By Rock Westfall
For Week 13, Northwestern, South Carolina, and NC State are in top form with strong value.
Illinois Faces Must Win Pressure for Bowl Against Upstart Northwestern
Northwestern +6 (6-5, 4-4) at Illinois (5-6, 3-5)
3:30 p.m. ET, BTN
Illinois opened as a -3 point favorite and was bet up to -6.
Illinois allowed a late TD at Iowa last week to blow a shot at clinching bowl eligibility. Now, they face the pressure of confronting an upstart Northwestern team that has covered five consecutive games and is bowl-eligible. Interim Northwestern coach David Braun took over an impossible situation in August but made the most of it and, as a reward, is now the permanent head coach.
It is hard to trust an Illinois team that has covered only three of its 11 games in 2023. It’s also difficult laying almost a TD to a team in good form with an Illini squad ranked 97th for scoring offense and 89th for points allowed.
Coach Bret Bielema’s team failed to get the cash in its last eight home games. Northwestern won six of its last eight games straight up against Illinois.
Absolute Scenes 🤯💜 pic.twitter.com/qTOSXTQXjc
— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) November 18, 2023
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Palmetto Bowl – Resurgent South Carolina Seeks to Clinch a Bowl
Clemson (7-4, 4-4) at South Carolina (5-6, 3-5) +7
7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network
Clemson opened as a -9 point favorite and was bet down to -7.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s call to America to buy lots of stock on Clemson proved prophetic. The Tigers won and covered their last three games. But this is a tough spot for the Tigers. South Carolina was written off for dead after a 2-6 start. Now the Gamecocks are one win away from bowl eligibility and saving their season. South Carolina has won six of their last seven home games SU.
In this spot, head coach Shane Beamer will have his red-hot team at a peak emotionally with everything to play for. This number is a good price for South Carolina at home.
South Carolina defeats Kentucky and Xavier Legette was the star again. The defense came to play forcing 3 turnovers.
Legette:
– 6 catches
– 94 yards
– 2 TDGamecocks are on 3 game winning in streak and will face Clemson next week. pic.twitter.com/lYGjpN2XGJ
— College Football Alerts (@CFBAlerts_) November 19, 2023
NC State Live Home Dog in Carolina-State Game
North Carolina (8-3, 4-3) at NC State (8-3, 5-2) +2
8 p.m. ET, ACCN
North Carolina opened as a -1 point favorite and was bet up to -2.
After a promising start, the Tar Heels have failed to get the cash in four of their last five games, with three SU losses in that span. UNC’s 92nd-ranked defense has proven to be a liability. NC State is one of the most underrated programs in the country. And head coach Dave Doeren is one of the sport’s most underappreciated coaches. NC State is riding a four-game SU and ATS winning streak. And the Pack’s 22nd-ranked defense will not make life easy for the respected UNC offense.
NC State has won 17 of its last 20 home games SU and is in much better form with more confidence in this matchup.
FINAL | NC State 35, Virginia Tech 28
Wolfpack gets the job done in Blacksburg pic.twitter.com/aqibD95umE
— Pack Pride (@PackPride) November 18, 2023
