The long wait is finally over. Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC, the Georgia Bulldogs will open their season against the Clemson Tigers in front of a packed crowd in the 2021 Duke’s Mayo Classic.
The hotly anticipated Top 5 matchup features highly-recruited quarterbacks from California, with JT Daniels leading Georgia’s revamped offense under Todd Monken, while DJ Uiagalelei tries to fill the massive shoes left by No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft Trevor Lawrence for Clemson.
Georgia and Clemson both have their sights set on bringing home a national title. Each is coming off somewhat disappointing 2020 seasons. Georgia failed to make the SEC Championship Game for the first time since 2016, and suffered losses to both Alabama and Florida.
Clemson made another appearance in the College Football Playoff, but were summarily trounced by Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl 49-28. It was far from the sendoff Tiger fans had envisioned for Trevor Lawrence.
Georgia Bulldogs vs. Clemson Tigers odds for Week 1:
All eyes will be on Charlotte Saturday night when the Dawgs and Tigers tee it up at The Bank. Clemson enters the matchup as a 3.0 favorite over Georgia according to the latest odds from WynnBET.
If your preference is picking the game straight-up and betting the moneyline, WynnBET currently lists Clemson -165 (bet $165 to win $100), while Georgia currently sits at +140 (bet $100 to win $140).
Maybe totals are more your thing. WynnBET currently lists the over/under for the Duke’s Mayo Classic at 51.5 points. There are currently even odds on the total, with both the over and the under sitting at -110 (bet $110 to win $100).
Georgia Bulldogs vs. Clemson Tigers Prediction for Week 1:
There may not be a tougher week in football to handicap than Week 1. The weather is still hot meaning conditioning is of paramount importance, teams are still figuring out who they are, and in a 2021 twist, this will be the first time teams get that adrenaline boost from a full capacity stadium since the 2019 season. Lots of variables to consider.
Georgia fans should relish being the underdog. Two matchups that will turn the game are Georgia’s newly-settled offensive line against Clemson’s all-world defensive line, and Georgia’s receiving corps against Clemson’s secondary.
Todd Monken seems comfortable using the short and intermediate passing game to the running backs and tight ends to get the ball out quick and neutralize the pass rush. Georgia will look to do that in an effort to neutralize Bryan Bresee, Myles Murphy, and Tyler Davis.
Georgia also wants to get vertical, and after watching the film of Ohio State torching Clemson’s secondary in the Sugar Bowl, look for Todd Monken to dial up some deep shots to Adonai Mitchell, Arian Smith, and Jermaine Burton for live-armed quarterback JT Daniels.
We wear Bulldogs-red tinted glasses, so we’ll take Georgia +3, and who doesn’t love points, so we’ll bet the over too.
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