The No. 1 Clemson Tigers will take on the Virginia Cavaliers in ACC play on Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET. The Tigers will host the Cavaliers at Memorial Stadium and both teams are 1-0 in conference play after Clemson beat Wake Forest 37-13 and Virginia beat Duke 38-20 in their respective openers. The Tigers are listed as 28-point favorites with the total at 55 in the Clemson vs. Virginia odds from William Hill.
The Tigers dominated when these teams met in the ACC Championship Game last season, winning 62-17 as 29-point favorites. Trevor Lawrence threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns on just 22 passes in that victory while Travis Etienne rushed for 114 yards and a score. Virginia, however, has covered in four of its last five games. Before making any Virginia vs. Clemson picks, check out the college football predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Over the past four-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated a stunning profit of over $4,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It is a sizzling 16-2 on top-rated picks through four weeks of the 2020 college football season, returning over $1,100 in profit already. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Clemson vs. Virginia. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the college football odds from William Hill and trends for Virginia vs. Clemson:
- Clemson vs. Virginia spread: Clemson -28
- Clemson vs. Virginia over-under: 55 points
- Clemson vs. Virginia money line: Clemson -4000, Virginia +1500
- CLEM: Clemson is 14-6 against the spread in its last 20 games
- UVA: Virginia is 4-1 against the spread in its last five games
Why Clemson can cover
The Tigers didn't blow anybody away in their season-opening win over Wake Forest and failed to cover as 33-point favorites, but they led 34-3 with just under 11 minutes left in the third quarter when they took their foot off the gas. Lawrence continues to be one of the most efficient passers in college football history, throwing for 351 yards on just 28 attempts with a touchdown and no interceptions.
Lawrence is averaging 14.0 yards per attempt so far this season and 8.9 yards per attempt for his career. This week he'll take on a Virginia defense that gave up 286 yards passing to a struggling Duke offense. If Lawrence can continue to avoid turnovers (he was turnover-free against Virginia last season), he'll give Clemson a solid chance of covering as 29-point favorites.
Why Virginia can cover
Bronco Mendenhall's bunch was better on both sides of the ball in a sloppy game against Duke. Virginia survived three turnovers of its own by forcing a whopping seven Duke turnovers. Brenton Nelson had a pair of interceptions in the 38-20 victory, while Joey Blount had an interception and a forced fumble.
The Cavaliers outgained Duke 450-342 and running back Wayne Taulapapa continues to be a touchdown machine for the Virginia offense. Taulapapa scored 12 rushing touchdowns in 2019 and rushed for 95 yards with two scores against Duke. Wide receiver Lavel Davis Jr. also had four catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns and he'll need to continue making plays on Saturday for Virginia to keep pace with the Tigers.
How to make Clemson vs. Virginia picks
SportsLine's model is leaning under on the total, with Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong projected to throw more interceptions than touchdowns and no rusher topping 100 yards on either side. It also says one side of the spread hits in well over 50 percent of simulations. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Clemson vs. Virginia? And which side of the spread hits well over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Virginia vs. Clemson spread to back, all from the advanced model that is up over $4,000 on its top-rated college football spread picks, and find out.
