Clemson Tigers vs SMU Mustangs Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/07/2024

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Saturday, December 7, 2024

Venue:  Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC

Where to Watch:  ABC

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Clemson +2.5, SMU -2.5; Over/Under:  57 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Clemson +2.5, SMU -2.5; Over/Under:  56.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Clemson +2.5, SMU -2.5; Over/Under:  56.5 points

Clemson Tigers:  9-3 (7-1) (2nd place, ACC)

SMU Mustangs:  11-1 (8-0) (1st place, ACC)

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Clemson Tigers:  lost their last game at home against the South Carolina Gamecocks 17-14.

SMU Mustangs:  won their last game at home against the California Golden Bears 38-6.

Clemson is entering this game with a 9-3 record overall and they have a 7-1 record in their conference games too. They are 5-2 in their home games, 4-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-1 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They lost their last game against South Carolina 17-14. Cade Klubnik was the starting QB and he completed 24/36 passes for 280 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Phil Mafah led the team in rushing yards with 66. Antonio Williams led the receivers with 99 receiving yards on 8 receptions. T.J. Parker led the defense in that game with 7 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while T.J. Parker, Sammy Brown, and Wade Woodaz each led the defense in sacks with 1. Khalil Barnes came away with the only interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

SMU is entering this game with an 11-1 record overall and they have an 8-0 record in their conference games too. They are 6-1 in their home games, 5-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They won their last game against California 38-6. Kevin Jennings was the starting QB and he completed 20/30 passes for 225 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions. Brashard Smith led the team in rushing yards with 68 and 1 TD. Brashard Smith led the receivers with 66 receiving yards on 3 receptions and 1 TD. Kobe Wilson led the defense in that game with 4 solo tackles and 3 assisted tackles while Kobe Wilson led the defense in sacks with 2. Jonathan McGill came away with the only interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have SMU listed as a 2.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. SMU has looked great in their games this season with their 11-1 record overall and their 8-0 conference record which has them right at the top of the ACC in their first year of being in the conference. They are coming off a huge win over Cal last week and they have been rolling in their games lately with a lot of double digit wins. Meanwhile, Clemson has looked good in their games this season with their 9-3 record overall and their 7-1 conference record which has them right near the top of the ACC. As good as Clemson has looked this season, they are really fortunate to be in this game since they needed Miami to lose on the weekend and they did. Clemson also lost their game last week though, losing at home to South Carolina, and this has been a common theme for them against stronger opponents this season. They were rolling a lot of teams in the ACC this year, but they were also beating up on bad teams in the conference. They got embarrassed to start the season with their loss to Georgia, and their only conference loss was against Louisville who was one of the few teams they faced with a winning record this season. They have struggled a lot more over the last month while SMU has been getting hot in their games, and SMU knows they need to win this game to have any chance at the CFP. The defense has been a lot better for SMU lately and the offense has been more consistent all season too. The best way to place a bet here is on SMU to cover the spread in this game. 

Clemson SMU Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, December 7, 2024 (8:00 pm ET start time) is SMU 27 Clemson 20.

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Clemson Tigers: 2-5 ATS when the total is between 56.5 and 63. 3-8 ATS versus good rushing defenses - allowing 120 rushing yards/game or less. 17-8 UNDER against conference opponents. 8-2 UNDER after a 2 game home stand. 8-3 UNDER when playing against a top-level team (Win Pct. > 75%). 

SMU Mustangs: 16-9 ATS against conference opponents. 14-7 ATS off a win against a conference rival. 3-0 ATS against teams with a turnover margin of +1 per game or better. 10-5 UNDER off a home win. 4-1 UNDER off a home blowout win by 28 points or more. 6-2 UNDER vesus good rushing teams - averaging 4.75 rushing yards/carry or more.

Clemson Tigers:  D. Pennington (OL) Questionable - Undisclosed. T. Howard (OL) Out - Knee. C. Gipson (CB) Out - Undisclosed. T. Brown (WR) Out - Ankle. T. Stellato (WR) Out - Thumb. E. Thurmon (OL) Out - Ankle. C. Sadler (OL) Out - Foot. Q. Castner (K/P) Out - Leg. K. McCloud (LB) Out - Knee.

SMU Mustangs:  J. Bailey (WR) Out - Undisclosed. A. Davis (CB) Questionable - Head. J. Knighton (RB) Out - Knee. R. Maryland (TE) Out - Knee. Z. Minors (RB) Questionable - Lower Body. C. Wheaton (RB) Out - Knee.

“We could've had a great year. We got better this season, a lot of positives to build on. But this one is tough. It's tough. It hurts." - Dabo Swinney after his team’s loss against South Carolina in their last game. 

“I think it shows their maturity. They wanted to finish. We wanted to go 8-0, we wanted to win the regular season outright and not share it. And we were playing for a lot because the College Football Playoff still comes out with rankings for two more weeks. ... We didn’t need to stumble, have a setback.” - Rhett Lashlee after his team’s win against Cal in their last game. 

WR Wesco Jr., Bryant  

WR Moore, T.J. 

WR Williams, Antonio 

TE Briningstool, Jake

QB Klubnik, Cade 

RB Mafah, Phil 

WR Smith, Key'Shawn

WR Dixon, Moochie 

WR Daniels Jr., Roderick

TE Hibner, Matthew 

QB Jennings, Kevin

RB Smith, Brashard

Passing: C. Klubnik (3041)

Rushing: P. Mafah (1078)

Receiving: A. Williams (786)

Touchdowns: A. Williams (11)

Passing: K. Jennings (2746)

Rushing: B. Smith (1157)

Receiving: R. Daniels (502)

Touchdowns: B. Smith (17)

Coaches:

Clemson Tigers: Dabo Swinney (17th season)

SMU Mustangs: Rhett Lashlee (3rd season)