The marquee matchup in college football on Saturday night features the sixth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish taking on the No. 12 Clemson Tigers. The game is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ABC. Currently the betting odds for the game have Clemson favored by almost a field goal in this matchup.
This game will probably have some level of battle from Hurricane Joaquin, which is expected to dump a ton of water on the east coast this weekend. Clemson and Notre Dame are both prepared to play in the game, which will be live in primetime and probably good television.
Notre Dame would be a bit neutralized if the field conditions are sloppy and wet. Young QB DeShone Kizer loves getting the football down the field to Will Fuller, who has six touchdowns on the season. If the rain is pounding down in Death Valley, the Fighting Irish aren’t going to be tossing it all over the yard.
C.J. Prosise has been a hit for Notre Dame this year despite not being the top running back for the Irish heading into the season. Prosise has been awesome, though, running for six touchdowns and 600 yards in the four games. The Irish are going to have to lean on Prosises to have a heavy workload at an already thin position. Prosises has been historically good for ND, though, as the Irish have run for 1,139 yards in their first four games, which is the most since 1992.
Clemson can run the football as well. Quarterback Deshaun Watson is a potential Heisman candidate in the future, maybe not this year, but he has a ton of talent and offers the Tigers a dual-threat option that has to be honored by defenses. Watson has seven touchdowns thrown this season; he’s also been picked off three times.
The team’s most recent win came at Louisville in a game where they didn’t play amazing and escaped with a three-point win. Dabo Sweeney’s group has an excellent chance to make the playoffs with a very favorable schedule; this could be their toughest test of the season.
Notre Dame’s defense is very strong; they have skilled players at several key positions. The Tigers have been solid against Top 10 competition under Sweeney, winning five of their seven games and often facing defenses much like Notre Dame’s.
The Tigers will no doubt look to their home-field advantage in this one. Clemson has won their last 11 games in Death Valley, which is the fourth-best number currently in the country. Clemson’s crowd will be loud, the potential rain should play a factor at some level in this one and if Notre Dame can’t throw the football, the Tigers win.
Free Pick: Clemson
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