Clemson vs. Wake Forest Prediction: Who Will Win and Why?

ACC football returns this weekend as No. 10 Clemson takes on Wake Forest on Saturday in Week 7 of college football. Here’s what to look out for, along with our updated prediction for the game.

Clemson has climbed back up in the rankings after a few big losses to higher-ranked teams this past weekend and is on a five-game winning streak and ranks 16th in the FBS in point production.

Wake Forest is 1-1 in ACC play so far and its win against NC State last week ended a three-game losing streak, but nationally the Demon Deacons rank 105th in scoring defense.

What can we expect from this weekend’s matchup?

Here’s what to look for as Clemson and Wake Forest meet in this Week 7 college football game, along with our updated prediction.

1. Air out. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik has 1,219 passing yards this season, good for sixth in the ACC and leading the country’s 34th-ranked passing attack while scoring 14 touchdowns against just 2 picks. Wake ranks last among ACC teams, allowing an average of 291 yards.

2. Quick Starts. Clemson is No. 1 in the FBS with an average point differential of 18 points in the first quarter and has not allowed any from its opponents so far. His defense had 3 sacks and forced 5 turnovers in the first frame while forcing 10 punts.

3. Ground and Pound. Phil Mafah ranks fifth in the ACC with 496 rushing yards and third with 99.2 yards per game and 7.3 yards per carry for Clemson, surpassing 100 yards in three games this season. He will face a wake run stop that is third-worst in the ACC at 168.8 yards per game, and he ranks 99th nationally at 4.72 yards per carry.

Most analytical models project the Tigers to remain undefeated in ACC play with a win over the Deacons.

This includes the College Football Power Index, a computer prediction model that uses data points from both teams to simulate games 20,000 times to determine winners.

Clemson is projected to win the game outright in most 87.4 percent of recent computer simulations of the matchup.

That leaves Wake Forest as the expected winner in the remaining 12.6 percent of Sims.

According to the model’s latest projection, Clemson is expected to be 17.5 points better than Wake Forest on the same field with the current makeup of both teams.

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Clemson is a 20.5-point favorite against Wake Forest.

FanDuel lists the total score for the game at 61.5 points.

And the moneyline odds for the overall win were -1400 for Clemson and +800 for Wake Forest.

A slim majority of bettors favor the Tigers over the Demon Deacons, according to the latest spread consensus recommendations.

About 53 percent of bets predict Clemson to win the game and cover the spread.

The other 47 percent of bets assume that Wake Forest will keep the matchup under the big limit.

Wake Forest is averaging a respectable 31 points per game behind the play of quarterback Hank Bachmeier, who has over 1,300 passing yards this season, but there are other vulnerabilities throughout the roster that take advantage of Clemson.

Wake will have a hard time consistently overwhelming the passer as it ranks last in the ACC with 6 sacks this year, its offensive line is outscored by Clemson’s front seven, and the Deacons’ secondary will struggle to get the rotation going to contain the Tigers with threats from deeper down the field.

College football headquarters chooses…

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The game odds are updated regularly and are subject to change.

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