College football computer picks: Predicting the Clemson vs. Notre Dame score
Clemson and Notre Dame square off on Saturday from the House that Rockne Built with the Tigers' ACC title and College Football Playoff hopes on the line.
Coming into the game, Clemson owns the No. 4 position in the CFP top 25 rankings and seemingly in position to make the semifinal just by not losing.
But the Fighting Irish have, despite their relative struggles in Marcus Freeman's debut season, played well against ACC competition, beating two of the league's top teams - North Carolina and Syracuse - and scoring over 40 points each time.
SP+ picks, a prediction model created by ESPN analyst Bill Connelly, forecasts this game should go largely along the lines expected by bookmakers.
Clemson vs. Notre Dame predictions
Clemson vs. Notre Dame score prediction: The computer model projects that Clemson will defeat the Irish, 29-24, with a 62 percent likelihood to win the game outright.
Point spread: The lines at SI Sportsbook project Clemson as the narrow 3.5 point favorites to beat Notre Dame and set the over/under for 44 points in the matchup.
FPI prediction: Clemson has the comfortable 64.8 percent chance to take down the Fighting Irish, who in turn have the 35.2 percent shot to upset the Tigers, according to the Football Power Index computer that simulates a team's season 20,000 times using scores and schedules to date.
College Football HQ Prediction: Our projections indicate that Clemson will defeat Notre Dame by 7 points, but not cover the spread.
How to watch: Clemson vs. Notre Dame schedule, game time, TV channel, streaming info for viewers
Where Clemson is right now: Right on the cusp of making the College Football Playoff judging by this week's ranking. Clearly the committee likes what Clemson has done so far, which includes three wins over top 25 ranked teams. The offense has taken important steps from last season's struggles, but could still stand to get more explosive and test the deep portion of the field more than it is up to now while its dominant front seven goes against the Irish.
Where Notre Dame is right now: It seems like the Irish play their best football on the road, only to forget everything they learned when they come back home, where they've lost to Stanford and Marshall up to now. But this is one of the better offensive lines in college football right now and the strength of the whole team, going against a Clemson front which is the strength of that team.
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