SportsLine’s model just revealed its first-round College Football Playoff picks for the No. 5 seed Texas Longhorns vs. the No. 12 seed Clemson Tigers on Saturday
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The No. 5 seed Texas Longhorns (11-2) will host a College Football Playoff game for the first time in school history when they face the No. 12 seed Clemson Tigers (10-3) on Saturday afternoon. Texas narrowly missed out on a first-round bye in the new expanded playoff when it lost to Georgia in the SEC Championship. Clemson clinched the final seed in the field with a 34-31 win over SMU in the ACC Championship after losing three games during the regular season. The winner of this game will face No. 4 seed Arizona State in the quarterfinals. Texas has injury concerns with starting offensive tackle Kelvin Banks and receiver Isaiah Bond, though coach Steve Sarkisian said this week that “both players are making great progress.”
Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. ET on Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Texas is favored by 12.5 points in the latest Texas vs. Clemson odds, up a point from the opener, while the over/under is 51.5 points, per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Clemson vs. Texas picks, you’ll want to see the college football predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The model simulates every FBS game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a betting profit of well over $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college spread football picks, and it went a profitable 43-34 on all top-rated picks this season. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps has seen impressive returns.
The model has set its sights on Clemson-Texas. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college football betting lines for the game:
Clemson vs. Texas spread: Texas -12.5Clemson vs. Texas over/under: 51.5 pointsClemson vs. Texas money line: Texas -495, Clemson +373Clemson vs. Texas picks: See picks hereClemson vs. Texas streaming: FuboTV (Try for free)
Why Texas can cover
Texas finished the regular season with an 11-1 mark in its first campaign in the SEC, with its lone loss coming against Georgia in October. The Longhorns were unable to avenge that loss in the SEC Championship, falling to the Bulldogs in overtime. They won 10 of their other 11 games by double digits, including wins over Michigan, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
Junior quarterback Quinn Ewers has completed 66.2% of his passes for 2,665 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions, leading the high powered offense. Sophomore running back Quintrevion Wisner has 863 rushing yards and three scores, averaging 4.9 yards per carry. The Longhorns are 13-1 in their last 14 home games, while Clemson has only covered the spread once in its last six games against SEC teams. See which team to pick here.
Why Clemson can cover
Clemson suffered three losses during a disappointing regular season, but it was still able to make a College Football Playoff appearance due to its win over SMU in the ACC title game. The Tigers raced out to a 24-7 halftime lead before SMU stormed back with a 17-0 run in the fourth quarter. They used a long kickoff return and a 56-yard field goal to win as time expired.
Junior quarterback Cade Klubnik has put up huge numbers this season, completing 63.7% of his passes for 3,303 yards, 33 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Klubnik has also rushed for 458 yards and seven scores, while running back Phil Mafah has 1,106 rushing yards and eight scores. The Tigers have won 18 of their last 19 December games outright under head coach Dabo Swinney. See which team to pick here.
How to make Texas vs. Clemson picks
The model has simulated Clemson vs. Texas 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Under, and it’s also generated an A-rated point-spread pick that is hitting in 60% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Texas vs. Clemson in the 2024 College Football Playoff, and which side of the spread hits 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up well over $2,000 on top-rated spread picks since its inception, and find out.
