Annoyed I missed 14 but I think this is headed to 13 and possibly lower so I'll lock in here.

I understand the Virginia Tech love and even like that team myself but it feels like Clemson is now an afterthought and I think that bodes well for the Tigers who absolutely should improve on last year's down year.

The bigger “angle” here for me is the willingness to “sell” Georgia, the Bulldogs played one of the easier schedules of any SEC team last season which is why losing one game to Alabama in the SEC Championship was enouh to bounce the Bulldogs from the four team College Football Playoff. 

Remember this is a Georgia team that's 28-1 across the last two seasons, the Bulldogs enter this season #1 in the AP preseason poll and will contend for a CFP spot but I think Georgia got worse defensively and I'll be fading this team regularly as long as the oddsmakers post inflated lines that suggest Georgia is the de facto top team.

Clemson's 2023 season was a disaster right from the jump, the Tigers were steamrolled in their opener by Duke and then an overtime loss to Florida State in Week 4 basically ended the Tigers season.  It was one of the worst Clemson teams in recent memory but there's some continuity on the offense this year and another year of experience for quarterback Cade Klubnik should translate to Clemson heading in the right direction.

I think Clemson ends up being able to move the ball on Georgia as I think the Bulldogs take their biggest step back defensively.  Georgia's defense isn't “bad” by any means but the Bulldogs lost multiple pros and I expect Clemson to find soft spots over the middle and in the secondary which allows them to move the ball here.

Finally, I do think there's a “moral” victory here for Clemson if they can keep the game close as the Tigers were drubbed to start the season last year.  I don't think many expect Clemson to win this game (I'm not sure they expect to win this game) but there's no question a “close loss” is something they can build on (especially with a 12 team playoff) and is FAR better than being blown out.

I won't be that surprised if Clemson is in this one, if the Tigers are behind there's a good chance they end up marching through the backdoor on what should be a very soft Georgia defense.  Either way this is too many points.

Play on Clemson +13.5 (-110) for 4% (or 4 units)