by Clemson -13 (-110)
I’m a fan of this Duke team. They return a good bit of production and were a nine-win team a season ago. However, Clemson is a new animal this season and I expect them to make a statement tonight; similar to what their rival Florida State did last night.
The Tigers hired new offensive coordinator Garrett Riley who won the Broyles Award (given to best assistant coach in CFB) and was the mastermind of a TCU offense that ranked 9th in the FBS in PPG and 10th in total offense. Riley’s system should clean up some of the troubles that held Clemson’s offense back at times last season. Similar to his brother Lincoln, Riley is a quarterback whisperer, so expect Cade Klubnik to be a much more refined and complete passer in what will be his first full season as the Clemson signal caller. Don’t forget about Will Shipley running the rock either.
As for Duke, they bring in a new defensive coordinator in Tyler Santucci who was co-DC at Texas A&M in 2022. While the Blue Devils have a good secondary and some athletes up front, they did surrender an average of 35 PPG vs. Top-30 offenses last season (Kansas, UNC, and Wake).
Duke also doesn’t have an established running game and relied way too much on quarterback Riley Leonard’s legs (team-high 699 rush yds) in 2022. Clemson has a stacked front seven that allowed just 3.3 yards per carry a season ago, so the Blue Devils will have to air it out successfully to keep up with the Tigers.
This game may be a close, one-possession game in the early stages, but I see Dabo and the Tigers wearing Duke down and pulling away late to cover the -13. #GoTigers
P.S. I also like Clemson TT O34.5 (-118)