Clemson vs. Virginia Football Prediction: What the Analysis Says

ACC Football is back from Death Valley this weekend as No. 10 Clemson looks to extend its winning streak in a matchup against Virginia in Week 8 of college football. Let’s look at the latest prediction for the game from an expert football model that will determine the winners.

Clemson is on a dominant five-game winning streak since the season opener, scoring a combined 243 points and starting 4-0 in ACC play, boosting its playoff hopes behind the FBS’s 12th-ranked offense, averaging 41 points per game.

Virginia was 2-2 last month and has a better overall record of 4-2 this season with a win over Boston College before falling to 4 in its last game against Louisville and ranking 76th in points.

Looking ahead to this week’s matchup, let’s take a look at the latest college football predictions from computer prediction model Football Power Index.

The model simulates every NCAA college football game 20,000 times, utilizes key analytics from both teams and selects winners based on a projected point spread per game.

As expected, the simulations are more heavily on the Tigers’ side than the Cavaliers’ side.

Clemson is expected to win the game in most 89.2 percent of recent computer simulations of the matchup.

That leaves Virginia as the expected winner of the remaining 10.8 percent of Sims.

Overall, the Tigers were ahead in 17,840 simulations of the index game, while the Cavaliers won in the other 2,160 predictions.

The Index also predicts a comfortable win for the Tigers on the scoreboard.

According to the model’s latest projection, Clemson is projected to be 18.9 points better than Virginia with the current makeup of both teams on the same field.

If so, that wouldn’t be enough for Clemson to cover the spread.

That’s because Clemson is the 21.5-point favorite in this game against Virginia, according to data from FanDuel Sportsbook.

FanDuel lists the total score for the game as 57.5 points.

And it set the moneyline odds for the overall win at -1600 for Clemson and +900 for Virginia.

A number of bettors are expecting the Tigers to face the Cavaliers in the game, according to the latest spread consensus picks.

Clemson is receiving 59 percent of the bets to win the game and cover the spread.

The other 41 percent of bets assume Virginia will either win in an upset or, more likely, keep the game within the generous limit.

Clemson is second among ACC teams with a 43.8 percent chance of qualifying for the College Football Playoff and will win 10 games this season, according to FPI data.

The Index projects the Tigers to be 16.8 points better than an average neutral-field team, ranking 11th nationally in that category.

This model gives Virginia an overall win projection of 5.6 games with a 48.9 percent chance of being bowl eligible this season.

And it gives the Cavaliers 1.2 points for an average neutral-court team, ranking them 65th in the country.

The college football rankings Football Power Index (FPI) and computer prediction model is a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance.

Rankings and score predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season and games and use a combination of key analytics including past results, quality of opponents, team talent, recruiting and a team’s schedule.

The teams are not ranked by talent as in other rankings, but by a expected points lead per game against an average team on a neutral field.

First place votes in parentheses

1. Texas (56)
2. Oregon (6)
3. Penn State
4. Ohio State
5. Georgia
6. Miami
7. Alabama
8. LSU
9. Iowa State
10. Clemson
11. Tennessee
12. Notre Dame
13. BYU
14. Texas A&M
15. Boise State
16. Indiana
17. Kansas State
18. Ole Miss
19. Missouri
20. Pittsburgh
21. SMU
22. Illinois
23. army
24. Michigan
25. marine

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

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and needs help, please call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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