JEFF ALLEN GAME PREVIEW: CLEMSON at GEORGIA TECH
Thursday night’s college football ESPN offering features a pair of 3-0 teams meeting in a key ACC
inter-divisional game in Atlanta as the Clemson Tigers meet Georgia Tech. Clemson, the preseason
No.2 ranked team in the country led by the early Heisman Trophy leader Deshaun Watson has dropped
to No.5 after a trio of uninspired efforts early. Georgia Tech has surprised many with it’s fast start and
comes of an impressive 38-7 drubbing of Vanderbilt.
The Vegas line opened with Clemson at -9.5 and the total 56. There has been little action on the side
but the total has moved up a full point to 57. The game will be played on the Jackets home field of Bobby
Dodd Stadium which seats 55,000 at capacity. Weather is not expected to be a factor with the temperature
for the 7:30 PM EST kickoff in the low 80’s with little to no chance of precipitation.
The Tigers go as Deshaun Watson goes so it’s little wonder why Clemson is off to a slow start with life an
death wins over Auburn and Troy. Watson has completed just 57% of his passes to this point along with
three picks. The Tigers are just 44th in total offense and just 75th in the FBS rushing the football. The defense
has done all the heavy lifting to this point and is No.15 against the run, No.17 against the pass and No.8
nationally in total defense.
Coming off a miserable 3-9 year last year, G Tech HC Paul Johnson (in his 9th year) was thought to be
squarely in the hot seat. A fast start has taken some of that pressure off but the Rambling Wreck starts
the gauntlet part of their schedule here with Miami, Florida and Pitt on deck. The Jackets still run the option
but are more balanced than in recent memory with 140 yards per through the air. The defense has been
the story checking in at No.40 against both the run and pass and 27th overall. obviously this will be their
toughest task to date.
As good as Clemson has been, they’ve been a tickets burner in this spot going 3-8 ATS L11 on the road
overall and just 2-7 L9 as a road favorite. The under is 18-11 in the Tigers L29 games overall and the low
has cashed to the the tune of 14-5 over time when Clemson plays on Thursday night. Georgia Tech is on
a 5-1 run as a dog of 7-10 points and 7-4 L11 as dog overall. The under is 22-8 over time when Tech plays
Thursday night and 6-3 (47-25 over time) when the Yellow Jackets are off back-to-back wins.
For World Champion Handicapper Jeff Allen’s play on this game, please check www.vegasscoresandodds.com
anytime after 9:00 AM EST on Thursday.