Clemson vs. North Carolina prediction: Who wins, and why?

Clemson and North Carolina are set to meet in college football’s Week 6 action on Saturday in a battle of two of the country’s most-accomplished head coaches. Here’s what you should watch for in the matchup with our prediction for the game.

Back in the preseason, it was meant to be one of the season’s most intriguing games, pitting a multiple national title winner against arguably the NFL’s greatest-ever coach.

That was, until Clemson floundered to a surprising 1-3 mark and plummeted out of the national polls, and North Carolina skidded to a 2-2 mark with no FBS wins.

Not quite what Dabo Swinney and Bill Belichick, respectively, were hoping for, but the game could end up being the launching point for something better depending on which team shows up in this meeting.

Clemson vs. North Carolina prediction: What to watch

Clemson vs. North Carolina football game prediction 2025 — Brett Davis-Imagn Images

1. Where is Clemson’s offense?

Cade Klubnik was coming off a personal-best outing last season throwing the football and was supposed to build off that success in 2025, but so far that hasn’t happened.

The quarterback has just 6 touchdown passes and 4 interceptions in four games while completing 60 percent of his passes, ranking 16th in the ACC in passing status.

North Carolina comes into the game ranked 64th in FBS defending against the pass and is 125th in opposing passer efficiency, allowing nearly 69 percent completion.

2. Third down/red zone efficiency

North Carolina’s defense has struggled to stop opponents on the money down, allowing them to move the chains successfully more than 44 percent of the time, ranking 113rd nationally.

Clemson isn’t much better moving the ball on third down, converting just 18 of its 50 opportunities for a success rate of 36 percent.

If Klubnik and whatever there is of the Tigers’ run game can generate some momentum on third down and profit inside the 20, they can expose the Tar Heels’ clear defensive shortcomings.

3. Control the ground game

Clemson hasn’t been as dominant as expected up front on defense, this front seven is still adequate against the run, ranking among the top 50 by allowing 122 yards per game on the ground.

Carolina’s backs combined to field the nation’s 113th rushing attack, averaging 113 yards in an offense that has failed to prove very explosive, posting 264 total yards per game.

If Clemson can do the job in the trenches and close down the Tar Heels’ running lanes, they can force the Carolina offense to one dimension, where it has struggled throwing the ball with uncertainty at the quarterback position, ranking 17th in the ACC and 124th nationally.

Who is favored?

Clemson is a 14.5 point favorite against North Carolina, according to the latest updated game lines posted to FanDuel Sportsbook.

FanDuel lists the total at 46.5 points for the matchup.

And it set the moneyline odds for Clemson at -720 and for North Carolina at +520 to win outright.