N.C. State vs. Clemson odds, props, pick

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From Zach Ewing: A couple of years ago, Clemson made you think of Deshaun Watson or Trevor Lawrence and one great receiver after another, piling up points with Ohio State or the great teams of the Alabama dynasty. The past couple of years, that’s shifted to the earlier days of the Dabo Swinney era: A defensive-minded, ball-control method that isn’t as pretty but has still been pretty effective.

But you may not know that NC State is also stronger on defense than offense. The Wolfpack, to the point it’s been noticed at all over the past couple of seasons, has received headlines for the prowess of quarterback Devin Leary. And Leary had a truly great season last year, throwing for 35 touchdowns against just 5 interceptions. But he averaged just 8.0 yards per attempt, a number that ranked in the middle of the country and has actually gone down thus far in 2022.

Conversely, NC State’s defense is ranked in the top 15 nationally in total yards and yards per play, so give plenty of credit to that side of the ball for a 4-0 start.

Point is, this figures to be a more defensive battle than most outsiders realize: The over/under is only 40!

As far as a pick, in a low-scoring game, and with Clemson coming off of an emotionally draining victory at Wake Forest, I’m taking the points but don’t have the gumption to take the Wolfpack straight up.

The pick: Clemson 21, NC State 20

Notable Player Props for NC State and Clemson