The Clemson Tigers begin their title defense on Thursday night as they welcome the new-look Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to town in Week 1.
Dabo Swinney made the smart decision to give the starting quarterback job to Trevor Lawrence after the Clemson Tigers’ first four games of the season. Even as a true freshman, Lawrence showed what an immense talent he is as he guided his team to an undefeated regular season and then two emphatic victories in the College Football Playoff to win the National Championship.
Now they look to do it again, starting with a matchup against an ACC foe, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
There are no questions about the Clemson offense entering the 2019 college football season. Lawrence is back for year two, running back Travis Etienne is a star in his own right and wide receivers Justyn Ross and Tee Higgins are big plays waiting to happen. This group should light up the scoreboard nearly at will this year.
Georgia Tech’s offense, however, has plenty of questions. Geoff Collins is the new head coach of the Yellow Jackets and has plenty of work to do. He takes over for Paul Johnson who ran — and more importantly recruited for — the triple-option. Now Collins is trying to shuffle his hand in regards to the roster to fit his spread offensive concepts. How successful that will be is highly in doubt.
If there’s any question about the Tigers defense, it’s what they lost as their whole defensive line from 2018 is now in the NFL. At the same time, Swinney has recruited at an extremely high level and has replacements in the ready, in addition to a star linebacker in Isaiah Simmons. Plus, a Georgia Tech offense in transition is unlikely to provide a grand test.
How to watch and bet on Clemson vs. Georgia Tech
Date: Thursday, Aug. 29
Start Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Memorial Stadium – Clemson, SC
TV Info: ACC Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN
Point Spread: Clemson -37
Over/Under: 61 (odds courtesy of Bovada)
Prediction: This isn’t going to be a close game at Memorial Stadium, as much as anyone wants it to be. Swinney’s team has the look of a juggernaut once again, even with the defensive turnover they’ve experienced on the roster. Lawrence, Etienne and the offense are going to be near unstoppable. When you then factor in Georgia Tech playing their first game in Collins’ spread offense, things could get ugly quickly.
Clemson’s starters are likely going to rest their starters in the second half and cruise to a comfortable season-opening victory and a 1-0 record in the ACC.