The North Carolina Tar Heels and Clemson Tigers play on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, in a game on the college football Week 3 schedule.
Which team will win the college football Week 3 game?
Check out these college football Week 3 picks and college football Week 3 predictions for the game, which can be seen at 9 a.m. MST on ESPN (stream with FUBO).
Clemson is a 3.5-point favorite over North Carolina in college football Week 3 odds for the game, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
The Tigers are -175 on the moneyline, while the Tar Heels are +145. The over/under (point total) for the game is set at 44.5 points.
Watch North Carolina vs Clemson on FUBO (free trial)
Pick and Parlays: North Carolina 24, Clemson 20
Eddie Kline writes: "Clemson has been one of the
most dominant teams in the ACC Conference, so it is no surprise that they have defeated North Carolina seven consecutive times. The Tigers opened as a 5.5 point favorite, but that number quickly disappeared. Through two games, Tar Heels have allowed just 13 points and defensive guru Belichick could be facing a freshman quarterback. Take North Carolina to pull off the upset on the road."
Stat Salt: Bet Clemson to beat North Carolina
Kim Smith writes: "Clemson still deserves to be favored at Memorial Stadium. The Tigers have the roster talent and home-field environment to control this matchup, but laying a huge number would be difficult after what happened in Baton Rouge. North Carolina doesn't need to be the better team to offer betting value; the Tar Heels simply need to be competitive enough to force Clemson to execute for four quarters."
Big 12 football Week 3 picks: Houston vs Texas Tech | Tulane vs Kansas State | Bowling Green vs Iowa State | Arizona State vs Kansas | Utah State vs Utah | BYU vs Colorado State | West Virginia vs Virginia | Colorado vs Northwestern | Northern Illinois vs Arizona | The Republic's predictions
Dimers.com: Clemson 24, North Carolina 21
It writes: "After extensive simulations, our model gives North Carolina a win probability of 39%, while Clemson has a win probability of 61%."
ESPN: Clemson has a 53.3% chance to defeat North Carolina on Saturday
The site gives the Tar Heels a 46.7% shot at winning the college football Week 3 game.
Sports Betting Dime: North Carolina 30.8, Clemson 8.3
The site's formula predicts that the Tar Heels will beat the Tigers in the Week 3 college football game.
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: North Carolina vs Clemson picks, predictions, odds for Week 3 game
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