ACC College Football Bowl Odds: Clemson, North Carolina Both Underdogs
Clemson enters bowl season at No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings, but the 13-0 Tigers must face No. 4 Oklahoma at this year’s Orange Bowl as 3 1/2-point betting underdogs at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Clemson has since struggled for bettors, posting four consecutive against-the-spread losses while favored by double digits before rebounding in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, topping North Carolina 45-37 as 6 1/2-point favorites.
Oklahoma rides a seven-game straight-up win streak into the Sooners vs. Tigers betting matchup at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium on New Year’s Eve, claiming victory by a convincing margin of 32.6 points per game.
The Sooners have gone 5-2 SU and 4-3 ATS in their last seven games against ACC opponents, but the Tigers beat them 40-6 as 6 1/2-point underdogs at last season’s Russell Athletic Bowl.
The Tar Heels will represent the ACC at this year’s Russell Athletic Bowl, taking on the Baylor Bears as slim two-point underdogs. UNC’s recent loss to the Tigers halted the club’s impressive 11-game SU win streak, which had lifted it to the top of the ACC Coastal Division.
The Tar Heels are a middling 2-7 SU and 3-6 ATS in their past nine bowl game appearances and winless in their last four against Big 12 opponents. But they play a Bears squad that went 1-3 SU down the stretch and is just 1-5 ATS in their last six games, according to the OddsShark College Football Database.
Florida State, meanwhile, will face Houston as seven-point chalk in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Losses to Georgia Tech and Clemson eliminated the Seminoles from playoff contention, but they finished strong with three straight SU wins while going 5-0 ATS. The American Athletic Conference champion Cougars have won two straight against ACC opponents, but are just 2-3 ATS in their past five games overall.
In other ACC bowl betting action, NC State faces Mississippi State in the Belk Bowl as six-point underdogs, Duke is a 1 1/2-point underdog against Indiana in the Pinstripe Bowl, and Miami battles Washington State in the Sun Bowl as a three-point underdog.
Louisville enters the Music City Bowl as a three-point underdog against Texas A&M, Pittsburgh is a 3 1/2-point underdog in its Military Bowl matchup with Navy and Virginia Tech is a 13 1/2-point favorite over Tulsa in the Independence Bowl.
Thumbnail photo via Joshua S. Kelly/USA TODAY Sports Images
