Clemson vs. Georgia Betting Line – Week 1 College Football 2014

Carrie Stroup here with your Clemson vs. Georgia betting line for Week 1 of the 2014 College Football season.  Place your 1^st bet and get your 2^nd bet FREE here at Sportsbook.ag.

Sportsbook.ag Line: Georgia -7.5 & 54.5

For the second consecutive year, No. 16 Clemson and No. 12 Georgia will meet for their season opener when they do battle at Sanford Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Clemson was tremendous last year with an 11-2 record, but could not beat out Florida State for the first spot in the division. The ACC was a fairly weak conference besides FSU and Duke, so their performance does not stand out quite as much, and the team lost the bulk of their key offensive players with QB Tajh Boyd and WRs Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant all heading to the NFL. The program has been very successful lately with double-digit wins in each of the past three seasons, but with the losses of all this offensive talent, Clemson is supposed to take a step back this season. On the flip side, Georgia played well below expectations last year as they came into the season ranked fifth in the nation and finished the year 8-5 overall (5-3 in the SEC). A loss to Clemson to start of the season really got things off on the wrong foot, as the team was defeated 38-35 as a 1.5-point favorite on the road. Georgia is yet another team that lost a longtime starter from their program with four-year starter QB Aaron Murray graduating and being drafted in the fifth round of the NFL draft. Picking up his slack will be a tough task as he put together four consecutive seasons with 3,000+ yards and at least 24 touchdowns. As mentioned previously, the Tigers won the last meeting between these two teams and that was their only victory when facing the Bulldogs since 1992 as they were 0-4 SU (1-3 ATS) previously. As far as trends are concerned, Clemson is 27-13 ATS (68%) as an underdog of 3.5 to 10 points since 1992 while the Bulldogs are an impressive 22-9 ATS (71%) against ACC opponents in that same timeframe. 

With the losses of their signal caller and top two receivers, it is tough to imagine that the Tigers will be able to replicate what was a great offensive season last year in which they ranked eighth in scoring (40.2 PPG) and 10th in total offense (507.7 YPG). With Boyd out of the picture, it will be up to QB Cole Stoudt to pick up the slack. In three seasons as a backup, he is 86-for-119 (72%) for 742 yards (6.2 YPA) with 8 TD and only 1 INT. He threw double-digit attempts just twice last year, but should be able to catch on quick with the offense after being with the team for three full seasons now. Aiding him in the backfield will be HB D.J. Howard who is a senior that had 57 attempts in 2013, where he gained a meager 213 yards (3.7 YPC) with two touchdowns. He was an asset in the passing game as well with eight catches for 123 yards (15.4 YPC) and a touchdown. WR Adam Humphries is the best ball catcher coming back this year and he totaled 483 yards on 41 catches (11.8 avg.) while scoring two touchdowns; both of which came in the same contest at Syracuse. DE Vic Beasley (13 sacks, 40 tackles) is expected to be a very high pick in next year’s NFL Draft and he hopes to help the team improve on a defense that was solid last year, allowing opponents to score 22.2 PPG (24^th in FBS) while keeping the other team’s quarterbacks yardage down to 201.0 YPG (16^th in nation).<P>

Georgia’s subpar 2013 season was not due to a lack of offense as the club scored 36.7 PPG (21^st in the nation) and passed for a very solid 314.2 YPG (15^th in FBS). Much of this production came at the hands of standout QB Aaron Murray who is no longer part of the team after four tremendous seasons. The torch will be passed to QB Hutson Mason who did well last year as Murray’s backup, throwing for 968 yards (8.8 YPA) with 5 TD and 3 INT. His transition into the role as starter should be much smoother knowing that HB Todd Gurley is still in the mix. The dynamic player ran for 989 yards (6.0 YPC) with 10 TD last year while adding 441 receiving yards (11.9 avg.) and 6 TD through the air. His best game coincidentally enough came in the season opener against Clemson when he popped off for 154 yards on just 12 carries (12.8 YPC) and added two touchdowns in the loss, including a 75-yard TD scamper. The receiving part of his game occurred late in the season, as 26 of his 37 receptions came in the final four games; meaning Gurley should have a more prominent role in the passing game in 2014. The teams’ top two receivers, Chris Conley (651 rec. yds, 4 TD) and Michael Bennett (538 rec. yds, 4 TD), are both back with the team and should provide more solid experience for Mason in the passing game. Where the program faltered most in 2013 was on the defensive side of the ball. The Bulldogs allowed opponents to score 29.0 PPG against them (79^th in nation), but there are many positives going into this year as the core of ILB Ramik Wilson (133 tackles, 4 sacks) and OLB Jordan Jenkins (5 sacks, 45 tackles) make their cases to be early picks in next year’s draft.

- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter