Trevor Lawrence Travis Etienne NCAA Football Georgia Tech vs Clemson Betting Odds and Preview

Betting Preview: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs Clemson Tigers

The Clemson Tigers begin defense of their NCAA championship Thursday night against visiting Georgia Tech. The Tigers come into this one as a whopping five-touchdown favorite over the lowly Jackets, and will likely take the opportunity to get as many players as possible into the first game of the season.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs Clemson Tigers (Matchup Report)
Date/Time: August 29, 8 p.m. ET
TV Coverage: ACC Network
Sportsbook Odds: Clemson -36 | O/U 59.5 (Line History)

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Clemson opened at -33.5 but bettors wasted no time shoving money onto the home team, raising the line past the five-converted-touchdown plateau. The total, on the other hand, has barely budged, moving from 60.5 down to 59.5.

Georgia Tech News & Notes

It’s like peanut butter without the jelly – or at least it will seem like that for the first part of the season. With the departure of Paul Johnson and the arrival of Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech is moving away from its once-vaunted spread offense in favor of a more pro-style approach. How dramatic is the shift? The Jackets didn’t even have a traditional “tight end” under Johnson.

While the dramatic shift in philosophy might make it difficult to handicap this team over the first few games of 2019, one thing is clear: it could be both the best and worst thing for the Yellow Jackets to open their new offensive approach against a Clemson defense that surrendered an NCAA-low 13.1 points per game last season.

Clemson News & Notes

On one hand, a team going into a college football season with a Vegas season win total of 11.5 is virtually unheard of. But the Tigers are no ordinary team, having won two of the previous three national championships while returning the majority of their core players, including standout quarterback Trevor Lawrence and sensational running back Travis Etienne.

Don’t expect either Lawrence or Etienne to last the entire game, especially if Clemson does as expected and jumps out to an insurmountable lead. Lyn-J Dixon and Darien Rencher should both see a healthy number of carries in spelling Etienne against the Yellow Jackets, while Chase Brice and Taisun Phommachanh will likely spell Lawrence at some point Thursday.

Betting Pick

With all due respect to the Yellow Jackets, it’s quite possible they’ll leave Memorial Stadium without scoring a single point as they look to completely overhaul their offense. And with Clemson boasting NFL-calibre talent at all of the major skill positions and on defense, it could be a very long game for Georgia Tech. PICK: Clemson -36

The total has gone UNDER in Georgia Tech’s last 5 away games in Week 1.away Clemson has covered the spread in 4 of its last 5 Week 1 home games.home Georgia Tech is 0-5 SU and 0-4-1 ATS in its last 5 road games vs Clemson.
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