Game Time: Saturday, Sept.3, 9 p.m. eastern
Television: TSN 1
Betting Line: Clemson -8.5, Over/Under 62 (Pinnacle sportsbook)
No. 2 ranked Clemson has a tough matchup out of the gate to start the 2016 NCAA football season, visiting the Auburn Tigers Saturday night.
Clemson returns 8 starters on offence from last year’s squad that went 14-1 and reached the BCS national championship before falling 45-40 to Alabama. Included in the returnees are Heisman Trophy finalist QB Deshaun Watson and 1,500-yard runner Wayne Gllman.
Auburn is coming off a down year in 2015, when it went 7-6. They have a new starting quarterback in Sean White, a sophomore who started five games last year before being injured. But there are lots of question marks about the Tigers’ surrounding cast on offence.
Auburn is known for being a very difficult place for opponents to visit, but the Tigers are just 1-10 against the spread in their last 11 home games. The Tigers are also 5-16 ATS in their last 21 games overall, indicating that Auburn is generally an over-rated squad.
Clemson at Auburn Betting Pick
Clemson has a big bulls-eye on its back this season after a breakthrough campaign in 2015. There’s some unfinished business on the Clemson players’ minds after losing in the national final, and the large returning cast will be motivated. Visiting Auburn is an opportunity to make a statement in front of a national audience in Week 1, and we expect Clemson to do just that against an over-rated Auburn program. Auburn doesn’t have the consistency on offence to keep up with the high-powered Clemson attack. And if Auburn is down throughout much of the game and scrambling to play catchup, passing all the time spells trouble against a pretty potent Clemson pass rush.
Pick: Clemson -8.5 -110 (Pinnacle)