Clemson Tigers vs. North Carolina Tar Heels Bets, Predictions and Odds

Sam Wagman Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

The ACC gets decided Saturday night: 8 PM at Bank of America Stadium in downtown Charlotte, where the Clemson Tigers will take on the UNC Tar Heels in what was considered earlier in the season to be a precursor for the College Football Playoff, but then Clemson lost twice late in the season to drop the stakes a bit.

Clemson Tigers vs. North Carolina Tar Heels Betting Prediction

Clemson is a 7.5-point favorite in this game, but they come in on the heels of a very ugly loss to South Carolina and former top prospect Spencer Rattler. QB DJ Uiagalelei, a former top prospect himself, played awfully in that game, going 8/29 in passing, despite running for almost 50 yards. Despite the Tigers being solid favorites, this doesn't quite feel like a game where they will sleepwalk their way to victory, with UNC quarterback Drake Maye having a stellar season and putting the team on his back the last few weeks. I believe ultimately that Clemson will win this game on the back of strong running by Will Shipley against a run defense giving up 170 yards per game this season, but that UNC figures out a way to cover.

Score Prediction: Clemson 27, UNC 24

Best Bet: UNC +7

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Clemson Tigers vs. UNC Tar Heels Betting Resources

• Date: Saturday, December 3, 2022
• Matchup: Clemson Tigers vs. UNC Tar Heels
• Venue: Bank of America Stadium
• Location: Charlotte, NC
• Time-TV: 8 PM, ABC

Expert Picks

Clemson Tigers Betting Analysis

The Tigers have been centered around DJ Uiagalelei for a couple years now, but it's been rocky sailing over time, as Uiagalelei has not shown near his ceiling that flashed in limited action backing up Trevor Lawrence a few years back. The team has struggled to win games in which it needed its quarterback to step up in the clutch, and there have been questions as to whether DJU would leave for the NFL or not after this season.

Will Shipley has been the heart and soul of this offense, and has run for almost 1,100 yards this season with 14 rushing touchdowns while catching 30 balls for 195 yards, proving that he has the three-down skillset that NFL scouts salivate over. 6 teams have run the ball 40+ times against the Tar Heels this season, and it seems like Clemson will employ that same game plan in this matchup.

On the defensive side, Clemson has a few stud prospects like DT Bryan Bresee and EDGE Myles Murphy to disrupt opposing offenses and will no doubt employ them a bunch to try and rattle Drake Maye.

UNC Tar Heels Betting Analysis

ACC Player of the Year Drake Maye is obviously the leader of this UNC offense, and this team has rallied around him as they try to make some late-season noise. He is in the late stages of a Heisman-worthy campaign (and would be more closely considered if Caleb Williams didn't exist) with 3,847 passing yards, 35 touchdowns, only 5 interceptions, and adding over 600 yards and 6 touchdowns rushing as well.

Josh Downs is Maye's best friend, racking up 21 touchdowns over his past 24 games and adding 929 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He has 4 straight games of at least 100 receiving yards and projects as one of the top wide receivers in the upcoming NFL Draft.

The Tar Heels will need to win this game on the strength of their offense, not the defense, as too many times this season they have been prone to getting into shootouts where they just run out of steam. The key to their win here will be limiting Shipley on the ground and forcing Uiagalelei into some mistakes.

Sam Wagman

Sam Wagman is a fantasy football and sports betting content expert who has loved sports his entire life. He started covering all of the Philadelphia sports teams back in 2019 and switched over to fantasy football and sports betting in 2021, mostly delving into football and golf betting. He joined the VegasInsider team in 2022 and has written for sites like Footballguys and Fantasy Points as well. Sam is a diehard sports fanatic to the end and can frequently be found playing different sports. He likes golf the most, and is currently trying to break 80 before he breaks his clubs. He loves his dog Rocky, the beach, and driving with the windows down, though he's at his happiest when he's yelling at the TV for his bets to hit or his fantasy team to win. More from Sam Wagman