The Death Valley is back. The weekend will witness Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers host the Orange at Memorial Stadium. Presently, much to a confident Dabo Swinney’s dismay, Clemson has gone unranked in the post-week 3 top 25 polls after suffering a defeat to the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets. Whereas, Fran Brown’s Orange edged out the Colgate Raiders with a dominant 66-24 win at the JMA Wireless Dome. It would be interesting to note how week 4 pans out for both programs.
On Saturday, Bob Wischusen and Louis Riddick will be present in the box, providing live updates on the turf developments. Meanwhile, reporter Kris Budden will be reporting from the sidelines. The game will begin at 12 P.M. E.T.
Wischusen is a veteran personality in college football. On Saturday, he will be calling his 20th season, broadcasting live college football updates for ESPN and ABC. He has also been the radio play-by-play voice of the New York Jets. During his tenure as a sports commentator, he was part of the historic PGA Championship broadcast (Golf) in 1986. His philosophy? “I think any broadcaster worth his weight in salt will tell you, I just want to broadcast the biggest, best events I can get my hands on,” he said.
The 2007 college football season gets under way at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. on Saturday, Sept. 3, 2007. (John Powell/Sideline Carolina)On the other hand, Louis Riddick has been a part of the network since 2013. As a former NFL player who spent 10 years in the pro league, he brings a plethora of knowledge with him. After his NFL career, he was a part of the Washington Redskins’ scouting team, eventually getting the role of Director of Pro Personnel. He later joined the Philadelphia Eagles and left the NFL circuit in 2013 to become an analyst for ESPN.
A junior Olympic diver from age five to twelve, for Kris Budden, sports have been ingrained in her life since childhood. In addition to that, she was a two-time state champion during her high school years. Presently, she is a reporter for ESPN football and basketball. She wanted to tell human stories. “Getting into sports would allow me to do that a lot more.”
Over the years, Kris made her journey from Charlottesville to Knoxville to San Diego, finally landing her at her dream job at ESPN. Her favorite moments on the turf? “Getting to witness players’ best moments—a backup quarterback coming in with a Hail Mary for a touchdown, or a baseball player’s first home run, or a walkoff. Those are the moments that I love,” she said.
Syracuse vs. Clemson: Week 4 odds
Clearly, to enter the college football playoff conversation, defeating Syracuse is at the top of Clemson’s laundry list. Cade Klubnik, who presently holds a 59.1 % completion rate, has a chance to bounce back on the Heisman candidate charts and lift up his NFL stock. Analyst Josh Pate is also not sold on Swinney’s swagger. “This is a big [spread] like 16.5. That’s a big number to be looking at [a Syracuse] outright upset,” Pate said.
He continued. “It’s Clemson, man. They got to prove it. They got to earn the benefit of the doubt. They do not own that around here right now.” On the other hand, Syracuse’s Steve Angeli is ranked No. 3 in passing yards per game at 379.3. In addition to that, Syracuse is already scoring 39.7 points per game. But the Orange has committed two turnovers in every game, while Clemson has reaped those opportunities.
According to ESPN’s matchup predictor, Dabo Swinney has an 80.5% chance to edge out the Orange. BetGM also places the Tigers as a 17.5-point favorite against Fran Brown’s roster. Moreover, the over-under also stands at 54.5 points. The Greenville News’ Darrian Carter predicts Clemson 34, Syracuse 20.
