The Georgia Bulldogs will try to live up to their position as 3/2 favorites to win the SEC East when they open their home schedule against the Clemson Tigers. Seeking payback for a 38-35 loss to the Tigers in their season opener last year, the Bulldogs are pegged as 7.5-point favorites against Clemson.
Clemson vs. Georgia betting guide, from spread to season props
Georgia is home chalk against Clemson in a revenge situation. See the latest betting odds and trends of this Week 1 college football tilt.
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The Bulldogs start the 2014 campaign ranked No. 12 in the nation following a 2013 season which they finished 8-5 straight up, but a dismal 3-8-2 against the spread, including failing to cover as 1.5-point road underdogs in their loss to the Tigers.
Despite their recent point spread woes, the Bulldogs remain in the mix to win this year’s college football national championship, with futures betting odds of 14/1. While only five teams own better odds than the Bulldogs, two of them are SEC rivals that the Bulldogs will have to get past to have any chance to reach this season’s four-team College Football Playoff.
The Alabama Crimson Tide, 6/5 favorites to win the SEC title, sit at 5/1 in college football futures betting, ahead of the reigning SEC champion Auburn Tigers, with odds of 9/1.
The Bulldogs will rely heavily this season on running back Todd Gurley, who ran for two touchdowns and 154 yards in Georgia's loss to Clemson last summer. Gurley, who sports odds of 14/1 to win this year's Heisman Trophy, ran for 989 yards in an injury-plagued 2013, but is pegged as a 5/6 bet to run OVER 1260.5 total rushing yards this season.
Clemson opens its 2014 schedule ranked No. 16 following an 11-2 season in 2013. However, like Georgia, the Tigers regularly disappointed bettors last season, stumbling at a 7-6 record ATS. Despite their Top 25 ranking, betting odds indicate that the Tigers are in line for a step backwards in 2014. The betting line on the team’s total regular season wins is set at 8.5, with both the OVER and UNDER sporting moneyline odds of 20/23.
The Tigers also face the misfortune of sharing a conference with the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles and the newly arrived Louisville Cardinals, who spent last season in the American Athletic Conference. As a result, they find themselves tied with Louisville at 6/1 to win the ACC's Atlantic Division in college football online betting, and as 10/1 long shots to win the ACC title.
