The 2021 season was a disappointing one for the Clemson Tigers. For the first time in six years, the Tigers failed to win the ACC, and they failed to make it to the College Football Playoff too.
Clemson is out to show that last year was an aberration, and the oddsmakers believe the Tigers will have little trouble with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Week 1.
CFB Week 1 Betting Odds
Clemson Tigers -22
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets +22
Total 50.5
Odds Analysis
Bettors have jumped on Clemson since this line first opened in the summer. The Tigers were originally 19-point favorites, but that number has ballooned to 22 points due to Geoff Collins’ struggles with the Yellow Jackets.
Clemson Tigers
The big question for Clemson entering the 2022 season is whether D.J. Uiagalelei can become an above average quarterback. Uiagalelei was compared with Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud prior to last season, but while the other two quarterbacks flourished, Uiagalelei struggled mightily. He completed just 55.6% of his passes for 2,246 yards (6.0 YPA), and he threw nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Still, Clemson managed to go 10-3 given the talent everywhere else on the field, but Uiagalelei will need to improve if the Tigers are going to be back in the CFP.
Clemson does have a ton of talent around Uiagalelei. Will Shipley had a breakout season once he became the No. 1 running back last year, and Joseph Ngata and Beaux Collins are big play threats at receiver.
Brent Venables is no longer the defensive coordinator at Clemson after taking the head coaching job at Oklahoma. Venables has been the best defensive coordinator in the nation over the past decade, so it won’t be easy to replace him, but this unit has several first-round prospects.
Defensive linemen Myles Murphy and Bryan Bresee were both Preseason First Team All-ACC selections, and they were the leading vote getters on this side of the ball. Bresee was a Freshman All-American in 2020 but only played four games last year due to injury, and Murphy is seen as one of the top returning defensive ends in the country. Linebacker Trenton Simpson can get to the quarterback very well too, so Clemson should have a top ten defense once more.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Geoff Collins came to Atlanta with the promise of modernizing Georgia Tech. The administration has given him time to recruit his players and transition away from the triple option, but Collins has yet to win more than three games in a season. That means he could be in his last season on the sidelines of this program if the Yellow Jackets don’t reach a bowl game in 2022.
Jeff Sims is going to be the starting quarterback for Georgia Tech once again this season. Sims was a true freshman starter in 2020, and he showed a little improvement last year. However, he still isn’t as accurate as Collins would like him to be in this offense, although he does run the ball pretty well when things break down.
Unfortunately, star running back Jahmyr Gibbs transferred to Alabama, and the only experienced receiver on the roster is Malachi Carter. There are a lot of concerns along the offensive line too as five underclassmen are expected to start up front.
The Yellow Jackets aren’t expected to have a good defense in 2022 either. Georgia Tech brought in a ton of transfers to try to fix its secondary, and that’s usually not a good sign. They are ranked 100th in Defensive SP+ coming into the season.
Clemson vs. Georgia Tech Free Pick
The ‘Under’ is the best bet in this game given what Clemson will likely do on defense. The Tigers won’t allow the Yellow Jackets to do much on offense, as their offensive line will be overwhelmed by Clemson’s size and strength.
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