Alabama Clemson Spread, Line, & Predictions

August 27, 2008


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Tommy  Bowden has been at Clemson for nine seasons now, and has earned the reputation with the Tigers of underachieving and reaching second-tier bowl games despite having solid recruiting classes and impressive talent.  This year Bowden needs to break that mold since the Tigers will be the preseason favorite to win the ACC for the first time during his tenure.

Fans won’t have to wait long to see what Clemson is made of, since they open the season up Saturday with an early test as they host no. 24 Alabama.  This game figures to be a close one as oddsmakers have Clemson pegged as a 4.5 point favorite.  Click here to see more college football odds and to compare the line at several leading online sportsbooks.

Clemson should have won the ACC Atlantic last year and gave themself a shot at a BCS Bowl, but they lost to Boston College for the third straight year which led to a second straight bowl game loss to an SEC opponent. Expectations are a lot higher for this year’s team, who returns seven offensive starters from the team that lead the league in scoring.  Three of the top vote getters for ACC player of the year also return in running backs James Davis and CJ Spiller and quarterback Cullen Harper.

Davis and Spiller are looking to redeem themselves after a disappointing 2007 season.  Spiller went down to 5.3 ypc as a sophomore from 7.3 ypc as a freshman, scoring just three touchdowns after racking up 10 in his first season.  Davis had a dropoff as well, going from 5.8 ypc to 5.0 ypc and from 17 TDs to 10.  This year the backs will be running behind a line that replaces four starters, so getting back to 2006 form may be difficult.

Having a solid quarterback though should help them increase their numbers.  Harper was the 2007 ACC leader in passing efficiency and set 22 school records in his first season as a starter.   His 27 touchdowns were impressive, especially when you compare them to the six picks he threw.

Defensively Clemson should be fairly loaded as well, even without any of its top four linebackers.  Clemson was in the top 10 in scoring defense and total defense last year, plus they have the talented Da’Quan Bowers joining the line at defensive end.

The Tigers are the favorite to capture the ACC title, and they are ranked in the top 10 for the first time since 1991.  The team doesn’t want to wait to prove themselves and is excited about getting Alabama out of the gates.  If you like the Clemson point spread then lay the 4.5 points at JustBet.

The Tide are going to be a formidable opponent though, even though they lost six games a year ago.  The fact is that not one of those losses was by more than one touchdown, and now they will add one of the best recruiting classes in the nation to help Saban’s group improve even more in 2008.

The receiving corps got a boost with two major incoming freshman in Julio Jones and BJ Scott, who will be expected to make big plays right away due to their speed.  Quarterback John Parker Wilson is excited, and he should be since his numbers took a steep drop last year.

He’ll also have some help in the backfield with Terry Grant coming off a 930 rushing yard season as a freshman.  The good news is that junio Glen Coffee proved himself more valuable in practice, and will start over Grant in this game, so there is depth and talent.

The problem for Alabama may be only five starters returning on defense, but one of them is All-SEC safety Rashad Johnson.

The Tide have had some success against Clemson in the past, going 11-3, but the teams haven’t met since 1975.  If you like Alabama is going to win this game, then take the +4.5 point spread at JustBet.

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Written by admin · Filed Under College Football 

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