Two of the top college football programs in the nation over the last 10 years meet on Saturday at Mercedez-Benz Stadium in Atlanta in a must-see noon (ET) clash on ABC .
The battle between No. 1 Georgia, the national champ in 2021 and 2022, and No. 14 Clemson, which won it all in 2016 and 2018 while reaching the CFP every year from 2015-20, is the early headliner on a massive College Football Saturday.
While the Bulldogs have lost just two games in the last three years — the 2021 and 2023 SEC title games — Clemson has struggled over the same span, at least relative to its dominance from ’15-20.
The Tigers won the ACC Championship in 2022, but their overall record of 30-10 over the last three years has put head coach Dabo Swinney, QB Cade Klubnik and second-year offensive coordinator Garrett Riley at a bit of a crossroads entering 2024.
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A win over Georgia — or even a close loss — to kick off the 2024 campaign would silence the skeptics and result in Clemson entering Week 2 in the top 5, not at No. 1.
A one-sided loss, however, would ramp up the scrutiny on whether this program’s best days are behind it.
While no possible outcome this weekend would stop Clemson from being favored in at least nine of its final 11 games, the Georgia matchup is nevertheless a referendum on the Tigers’ standing among the top teams in college football.
Clemson vs. Georgia Betting Odds
Below are the odds for Saturday’s game in three markets: the spread, moneyline and total.
| DraftKings | FanDuel | ESPN BET | bet365 | |
| Clem. spread | +12 (-112) | +12.5 (-115) | +11.5 (-110) | +12 (-110) |
| UGA spread | -12 (-108) | -12.5 (-105) | -11.5 (-110) | -12 (-110) |
| Clem. ML | +370 | +350 | +380 | +375 |
| UGA ML | -485 | -465 | -500 | -500 |
| Total | 48 (o-112; u-108) | 48.5 (o-110; u-110) | 48.5 (o-110; u-110) | 48.5 (o-110; u-110) |
How to Bet Clemson vs. Georgia
Georgia Bulldogs Betting News, Analysis
Georgia was left out of the four-team CFP last year despite a dominant regular season. Alabama took the SEC playoff spot thanks to the Tide’s head-to-head win in the conference title game.
UGA lost plenty of talent to the NFL Draft*, but it returns one of the best QBs in the country in second-year starter Carson Beck. The Dawgs’ O-line also brings back four starters and should be among the best in the nation.
*Eight players from last year’s team were drafted last April, to be exact.
Georgia’s 2024 squad lacks household names at WR and RB (though SEC fans are plenty familiar with former Gator RB Trevor Etienne.) Still, this team’s track record under Kirby Smart tells us that the Georgia offense will once again be able to move the ball at will against just about anyone this year.
From Weeks 9-13 last year, UGA met four teams that finished the season ranked No. 17 or better: No. 8 Missouri, No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 17 Tennessee and No. 5 Alabama. The Dawgs scored 30 on all but the Tide.
Clemson’s defense is excellent. Georgia could struggle to move the ball early against the Tigers’ stout front seven due to A) the possible absence of Etienne due to suspension —though as of Friday afternoon, Etienne’s status for this matchup is unclear — and B) the lack of familiarity between Beck and most of his supporting cast in Week 1.
Clemson Tigers Betting News, Analysis
On the other side of the ball, Clemson shook off a rough start to the year with an impressive 5-0 finish. The Tigers leaned on backs Phil Mafah and Will Shipley to carry the load during that stretch, and the approach paid dividends. Mafah, a 230-pound bruiser, will likely be the focal point of this year’s offense with Shipley now in the NFL.
The problem for Clemson is that the Bulldogs are a brutal team to run the ball against. Because of that, an upset of top-ranked Georgia will almost certainly require a big afternoon by Klubnik, who struggled a year ago against the best defenses on the Tigers’ schedule.
Clemson vs. Georgia Prediction
We expected underdogs Georgia Tech in Week 0 against Florida State and North Dakota State (Thursday against Colorado) to hang around for the first half, and both those plays cashed.
Clemson-Georgia feels like yet another early-season matchup where the double-digit favorite might have its hands full for the first 30 minutes, mostly because of how good both the Tigers and Bulldogs’ defenses are (hence our play on the first half under.)
Reminder: while the 2021 season opener between these two (a 10-3 Georgia win) took place an eternity ago in this sport, both these defenses have remained elite.
But at some point, Heisman contender Carson Beck and a Georgia offense that scored at least 30 points in 11 of 14 games in 2023 will find its footing and end up scoring at least 28 points.
Based on what we saw from Klubnik and the Clemson offense last year (and the DJ Uiagalelei-led O in 2021 and 2022), it’s hard to picture the Tigers putting up more than 20 in this matchup.
For that reason, we like Georgia to not only win, but cover the spread, though a close game at halftime wouldn’t shock us.
Clemson vs. Georgia Best Bets
- First Half Under 24.5 (best odds: -122 at DraftKings)
- Georgia -11.5 (best odds: -110 at ESPN BET)
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