After a late fourth-quarter rally to slip past the Pitt Panthers, the Clemson Tigers are taking on The Citadel in Week 13.
Clemson (8-2 overall, 7-1 conference) got a 50-yard Cade Klubnik touchdown run with 1:16 remaining, and Khalil Barnes’ game-sealing interception as time expired lifted the Tigers to a 24-20 win over Pittsburgh last Saturday at Acrisure Stadium.
Klubnik threw for 288 yards and two touchdowns to receiver Antonio Williams, who hauled in a career-high 13 catches for 149 yards. T.J. Parker tied a school record with four sacks to help keep Clemson’s slim College Football Playoff hopes alive.
Dabo Swinney’s Tigers are ranked No. 16 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll. In the updated CFP Rankings released Tuesday, Clemson rose three spots to No. 17. The Citadel is 5-6 and is coming off a 30-17 win at Wofford last Saturday.
On Thursday, USA TODAY Sports’ college football experts released their predictions for every Top 25 team in Week 13, including Clemson vs. The Citadel. To no surprise, the six-member panel of Dan Wolken, Paul Myerberg, Eddie Timanus, Scooby Axson, Jordan Mendoza and Erick Smith all picked the Tigers to win.
Kickoff for Clemson vs. The Citadel is set for 3:30 p.m ET at Clemson Memorial Stadium. The game can be seen on The CW. The Tigers will be wearing their iconic purple jerseys and matching pants to celebrate Military Appreciation Day.
RELATED: Complete list of experts’ bowl projections for Clemson football entering Week 13
Expert predictions: Are Miami and SMU shoo-ins for ACC title game?
Not necessarily, but the Hurricanes (9-1, 5-1) and Mustangs (9-1, 6-0) aren’t exactly closing out their respective regular seasons with a veritable Murderers’ Row of opponents.
Miami is at home this Saturday to take on Wake Forest, while SMU is in Charlottesville to take on Tony Elliott and the Virginia Cavaliers. Not surprisingly, the six USA TODAY Sports experts all favor Miami and SMU to win Saturday.
To reach the ACC title game, Clemson needs Miami to lose to either Wake Forest or Syracuse in its final two regular-season games, or for SMU to lose to both Virginia and California.
Experts’ picks for huge Week 13 Top 25 college football matchups
Three games this week feature teams that are both ranked in the Top 25 in this week’s polls. The biggest is in Columbus for the top five showdown between the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers and No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes.
Only one of USA TODAY Sports’ experts (Mendoza) picked Indiana to win. The Hoosiers are 10-0 for the first time in school history while Ohio State is 9-1 overall and No. 2 in the CFP rankings. Kickoff for Indiana-Ohio State set for noon ET (Fox).
Another matchup pitting Top 25 teams is at Yankee Stadium, which hosts No. 6 Notre Dame (9-1) and undefeated Army (No. 17, 9-0). All members of the six-man panel picked Riley Leonard and the Irish to win. Kickoff for Army-Notre Dame is at 7 p.m. ET (NBC).
In the Big 12, No. 15 BYU (9-1) visits No. 22 Arizona State (8-2). All six members of USA TODAY Sports’ panel picked the Sun Devils to beat BYU, a week after the Cougars suffered their first loss of the season in a 17-13 home upset against the Kansas Jayhawks.
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