Editor's note: Nail another Thursday Night Winner with Christian Alexander, who is 4-2 (67%) on Thursdays.

Clemson (2-3, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) at N.C. State (2-2, 1-2 Atlantic Coast)

Thursday, October 13 at 7:30 PM

TV: ESPN

Surface: Natural Grass (Carter-Finley Stadium)

Line: N.C. State -5

My therapist said I need to “let it go” and that I shouldn’t discuss last week’s game any further. I’m sorry, I just can’t do that.

Not since the 2000 season when fellow VegasInsider handicapper Brian Edwards and I suffered through a miserable Mississippi State (-1) defeat at South Carolina (23-19 loss) have I seen so many crucial plays go against me in the 4^th quarter. As I watched the clock tick away on what should have been a Tech 11-point win, it appeared the worst case scenario was that the Yellow Jackets and Wolfpack were headed to overtime.

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Never did I imagine that GT sophomore WR Calvin Johnson, who ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit had just said was “the top receiver in the nation”, would blow a sure TD catch and hand the game to N.C. State.

Oh well, the milk has been spilled, no use in crying any longer. Serenity now!

With that off my chest, let’s turn the page to this Thursday.

This week we head to Raleigh, NC, home of the aforementioned N.C. State Wolfpack. Chuck Amato’s team will be hosting coach Tommy Bowden and the Clemson Tigers.

Last week we witnessed a State team that was desperate for a conference win, having entered that game losers of six straight ACC tilts. This week we have a similar situation in that Clemson, after winning two in a row to start the year, has now dropped three games straight, all to ACC squads. Both teams know they can ill-afford another loss, especially considering that tough games (both have FSU left) loom for each program.

For the Tigers it’s no secret that QB Charlie Whitehurst is the key factor. After a sub-par junior season, Whitehurst has picked up where he left off in a sensational sophomore campaign, passing for 1,104 yards with four touchdowns.

When Whitehurst, whose father David played in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers, gets going Clemson is hard to stop. However, as we mentioned last week, the N.C. State defense, led by defensive ends Mario Williams and Manny Lawson is one of the best in the conference and you can bet they will be gunning for Whitehurst all night.

Despite the win last week, the Wolfpack are still trying to get on track offensively. A very weak running game has put all the pressure to produce on the shoulders of QB Jay Davis. Davis will never be confused with former State QB Phillip Rivers but he has responded by passing for 200 or more yards in 11 of his last 12 games.