South Florida at Clemson

It has been a disappointing year for the Tigers. They had aspirations of winning the ACC Championship, but fell light years short and barely qualified for a Bowl at 6-6. When you consider three of their wins came over Presbyterian, Wake Forest and North Texas, the Tigers really struggled. QB Kyle Parker just never got things going and the Tigers’ running game featured no back with more than 730 rushing yards, so there simply were no playmakers to put this team over the top. The Tigers offense suffered as the competition level rose. They scored 14 or fewer points in four of their last five games. The Bulls went 4-4 in the Big East, and did not lose to anyone in conference play by more than 7 except to West Virginia on the road. They did show their capability when they went down to Miami and beat the Hurricanes on their own field, a team the Tigers lost to at home by 9 points. The Bulls have come out ready after scoring less than 20 in their previous game, having gone 22-10 ATS in their following game. The Tigers have been bad over their last 16 games, going just 5-11 ATS and will have very little interest in this less-than-expected Bowl. Meanwhile, Skip Holtz is 26-13 ATS as an underdog in his coaching career. My computer matchup likes the Bulls to hang close here and I agree that they will cover the spread. Take the Bulls.