vs. Florida State Seminoles Betting Preview
Florida State is a live dog in this one and is currently getting 15 points. The Tigers are also receiving -840 moneyline odds while the Seminoles are +550. Should one side can catch a lucky break in the early stages it’ll create a decent betting opportunity in-game. Oddsmakers have set the over/under (O/U) at 51 points.
The Tigers are 3-4 against the spread (ATS) and have gained 3.0 units so far in 2018. The team has posted an O/U record of 3-3. The Seminoles have lost 3.0 units for moneyline bettors this season. They’re 3-4 ATS and own an O/U record of 4-3.
The Tigers have gone 7-0 straight up (SU), including 4-0 SU against conference opponents. The Seminoles are 4-3 SU overall and 2-3 SU in conference play.
The Tigers are looking to stay unbeaten following a 41-7 victory over North Carolina State last week. the Tigers completed 32-of-48 passes for 380 yards and one touchdown. Trevor Lawrence went 26-for-39 for 308 yards and one touchdown while Chase Brice completed six-of-nine for 72 yards. Travis Etienne (39 yards on 15 rush attempts, three TDs) led the ground attack in the win. Tee Higgins (eight receptions, 119 yards, one TD) and Justyn Ross (five catches, 75 yards) shared the receiving duties.
Florida State is coming off of a blowout 38-17 win over Wake Forest. The team’s defensive secondary let the Demon Deacons air it out for 273 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Colburn II had a good outing in the loss for Wake Forest, recording 71 rushing yards on 21 attempts, along with 42 yards on four catches. For Florida State, Deondre Francois completed 29-of-40 passes for 353 yards and two touchdowns. Cam Akers (98 yards on 13 rush attempts, two TDs) and Jacques Patrick (21 yards on 11 carries, one TD) handled the ground game in the win as Nyqwan Murray (eight receptions, 131 yards, one TD) and D.J. Matthews (five catches, 40 yards) led the pass-catching corps.
Clemson has run the ball on 54.4 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Florida State has an overall rush percentage of 48.6 percent. The Tigers have rushed for 254 yards per game (including 276 per game against Atlantic Coast opponents) and have 23 touchdowns via handoffs this year. The Noles are averaging 98 rushing yards per game (87 in conference) and have seven total rush TDs.
The Tigers offense has averaged 269 yards in the air overall (254 per game against conference opposition) and has 15 passing scores so far. The Noles have recorded 266 pass yards per game (237.6 in the ACC) and have 13 total pass TDs.
Defensively, Clemson seems to have the upper hand when it comes to limiting the pass. The team has allowed opponents to rush for an average of 108 yards and pass for 159 yards per game. The Florida State defense has allowed 271.3 yards per game to opposing passers and 100.4 yards per game on the ground. The Tigers are allowing an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 4.78 to opposing QBs, while the Noles have given up a 5.45 ANY/A.
Offensively, Lawrence is up to 1,001 passing yards this season, and has connected on 66 percent of his 114 attempts with 10 scores through the air and only two interceptions. He has a 9.21 adjusted net yards per pass attempt overall, although that number sits at 7.60 over the last two games.
The Tigers will probably try to control tempo by feeding their running backs early and often. Travis Etienne (633 rush yards, 11 rush TDs, one receiving TD) and Lyn-J Dixon (160 rush yards, one rush TD, zero receiving yards) have really been focal points in the offensive scheme for Clemson.
For the home team, Deondre Francois has managed to complete 139-of-215 passes for 1,730 yards, 11 TDs and five INTs. Francois’ ANY/A sits at 7.22 for the year and 6.37 across his last two outings.
The Noles also like to keep their running backs featured. In addition to Cam Akers (76 receiving yards), Nyqwan Murray (four rush yards, 476 receiving yards, three receiving TDs) and Keith Gavin (332 receiving yards) have gotten quite a few touches lately.
When these two teams met a year ago, Clemson earned the win 31-14.
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Notes
Betting Trends
The Florida State offense has lost nine fumbles this season while Clemson has lost five.
The Florida State defense has created 24 sacks on the year while Clemson has 21.
Clemson has averaged 6.8 yards per carry over its last three games and 7.8 over its last two.
Florida State has averaged 3.0 yards per carry over its last three contests and 3.3 over its past two.
In its last three matches, Florida State is 2-1 ATS and the over cashed in two of those three.
The O/U for Clemson’s last game going into it was 57. The under cashed in the team’s 41-7 win over North Carolina State.
In its last three matches, Clemson is 2-1 ATS and the under cashed in two of those three.
The O/U for Florida State’s last match was set at 59. The under cashed in the 38-17 triumph over Wake Forest.
Florida State has won four of its last five games SU, with a -1-point defeat to Miami (FL) on October 6th accounting for the lone loss over that stretch.
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