Week 11 Vegas Lock: Orange Crush Clash

I’m exchanging all my Michigan gear for Charlotte apparel. Out with the Wolverine, in with the 49er. Florida International tried to padlock the 18.5-point cover late, but Charlotte said, "No thanks," and Dikembe Mutombo’d the hell out of that witchcraft, mustering a backdoor score late in the fourth quarter.

If I’m not mistaken, through my illegal internet stream, I watched those 49ers pump their helmets to the camera and scream, "That was for AK!!" A half-hearted grin and a clap of the hands gestured right back to that little engine that could. I watched that team get purely dismantled by 17 points, only for them to become my favorite Week 10 team.

I need a Charlotte Dri-Fit, bad.

Locks Record: 6-3

Lock of the Week

Clemson at Syracuse (+27.5, 57)

Clemson is raking in rave and rumbling through the register in 2015 so much that the Tigers have risen to and remained at No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings. Sneaking out a win on a Thursday night at Louisville may be the lone question of a phenomenal run; since then, it’s been full-out domination with convincing wins versus North Carolina State and Georgia Tech, while possessing the resiliency to overcome Notre Dame and Florida State.

So we should perceive Dabo Swinney’s Tigers to just steamroll the Orange of Syracuse, am I right? Yet, I’m not budging in the direction of the spread.

Instead, I’m leaning towards the total. Let’s take a peek at how Clemson has fared on the road as substantial favorites over the years:

Syracuse hasn’t been a slouch, either. As an underrated ‘over’ team at 8-1, the Orange are sneakier than a high school freshman trying to maneuver a 30-rack through the window well into the basement.

If Clemson has any sort of film from the Florida State-Syracuse tape, the Tigers should feast down the field, as the Orange squandered a string of deep balls. That’s when guys like Deon Cain and Hunter Renfrow take on their roles and continue to impress the voters with a boatload of scores.

Clemson’s offense and Syracuse’s ability to hold its own: I’m grabbing the ‘over’ for the lock of the week.

Pick: Clemson-Syracuse Over 57