ACC showdown pits Tigers against Demon Deacons

Cfootball Betting Lines

10/08/2008 - Winston-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons are set to host the Clemson Tigers Thursday night in an important ACC clash.

Clemson got crushed by Alabama in the season opener, but the team rallied to record victories in each of its next three games. Unfortunately, the streak came to an end in the most recent outing, a 20-17 setback against Maryland. Clemson has had two weeks to prepare for this clash with Wake Forest, and while clearly the underdog, the Tigers undoubtedly have the talent to win the contest.

The Demon Deacons opened their season with three straight wins, including narrow decisions over Ole Miss and Florida State. Their last outing resulted in a surprising loss, however, as Navy invaded Winston-Salem and left with a 24-17 victory. Wake, like Clemson, has been idle for two weeks, so there is no excuse if the team comes out and loses again in front of the home crowd.

Clemson owns a commanding 56-16-1 advantage in the all-time series with Wake Forest, including two straight wins over the Demon Deacons. Last season, the Tigers rolled to a 44-10 victory in Death Valley.

Clemson is averaging 385.8 total ypg, and of the 17 offensive touchdowns that the squad has managed this season, 13 have come on the ground. The Tigers have two outstanding tailbacks in James Davis and C.J. Spiller. Davis has rushed for 375 yards and five scores, while Spiller is close behind with his 304 yards and five touchdowns. While Spiller was limited against Maryland last time out with a foot injury, he is expected to play against Wake Forest.

Taking the snaps for Clemson with be Cullen Harper as usual. He has completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 944 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions, and his total of scoring passes is far off the pace of what most fans and analysts expected. "C.J. and James played extremely well today; however, our mistakes outweighed the positives in today's game," said Clemson coach Tommy Bowden after the painful loss to Maryland last time out. Spiller and Davis, who both had long touchdown runs in the clash, combined for 224 rushing yards. Unfortunately, the Tigers committed three turnovers and were 4- of-12 on third down conversion attempts.

Opponents are only generating 316.2 total ypg against Clemson, which is yielding 115.4 rushing ypg on an average of 3.5 ypc. The pass defense has been solid, as opposing quarterbacks have eight interceptions with five touchdown passes against the Tigers. Kavell Conner leads Clemson with 49 total tackles, 13 more than his closest teammate.

Aside from the opening game against Alabama, in which the defense was pushed around a bit, the Tigers have held their other four opponents to 20 or fewer points. "I'm upset that we lost, upset that we couldn't get ourselves off the field and put ourselves in a better situation," said Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers following the loss to Maryland. The Terps managed only a pair of field goals in the first half, but they scored two touchdowns in the second half to win the game. Clemson failed to force a single turnover in the contest.

The reason for Wake Forest's loss to Navy is quite simple. The Demon Deacons committed six turnovers in the clash, and considering that fact it is surprising that they only fell by seven points. "You can't turn the ball over like that and expect to win the ballgame," said quarterback Riley Skinner after the loss. "I should have taken what they gave me." Skinner tossed four interceptions, helping Navy beat its first ranked opponent since 1985. D.J. Boldin led the Demon Deacons with eight catches for 116 yards, and while he does have a hand injury, Boldin is expected to play against Clemson. While the passing game generated 270 yards, the Wake ground attack was limited to 43 yards on 31 attempts.

The Demon Deacons are averaging 25.0 ppg and 328.2 total ypg. Considering that they are rushing for only 84.8 ypg on 2.4 ypc, a great deal of pressure falls on the arm of Skinner to move the ball and score points. The quarterback has completed 68.9 percent of his passes for 974 yards with six scores, and the four interceptions against Navy were his first four of the season.

"We tried our best to simulate their offense but there is no way to go as fast as they went out there today," said Wake Forest cornerback Alphonso Smith who was asked about the challenge of defending an option offense. The Midshipmen were able to rush for 292 yards and control the clock for nearly 37 minutes. Navy only threw the ball four times, so the Deacs were able to focus on stopping the run on almost every play. Still, they were unable to get the job done.

Opponents are scoring 17.0 ppg against Wake, which is allowing 293.2 total ypg. The Demon Deacons have surrendered nine touchdowns to opposing offenses and have done a decent job against both the run and the pass. With nine interceptions and eight fumble recoveries, the club has been extremely opportunistic. Kevin Patterson has three interceptions to his credit.

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MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds

With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season.  What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season.  Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all.  Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13).  Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two.  Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury.  Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven.  Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury.  Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons.  Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4.  Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1).  The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this.  No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.

Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend.  Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend.  With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.

MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:

Atlanta Hawks 1000-1

Boston Celtics 5000-1

Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1

Chicago Bulls 20-1

Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1

Dallas Mavericks 2-1

Denver Nuggets 25-1

Detroit Pistons 6-1

Golden State Warriors 250-1

Houston Rockets 12-1

Indiana Pacers 60-1

Los Angeles Clippers 45-1

Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1

Miami Heat 9-1

Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1

Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1

New Jersey Nets 50-1

New Orleans Hornets 150-1

New York Knicks 150-1

Orlando Magic 75-1

Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1

Phoenix Suns 5-2

Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1

Sacramento Kings 250-1

San Antonio Spurs 9-1

Seattle Sonics 5000-1

Toronto Raptors 35-1

Utah Jazz 20-1

Washington Wizards 25-1

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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