College Football Betting: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Clemson Tigers

By BetOnline August 24, 2019

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The defending national champion Clemson Tigers play their first game after hammering Alabama last January in Santa Clara, California. They enter the season with the highest regular season win total on the board (11.5) and are expected to pummel most of their opponents. That includes Week 1 where they’re a whopping 36-point favorite.

How much will Dabo Swinney’s team be tested in the season opener and can Georgia Tech fight back enough to at least cover?

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Clemson Tigers
Date: Thursday, August 29, 2019 – 8:00 PM ET
Location: Memorial Stadium – Clemson, SC
CFB Odds: Clemson -35.5
CFB Total: 59

Why The Yellow Jackets Will Cover The Spread…

The Yellow Jackets are going to be solid on defense. There has been a regime change at Georgia Tech as Paul Johnson is out and first-year head coach Geoff Collins is in. He’s a former defensive coordinator who did well with the Florida Gators in that capacity. He did well enough as a defensive coordinator to get a head coaching job with Temple where the Owls created a very strong brand of defense. As a team, they improved his national profile to the extent that Georgia Tech sought him as a candidate when Paul Johnson retired from coaching.

Collins’ 2018 defense at Temple picked off 18 passes and recovered 13 fumbles, getting 31 turnovers, one of the higher turnover numbers in the country. If Clemson is rusty or sluggish in its season opener – which is a natural enough occurrence for any team, even the defending champions – Georgia Tech will have a good chance of getting turnovers and limiting Clemson’s scoring output. Georgia Tech will likely try to control the ball and run clock, so getting two or three turnovers from Clemson’s offense should be enough to cover the spread in this game.

Why The Tigers Will Cover The Spread…

The Yellow Jackets rushed for 4,225 yards last year. Why was their total so high? They used a triple-option offense, but that’s gone this season. Former coach Paul Johnson implemented a triple-option attack but now that team – and offense – is set for a huge makeover. They recruited a certain kind of athlete for the offense, which requires a very specific skill set from the backs and the offensive linemen. Now that will change. This isn’t a minor renovation; this is a wholesale makeover. They triple-option personnel that will have to transition to a more conventional style of offense.

Clemson has an elite defense and playing at home. They’re in a very good position to smother Georgia Tech’s offense and wear down the Jackets in the third and fourth quarters, making this game a runaway. On the surface, it might seem like covering five touchdowns is a huge number but when you think about the fact that Georgia Tech probably won’t be scoring much – or moving the ball fluidly – it becomes clear why the Tigers can cover.

Outlook

We’re looking at an absolutely massive spread in this spot but that hasn’t scared away bettors. BetOnline.ag opened up Clemson -34 and they are now up to -35.5 as action has come in on the Tigers to push them above a key number.

Georgia Tech might get better as the year goes on but this is a really bad spot for them. Their defense isn’t ready for this and even if they can hang for a little bit, the offense won’t be able to collect first downs, move the ball and keep the Clemson offense on the sidelines. Clemson averaged 55.1 points per game in ACC play last year (Scored 49 against Georgia Tech) and should be right around that number once again.