The Miami Hurricanes are 10-point NCAA football betting underdogs against the Clemson Tigers, but they would be, if they beat those odds, not just ACC champions, but also pretty much a lock for the College Football Playoffs. The problem is that Clemson, which is the No. 1 program in both the AP and Coaches polls, has won this game in five of the last nine years, including the last three straight.
- Date: December 2
- Time: 8:05 PM
- Venue: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
- Online sportsbook odds from the best site to bet on college football:
Miami Florida +10 (-120) 47½ (-110) +310
Clemson -10 (EV) 47½ (-110) -370
If you break the chain you will have bad luck for the rest of your life
Miami defenders who force a turnover are awarded a “turnover chain,” whatever that is. The Canes rank third nationally in turnovers forced with 29 – and first in turnover margin, having committed only 12 – and have gained at least one turnover in every game this year, and at least two turnovers in six straight games, averaging 3½ turnovers forced per game in that period. “A good number of them and really the majority of them, they caused. They do a good job of tackling the ball as they’re tackling the ball carrier, being very specific with their hands trying to knock the ball out,” Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said of the Hurricanes. “And then I think the interceptions are a combination of their scheme being unpredictable. They’ve got guys roaming around a little bit unorthodox in some of their coverage’s that have created some issues for some quarterbacks they’ve faced.” So they all walk around like so many Mr. T’s, or what? This is Miami’s only second game of the season as NCAA football betting underdogs; in their first, they blew out Notre Dame 41-8.
Chains? We don’t need no stinkin’ chains!
The Tigers have has forced 16 turnovers this season, eight in the last four game, and have committed three turnovers in five away games, even if they don’t receive positive reinforcement in the form of a piece of metal. Clemson players instead get “high fives.”
“It doesn’t really matter to us. It’s cool that they have it. It helps them play well, I guess. I don’t think we need anything like that around here to create turnovers or to make turnovers a priority,” defensive end Austin Bryant said. “We make turnovers a priority every week… That’s something that we harp on around here, but we just don’t have the flash of the chain on Saturdays.” The Canes may create plenty turnovers, but they also allow 152.4 rushing yards per game, something which Clemson QB Kelly Bryan and running back Travis Etienne might try to exploit to their advantage. The Tigers have gone 5-0 straight-up and 3-1-1 against the NCAA football betting spread since their shocking loss to Syracuse. Clemson has held its last three opponents to an average of nine points per game while Miami has gone under the total in eight of its last nine, so expect a low-scoring affair.