The No. 2 Clemson Tigers were eager to begin the season and prove themselves worthy of being one of this year’s football betting favorites. However, their performance in the season opener left a lot to be desired. Sure, the Tigers came out on top of the Auburn Tigers 19-13 but they didn’t exactly dominate. In fact it was one of the worst performances a Clemson team has given in over a year.
It’s the first time in 11 games that the high powered Clemson offense failed to gain at least 500 yards in total offense, and the first time since the 2014 season that the Tigers failed to score 20 points minimum. Many consider Clemson to be the frontrunner to contend Alabama for the title this season, but if you were to compare their opening games it’d be clear that the Tigers are clearly outmatched.
Clemson finished the day with 399 total yards against Auburn, while allowing Auburn to gain 262 yards on them. Clemson looked both sloppy and unprepared throughout the game turning the ball over twice and committing 6 penalties for a total of 55 yards. The only reason Auburn couldn’t capitalize on Clemson’s penalties is because they were too busy making their own. Auburn finished the day with 9 penalties giving up 60 yards for the day.
Clemson needed all the help they could get in this one as both teams finished with roughly 30 minutes of possession time. Now Clemson is anxious to prove that they are a much better team than the one who lined up against Auburn. The only problem is everyone is expecting them to win, just take a look at the football betting odds.
Week 2 Saturday the 10th of September
Troy Trojans +36 (-110) 63 ½ (-110) +11000
Clemson Tigers -36 (-110) 63 ½ (-110) -33000
To say that Clemson is coming in as the sports betting favorites would be a vast understatement. After barely scraping by a win in the opening week, some fans might be inclined to believe that Clemson is better off facing a mediocre team like Troy. However, that mentality might not pay off in the long run. Yes Clemson needs wins to make it into the playoffs, but they also need to win against strong teams. The bottom line is that Clemson needs to look strong, and looking strong against Troy isn’t the same as looking strong against a Top 25 team.
Troy, on the other hand, looked very strong in their first outing, pummeling their opponent 57-17. They faced the Austin Peay Governors, a team that’s unrecognizable across the nation, but they still managed to put up an astounding 706 yards of total offense, 3rd most for the opening week. Defensively Troy also performed well only allotting 254 yards and keeping the Governors under 20 points.
If the Trojans can put up a similar performance against No. 2 Clemson – which is as likely to happen as Tom Brady starting Week 1 – then they’ll surely climb to the top of football betting sites, as well as the Top 25 power rankings. Ultimately, fans shouldn’t try their luck in this contest.