Clemson Tigers Matchup with NC State Rated as 'Must Watch' Game

The Clemson Tigers game against the North Carolina State Wolfpack is one of the best on the slate this Saturday.

Ken Ruinard / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Clemson Tigers will take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon in what will be the start of conference play officially for both teams.

College Sports Wire named the matchup one of the 'must watch' games in the conference in what will be a full slate of tremendous action on Saturday. Of all the storylines, the one to watch most closely is how the Tigers defense will perform going up against a true freshman quarterback in CJ Bailey who is making his first career start.

Veteran transfer Grayson McCall, who was struggling to begin the year for the Wolfpack, suffered an undisclosed injury in last week's narrow victory over Louisiana Tech and is not going to play. Bailey performed admirably in relief of McCall, completing 13 of his 20 attempts for 156 yards and an interception while rushing for 27 yards and a touchdown.

For Clemson, seeing how the offense builds on the explosive performance against Appalachian State will be fascinating. Cade Klubnik played perhaps his best game in a Tiger uniform in the 46-point beatdown, going a ridiculous 24 of 26 with 378 yards and five touchdowns, no interceptions, and two more rushing scores for good measure. Even more incredibly, all seven of Klubnik's touchdowns came in the first half.

Coming off the bye, Klubnik being able to build off that momentum would go a long way towards the Tigers getting off on the right foot within the conference. Though things looked grim after the week one drubbing against Georgia in which the offense fell virtually completely stagnant, Clemson bounced back as good as you could possibly ask for and look prime to challenge for a reclaiming of their throne in the ACC.

While the Wolfpack were victorious in the matchup last season in Raleigh, the Tigers have won nine of the last 12 games against NC State. Furthermore, Clemson has not lost to the Wolfpack at home since 2002. Though the Tigers are favored by three touchdowns, they must not take NC State lightly as NC State will look to make a statement that they are still prime contenders to vie for an ACC title.

The game will kick off from Memorial Stadium at 12:00 p.m. EST