The Clemson Tigers may have sunk in the national rankings but that isn’t stopping them from dominating NCAA football betting lines. In their last 5 outings the Tigers are 4-1 against the spread (ATS) and they’ll be looking to keep that streak alive this upcoming Thursday against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Neither team has lost a game so far this season, but Clemson has much more to lose in this contest. The Tigers have already fallen to No. 5 in the nation and a loss against Georgia Tech wouldn’t help them in the least bit.
Clemson entered the season ranked as the No. 2 team, but unimpressive performances in the first three weeks have led to their demotion. The Tigers haven’t lost a game, but they haven’t been nearly as impressive as critics were expecting. Coming into this season Deshaun Watson may have been the NCAA football betting frontrunner for the Heisman, but he hasn’t been doing enough to set himself apart.
Heading into this contest Watson has thrown for 692 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. 3 of those touchdowns came this past weekend when Clemson pummeled the South Carolina State Bulldogs 59-0. The Bulldogs clearly didn’t stand a chance; what do the odds across the top sportsbooks have to say about the Yellow Jackets’ chances?
Week 4 – Thursday the 22nd of September
Clemson -8 ½ (-110) -330
Georgia Tech +8 ½ (-110) +270
Georgia Tech is coming into this matchup as the underdogs, which is to be expected considering they’re not a Top 25 team. This game will mark the beginning of Week 4 but it’s worth noting that the Yellow Jackets have already won as many games as they did in 2015. Georgia Tech got their third win of the season against the Vanderbilt Commodores, 38-7. The Yellow Jackets got to show off a bit against Vanderbilt, and while Clemson will be a much tougher opponent, they’ll be looking to keep the momentum moving.
Coming into this contest the Jackets are averaging 397.7 yards per game while allotting 456 yards to their opponent. Those numbers aren’t bad but the Tigers’ will certainly be the toughest opposition Georgia Tech has faced this season. While the Yellow Jackets haven’t been beating up patsies – they overcame Boston College in their opener and followed that up with a win over the Mercer Bears – they also haven’t been facing ranked teams. Clemson should win, but the fact that the NCAA football betting odds aren’t terribly far apart should be an indication that a Georgia Tech upset is not unfathomable.
With both schools facing off on Thursday neither team will have a full week to prepare. This should give Clemson the upper hand as they possess more talent. Clemson is scoring 36 points per game, but the Yellow Jackets have only been giving up 10.3 points per game. On the other side, Georgia Tech is averaging 30 points per game while the Tigers’ opposition only score 12.3 points per game. With such a pairing it’ll be interesting to see if Clemson can beat the spread once more.