CLEMSON (- 3.5) at NOTRE DAME, 9 p.m.
Pick: Clemson (- 3.5)
Clemson (17-12) is squarely on the NCAA bubble and can ill afford a loss to the struggling Fighting Irish (13-16), even in South Bend.
The Tigers, as stated here before, have been very predictable. They lose to good teams — eight of their 12 losses have come to teams ranked in the top 25 — and they beat bad teams. Only one of their 12 losses have come to a sub .500 team, a 65-64 setback to Miami.
Clemson is a respectable 5-4 against the spread on the road this season and has also covered the spread in seven of its last 10 games.
Notre Dame, meanwhile is a miserable 11-18 against the spread this season and an even more frightful 5-13 against the spread at home.
This won’t be as big of a blowout as it was on the football field in the BCS semifinals, but look for Clemson to keep alive its NCAA hopes and for the Irish to continue along on their going nowhere season.