Clemson vs SMU
(NCAAF) Tigers (CLE) vs. Mustangs (SMU),
Money Line: -134.00 Mustangs (SMU) (Home)
Result: Loss
Make no mistake, Dabo Swinney's Tigers backed into this ACC title appearance with Miami losing at Syracuse last week, but we want to look more closely at the numbers for QB Cade Klubnik, whose overall stats (3041 YP, 29 TDP and only 5 picks, plus another 437 YR and 7 rush TDs) impress. Against Georgia, Louisville, and South Carolina, however, Klubnik passed for a grand total of 1 TD, with two picks, as Clemson scored 12.7 ppg and lost all three. Note that vs. App State, The Citadel, Wake Forest, and a then-struggling NC State, Klubnik tossed a combined 15 TDP and 0 picks. SMU is far better than App State, The Citadel, Wake Forest, and early-season NC State, as Rhett Lashlee's bold decision to sit returning starter Preston Stone and go with more-mobile Kevin Jennings at QB has paid dividends all autumn for the Mustangs, who haven't lost since September 6 vs. BYU, the game Lashlee pulled Stone for Jennings. The big-play SMU defense also has 37 sacks (ranks 11th) and allows under 20 ppg. Play SMU on ML (at Charlotte)