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Clemson vs. App State Score Prediction According to Football Expert Model

After a disappointing start to the 2024 season, the Clemson Tigers return home to take the first step in their rebuild on Saturday with a home opener against the Appalachian State Mountaineers in Week 2 of college football action.

Clemson lost to No. 1 Georgia by 31 points last weekend in a game in which the team’s offense failed to score a single touchdown, and head coach Dabo Swinney once again found himself under fire for failing to qualify for the College Football Playoff for three consecutive seasons.

Despite the loss, Clemson managed to stay in the AP College Football Top 25 this week, maintaining its 25th spot but with a much smaller margin of error in the team’s hopes of making the ACC and the playoffs.

App State enters the 2024 season with a short list of teams that could be in contention for an automatic Group of Five playoff berth, as quarterback Joey Aguilar passed for 326 yards and two touchdowns in the Mountaineers’ win last week.

What can we expect from this game? Let’s take a look at the SP+ prediction model to see how Clemson and App State compare heading into Saturday’s matchup.

Simulations suggest the Tigers will maintain their lead in their home game against the Mountaineers, but it will be a close game.

According to SP+ predictions, Clemson will defeat Appalachian State by a predicted score of 34 to 24 and win the game by a predicted margin of 9.7 points.

The model gives Clemson a relatively high 73 percent chance of winning the game.

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Clemson is a 17-point favorite to beat Appalachian State. The total points in this game was 52.5.

According to FanDuel, the odds for Clemson to win are -800, while Appalachian State to win is +540.

If you want to use this projection to bet on the outcome of the match, you should take…

Other analytical models also point to Clemson being able to beat its Sun Belt rival this week.

These include the College Football Power Index, a predictive computer model that uses data from both teams to simulate games 20,000 times to determine winners.

Clemson is predicted to win the game in an overwhelming 81.6 percent of simulations, while App State is the predicted winner in the remaining 18.4 percent of simulations.

The computer suggests Clemson has an 11.5-point lead over Appalachian State on the same court with both teams’ current lineups, which is not enough to cover that line.

According to computer calculations, Clemson will win 7.9 games this season, giving it a 12.7 percent chance of winning the ACC championship and third place in the conference title race.

App State is projected to win 6.9 games this season, giving it a 9.5 percent chance of winning the Sun Belt and fourth place among conference opponents.

When: Saturday, September 7th
Time: 8:00 PM EST
TV: ACC Network

Game odds are refreshed periodically and are subject to change.

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