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Georgia Tech v. Clemson Football Lines & Picks

Written by Jimmy Boyd

clemson georgia tech 9809 The Clemson Tigers and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets kick off Week 2 college football action Thursday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Both teams took care of business convincingly in Week 1, but one team will see its hopes of an ACC title take a hit in this nationally televised affair (ESPN). College football odds makers have listed the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets as the 4.5-point favorite.

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Georgia Tech head man Paul Johnson feels his team did not give him all they had in Saturday’s 37-17 win over Jacksonville State, but with this being a conference clash, I expect the Jackets to play with a lot more passion. And they will have to if they want to get past a Clemson team which is expected to have C.J. Spiller back in action. The Jackets are considered to be a top contender for the ACC Coastal crown, along with Virginia Tech, but five fumbles in the opener has their head man questioning their focus. Georgia Tech is a good football team, but not good enough not to show up in ACC play and expect to come away with a win.

The Yellow Jackets do have some good history on their side, having won four of the last five meetings in this series. Jonathan Dwyer, the 2008 ACC Player of the Year, rushed for 109 yards in last year’s win over Clemson and is off to a fast start in 2009. He took the first play from scrimmage 74 yards to the house last week and ended up with 95 yards and two touchdowns on just seven totes. QB Josh Nesbitt added 93 rushing yards and a score on just 14 totes. In all, Georgia Tech racked up 335 yards on the ground and how effectively they are able to run it this week will be a major key to the game. Clemson ranked fifth in the ACC in run defense in 2008, allowing only 127.4 yards per game, and limited Middle Tennessee State to just 92 yards on 37 carries last week. If you think the Yellow Jackets continue their run of dominance against the Tigers, bet Georgia Tech at -4.5 at BetUS.

Clemson enters conference play off a 37-14 victory over the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State. The Tigers couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season when playmaker C.J. Spiller took the opening kickoff back 96 yards for a touchdown. Spiller tweaked his hamstring on another spectacular return in the second quarter, though, and did not return. All reports are that Spiller will be ready to go this week and head coach Dabo Swinney confirmed that by saying that he could have came back last week if the Blue Raiders would have pulled closer in the game. Spiller’s presence will be huge in this game as he watched Georgia Tech defeat the Tigers 21-17 in last year’s game while sitting out with a hamstring injury he had suffered the previous week. The Tigers know they have a game-breaker in Spiller, but they are also excited about freshman quarterback Kyle Parker. Parker became the first freshman QB to start a season opener for Clemson in 64 years. He finished 9 of 20 for 159 yards and two scores through the air. Swinney simply said “he was outstanding” when referring to his freshman signal caller. He will likely have to be even more outstanding this week as I expect Georgia Tech to make him beat them and not Spiller. If you think the Tigers have what it takes to pull off the upset, bet Clemson at +4.5 at BetUS.

If you’re looking to do some football betting on the Week 2 opener, make sure you check out Jimmy Boyd’s college football picks package to see who he’s playing on this big time Thursday night national TV affair.

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