Clemson Win-Total Prediction
Following a national championship in the 2016 season, will the Clemson Tigers have a big drop off for the 2017 season?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, Clemson is listed with 28/1 odds to win the College Football Playoffs this season. The Tigers also have 7/2 odds to win the ACC, while their over/under total for wins has been set at 9. The over is listed with a line of -165, while the under is set at +135.
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Dabo Swinney is entering his ninth full season as head coach of the Tigers and 10th season overall. He is 89-28 in his career with Clemson, including back-to-back 14-1 seasons. After coming up short to Alabama in the College Football Playoff Championship for the 2015 season, the Tigers got the job done last season to claim the national title. Swinney has led Clemson to six straight seasons with at least 10 wins.
Clemson had one of the nation’s top offenses last season, averaging 504 yards and 39.2 points per game. Much of that was due to Deshaun Watson, who threw for 4,593 yards and 41 touchdowns while rushing for 629 yards and nine touchdowns. Watson is now in the NFL, which leaves some big questions under center for Clemson. The honor could go to a number of different players, including true freshman Hunter Johnson. Clemson will also have some big holes to fill at the other skill positions as they have also lost leading rusher Wayne Gallman and leading receiver Mike Williams. Defensively, Clemson allowed just 18.4 points and 314 yards per game last season. Their pass defense was among the best in the nation, allowing just 188.2 yards per game through the air. The defense has a lot of turnover this season as well, but linebacker Kendall Joseph will be back to lead the unit. He had 124 tackles last season, including 13.5 tackles for loss.
Clemson has an intriguing non-conference game with Auburn at home on Sept. 9 while also facing Kent State, The Citadel and South Carolina. ACC road games will be made to Louisville, Boston College, Syracuse and N.C. State while home games featured BC, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Florida State. The schedule is pretty favorable this year, especially with Clemson working in so many new pieces. I don’t feel great about the Tigers roster on paper, but Swinney has proven himself to be a good coach. He should have his team ready for key early games with Auburn and Louisville. The FSU game isn’t until late in the season and a loss shouldn’t necessarily keep them from 10 wins anyway.
2017 WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: CLEMSON OVER 9 (-165)