Clemson vs. NC State 2017 live stream: How to watch online

The Clemson Tigers and the North Carolina State Wolfpack will collide in the 36th annual Textile Bowl this Saturday. Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, the Tigers have won the trophy 24 times. And Clemson won last year’s game, 24-17, in overtime. ABC (livestream) will broadcast this year’s Textile Bowl at 3:30 p.m. ET from the Carter–Finley Stadium.

Clemson (7-1) ranks No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings. The Tigers are coming off the heels of a 24-10 victory against Georgia Tech last week. This week Clemson’s defense must make life miserable for Wolfpack quarterback Ryan Finley. Finley has a 12-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and NC State’s offensive line has only surrendered nine sacks all season. But Clemson leads the nation with an astounding 32 sacks.

NC State ranks No. 20 in the College Football Playoff rankings. This week it must slow down Clemson’s high-powered offense. The Tigers average 32.2 points per game and have a 47 percent success rate on offense, which is 20th-best in the nation.

That said, State is the best remaining team on Clemson’s schedule, and it’s fun to play these meaningful November games against unexpected faces. Even after State’s worst performance of the year, the Wolfpack sit at 4-0 in conference play and this weekend’s contest is nearly certain to determine the Atlantic Division champion. The easily-gleaned impressions heading into this game all favor Clemson.

But this weekly column, as ever, focuses on deeper scouting: where defenses can either harass or fall prey to Bryant and the Clemson offense. With State’s defensive line, there’s much more to worry about up front than usual, but even this front may not be able to keep Clemson from successfully attacking a weak secondary.

NC State suffered its first significant bout of attrition since early September during the Wolfpack’s loss to Notre Dame last weekend. Defensive linemen Darian Roseboro, Justin Jones, and Eurndraus Bryant were all banged up early, as was running back Nyheim Hines, who got rolled up and was lucky to escape without major injury.

All of those players appear likely to return this week against Clemson, at least based on what Dave Doeren had to say on Wednesday. They all practiced; Hines and Bryant were kept out of contact drills, but both sound probable for the Clemson game, NC State’s current biggest game of the week of the year.

I’m on the bench this week because of a death in the family, but James Curle was kind enough to join Will on short notice this week (thanks, James!) to talk Notre Dame and give that loss some context. Will and James also went over the Braxton Beverly case and the ridiculous NCAA ruling that came down on Monday. Hasn’t been a great few days, I gotta say.

The Wolfpack will pull off an upset and win their first Textile Bowl since 2011. Their offensive line is strong, and Finely makes plays without turning over the ball. This game should come down to the fourth quarter.