Clemson football plays Wake Forest today: Kickoff time, TV channel, score
Clemson football returns home Saturday for a chance to get even in ACC play and score a record-tying win for coach Dabo Swinney.
Here’s your gameday guide for Clemson and Wake Forest.
Clemson vs. Wake Forest game, TV info
Who: Clemson (3-2, 1-2 ACC) vs. Wake Forest (3-1, 0-1 ACC)
When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson
TV: ACC Network
Broadcast crew: Chris Cotter, Mark Herzlich, Sherree Burruss
Stream: Via ESPN or the ESPN app
Radio: 105.5 FM in the Clemson area (see all Clemson radio affiliates here)
Satellite radio: SiriusXM 136 or 193
Series history: Clemson leads 70-17-1 and has won 14 straight
Clemson vs. Wake Forest odds
Clemson is a 20.5-point betting favorite against Wake Forest, according to the VegasInsider.com consensus line. That’s a huge jump in comparison to the past two years — Clemson -7.5 in 2022, Clemson -3.5 in 2021 — when Wake Forest was ranked.
Saturday’s point spread marks the ninth time in 11 seasons Clemson enters a game against Wake Forest as a 20-point favorite or better, per Odds Shark data.
Weather forecast for Clemson SC
Sunny with a high of 73 degrees and 10-15 mph winds, according to Weather.com’s 10-day forecast. Rain is not in the forecast.
Top storylines for the game
At this point, any ACC win is a good win for Clemson. After falling into a 0-2 hole in conference play with losses to good Duke and Florida State teams, the Tigers can’t afford another ACC loss — and need some luck from the teams above them if they want an outside shot at making the conference title game in December. Clemson is currently tied with Boston College for eighth out of 14 ACC teams at 1-2. ESPN’s Football Power Index currently gives Clemson a 7% chance to win out, second highest among ACC teams behind FSU, and a projected win-loss record of 7.9-4.2 (read: 8-4).
Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik continues to mature and grow into the player Swinney has insisted he’s been all along. The Tigers’ sophomore starter has thrown 123 straight passes without an interception and will be seeking a third straight game of 250-plus passing yards against Wake Forest. Outside of his game-changing strip-sack fumble against FSU — a huge mistake that was partially but not entirely on him — he’s been excellent the past two weeks and made just about every throw in the book.
Swinney, in his 15th full season as Clemson’s football coach, can tie a key program record Saturday. He’s at 164 career wins, one short of College Football Hall of Famer Frank Howard’s record of 165. Howard coached Clemson from 1940-69 and has been the school’s all-time win leader for nearly 54 years. It took Howard 30 seasons and 295 games to reach 165 wins; Swinney, with a win Saturday, can do it in 15 and 206. The data points toward that happening, as Clemson has won 14 straight games against Wake Forest (including last year’s 51-45 double overtime thriller in Winston-Salem).
Injury-wise, Clemson could be down two starters again. Starting slot receiver Antonio Williams (ankle) and cornerback Nate Wiggins (knee) didn’t travel for the Syracuse game. Both are improving, Swinney said, but remain day-to-day for the Wake Forest game. In Williams’ absence, true freshman Tyler Brown has emerged as Clemson’s most productive receiver. Sophomore corner Jeadyn Lukus has started in place of Wiggins.
Clemson vs. Wake Forest players to watch
Clemson TE Jake Briningstool: Briningstool, the former No. 1 tight end recruit in his class, has gotten lost in the shuffle a bit given the somewhat unexpected depth and talent in Clemson’s receiver room. But he had his best game against Florida State (3 catches, 47 yards) and remains a threat down the middle.
Clemson LB Barrett Carter: Carter, a junior, continues to thrive as an every-game starter for Clemson at weakside linebacker. He had a season-high seven solo tackles and two tackles for loss against Syracuse
Wake Forest QB Mitch Griffis: Griffis, a redshirt sophomore, has been just OK as the replacement for now-Notre Dame starter Sam Hartman. He has nine touchdowns to six interceptions in four games and is No. 117 nationally in quarterback rating.
Wake Forest LB Jacob Roberts: A transfer from FCS North Carolina A&T, Roberts is leading Wake Forest with 37 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and five sacks. He’s tied for second nationally in sacks and is top 20 nationally in tackles and TFLs.
Clemson 2023 football schedule
Sept. 4: at Duke, 28-7 L
Sept. 9: vs. Charleston Southern, 66-17 W
Sept. 16: vs. Florida Atlantic, 48-14 W
Sept. 23: vs. Florida State, 31-24 L (OT)
Sept. 30: at Syracuse, 31-14 W
Oct. 7: vs. Wake Forest, 3:30 p.m., ACC Network
Oct. 14: OPEN
Oct. 21: at Miami
Oct. 28: at N.C. State
Nov. 4: vs. Notre Dame
Nov. 11: vs. Georgia Tech
Nov. 18: vs. North Carolina
Nov. 25: at South Carolina
Clemson 2023 depth chart
Offense
QB: Cade Klubnik (Hunter Helms)
RB: Will Shipley OR Phil Mafah (Domonique Thomas)
Outside WR: Beaux Collins (Troy Stellato)
Outside WR: Adam Randall OR Brannon Spector
Slot WR: Antonio Williams (Tyler Brown)
TE: Jake Briningstool (Sage Ennis)
LT: Tristan Leigh OR Collin Sadler
LG: Marcus Tate (Trent Howard)
C: Will Putnam (Ryan Linthicum OR Trent Howard)
RG: Mitchell Mayes (Harris Sewell)
RT: Blake Miller (Mitchell Mayes)
Defense
DE: Xavier Thomas (T.J. Parker)
DT: Tyler Davis OR Peter Woods (Payton Page)
DT: Ruke Orhorhoro OR Peter Woods (DeMonte Capehart)
DE: Justin Mascoll (Cade Denhoff)
Strongside LB: Wade Woodaz (Jamal Anderson)
Middle LB: Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (Kobe McCloud OR Dee Crayton)
Weakside LB: Barrett Carter (Wade Woodaz)
CB: Sheridan Jones (Toriano Pride Jr.)
SS: R.J. Mickens (Sherrod Covil Jr.)
FS: Jalyn Phillips (Kylon Griffin)
Nickelback: Andrew Mukuba (Khalil Barnes)
CB: Nate Wiggins (Jeadyn Lukus)
Special teams
PK: Jonathan Weitz OR Robert Gunn III
P: Aidan Swanson (Jack Smith)
KO: Robert Gunn III (Aidan Swanson)
LS (PK): Holden Caspersen (Philip Florenzo)
LS (P): Philip Florenzo (Holden Caspersen)
H: Clay Swinney
PR: Antonio Williams OR Tyler Brown
KOR: Will Shipley (Tyler Brown)
