Clemson Tigers vs SMU Mustangs Prediction, Odds and Picks for Saturday, 12/07/24

The Clemson Tigers take on the SMU Mustangs in the ACC Championship game. One team was expected to be here and the other was not, but neither got here in the way we expected. Clemson snuck in after Miami lost on Saturday despite losing themselves on Saturday. They finished the season 9-3 with losses to Georgia, Louisville and South Carolina. That also put them below their preseason win total of 9.5. The winner of this game will get a berth into the College Football Playoff but the loser, especially Clemson, could be out. SMU has rolled the entire season besides an 18-15 loss to BYU early in the season. They also did not play 3 of the top 5 teams in the ACC or Notre Dame, so some have claimed their easy schedule got them here, but they have still won the games in front of them. This will be their toughest test of the season and again a loss could keep them out of the playoff but a win is an automatic entry. 

Clemson rolled through their season after their opening loss to Georgia until they hit Louisville late in the season and then a loss in a rivalry game against South Carolina. Some would argue they did not play a strong schedule besides their losses. SMU has a similar argument against them since they avoided most of the top ACC teams, but they beat everyone who was in front of them besides one team, which is more than Clemson can say.

Both teams have high-powered offenses with Clemson ranking 14th and SMU ranking 6th, and both teams have average defenses with Clemson ranking 57th and SMU ranking 39th. They are very even on paper which is why instead of picking a side I am eyeing the total. Clemson averages 36.3 points per game and SMU averages 39.9 points. SMU has hit the over in 6 of their 10 games this year and with these 2 high-powered offenses, I like the Over. Neither team’s defense has been great this season and they will be playing on turf in Charlotte. Look to the Over with these top-15 offenses. 

Clemson vs SMU prediction: Over 56.5 (-110) available at the time of publishing. Playable at that number.

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