Fans of the Clemson Tigers have gotten so spoiled over the years that a 10-win season is considered a down year. It wasn’t just last season’s win total, though. The Tigers saw their run of six straight ACC championships end and as a result they failed to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time since the 2014 season.
The Tigers get a good warm up in their opener as they look to return to the elite of college football taking on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Monday night as a 22-point favorite. Though they won only three games last year the Jackets played a spirited contest at Clemson covering the 27.5-point closing line in a 14-8 setback.
Clemson vs Georgia Tech Date & Time
The Week 1 college football game between the Clemson Tigers and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will take place at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, September 5, 2022 and will be televised on ESPN.
Clemson vs Georgia Tech Odds
Clemson Tigers -22
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets +22
Over/Under 50.5
Odds Analysis
A lot of pundits are high on Clemson this year putting them at No. 4 in the preseason rankings and positioning them as a 22-point favorite in this matchup. Dabo Swinney has built a juggernaut winning at least 10 games in 11 consecutive seasons. And though they went 10-3 last season, they weren’t the usual dominant force we’ve seen over the last decade. That was noticeable early in a 10-3 loss to Georgia, a narrow victory over Tech and an OT loss to NC State all in the first four weeks. They weren’t as good as most expected with large spreads leading to a 0-7 ATS start. Clemson was favored by more than 20 points in three games last year going 0-3 ATS.
Three straight seasons of three wins and little reason for optimism has Georgia Tech as a big underdog for the opener. Things appeared to be looking up last year when the Jackets won twice, including a big win North Carolina, and played Clemson close in between. They were 3-3 before losing their final six games and going 1-5 ATS.
Clemson Tigers
Quarterback play at Clemson has been superb during Swinney’s tenure with guys like Tajh Boyd, Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence flawlessly handling the position. The hope was the D.J. Uiagalelei would be the next in line. While he wasn’t awful last year, he wasn’t nearly as good as he needed to be completing just 55.6 percent of his passes with more interceptions than touchdowns. As a result the passing game faltered and the offense averaged 26.8 points.
A stellar defense kept Clemson in many of its games and the group should be stout once again. The Tigers were among the top-10 nationally against the run and in total defense and allowed an average of just 15 points, second-best in the country. There will be an adjustment period with new coordinators on each side of the football, but the foundation is built and it’s safe to say Clemson is the better club.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
You have to hand it to Geoff Collins and Georgia Tech for at least being consistent over the previous three seasons; consistently bad, but consistent. And it’s hard to say based on last season’s result if Tech has improved. The Jackets dropped the last seven meetings with the 14-8 setback easily the closest of the bunch. The six previous contests were all decided by at least two touchdowns and an average of nearly 31 points.
It’s been a long hibernation for the Jackets who need to show they have an offense. They were shutout in their last two games of 2021 dropping their final scoring average to 24.0 to rank 95th in the FBS. The ground game was decent but a lead back needs to emerge after the transfer of Jahmyr Gibbs. And a healthy Jeff Sims will stabilize the QB spot. A former four-star recruit, Sims threw for 1,468 yards with 12 TDs and seven picks though he missed all or parts of six games. There is a good group of linebackers on defense, but overall Tech is lacking in the areas they need to have success.
Clemson vs Georgia Tech Prediction
Uiagalelei was more or less handed the job before last season. He struggled at times and the passing game suffered. He had competition in camp this year and earned the job giving him and the offense a boost of confidence. An impressive win in the opener will show the rest of college football that the Tigers are back and I don’t see the Jackets doing a lot on offense to keep the game within reach.
Our Prediction: Clemson Tigers -22 / OVER 50.5
