Clemson football vs. North Carolina: Scouting report and score prediction
CLEMSON – If Clemson’s two most recent games against North Carolina are an adequate indicator, Saturday night’s ACC championship game should prove entertaining.
Clemson held off the Tar Heels 45-37 in the 2015 ACC championship game, then escaped Chapel Hill with a 21-20 victory in 2019 by stuffing a two-point conversion attempt with 1:16 remaining.
“This is a really good team,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said of North Carolina. “And this will be the two best teams in the league and there will be one champion. Every time you play this time of year, they’re handing out a trophy.”
No. 9 Clemson (10-2) is a 7½-point favorite over No. 23 North Carolina (9-3) on Saturday (8 p.m., ABC) when they meet in Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium.
Here’s what to know about the matchup and a score prediction:
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UNC quarterback Drake Maye will challenge Tigers
Clemson has faced several talented quarterbacks this season, but probably none better than North Carolina’s Drake Maye. Just ask Swinney.
“The quarterback is a great football player and was probably leading for the Heisman going into the Georgia Tech game,” Swinney said. “He’s a winner, very accurate, puts the ball where guys have a chance to make a play. He’s also the leading rusher on the team and they’re not afraid to run him at all.”
Clemson’s secondary is the most suspect part of its defense, so a shootout could be in the offing. Maye leads the FBS in total offense at 373 yards per game and ranks fourth with 35 touchdown passes.
Tar Heels’ focus: Slow down Will Shipley
While North Carolina shines offensively, the Tar Heels’ defense is rather porous, ranking 117th by surrendering almost 443 yards per game. UNC’s pass defense is suspect, what with a banged-up secondary, but due to inconsistent quarterback play Clemson may opt to do much of its damage on the ground, where the Tar Heels rank 91st against the run.
“We’ll be playing against a lot of great players I wish we had gotten (in recruiting),” North Carolina coach Mack Brown said.
Among them would be Clemson sophomore running back Will Shipley, a first-team All-ACC pick who has topped 1,000 yards this season and is a tough stop.
“Will’s tough, he’s fast, I love the way he competes,” Brown said.
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Tigers must keep up with UNC’s Josh Downs
North Carolina has one of the top receivers in the country in Josh Downs.
“He’s special,” Swinney said. “He can catch everything, he’s quick as a cat, has great football savvy and they get him the ball every which way. You’d better know where he is.”
Knowing and stopping are two different things. Downs is Maye’s favorite target and leads the ACC with 83 receptions and ranks second with 929 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Score prediction
Clemson 31, North Carolina 24: North Carolina has made much progress under Brown, particularly considering the veteran coach took over a program that had gone 5-18 in the two seasons prior to his arrival.
“When I got back I wanted North Carolina football to be relevant again,” Brown said.
The Tar Heels have accomplished that, but not sure they’re quite ready to take that next step.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Here's our scouting report and score prediction for Clemson vs. UNC
