FiveDimes recently released over/under regular season win totals for college football teams.
Here is an early-season look at the Clemson Tigers in the ACC.
Over/Under
FiveDimes has Clemson at 8.5 wins. Last year, Clemson was 9-3 in the regular season. The line features a more favorable under to betters at +130, while the over is set at -170.
The upside
There’s no shortage of high hopes at Clemson this year.
With Florida State possibly taking a step back this year without Jameis Winston, the Tigers are expecting to be in the ACC title game for the first time since 2012. To get back to the title game and eclipse eight wins, the Tigers will have to navigate through a schedule that features the bulk of the difficult games at home.
The Tigers will be 2-0 before they will be tested at Louisville. That will be the most difficult road game until at Miami on Oct. 24. The home schedule won’t be easy, with games against Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Florida State and Wake Forest. Two of those should feature the Tigers as heavy favorites against the Eagles and the Demon Decons.
However, the other three may be toss ups, giving pause to betters looking at the over. Road games will feature semi-easier match-ups, with games against Miami, North Carolina State, Syracuse and South Carolina. Two of those will likely be toss ups.
The downside
Clemson should be good enough to break eight wins. Seven starters return to the offense, including sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is coming off an injury after a stellar first few games for the Tigers. The defense lost several players to the NFL draft, but Clemson has recruited well during the years, giving Clemson the ability to reload its talent to a level that won’t be as good as last year, but better than opposing teams.
The problem with Clemson is if that defense doesn’t come back, and the offense has to carry the load, then it could mean many of those toss-ups would become losses.
Toss-ups include at home against Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and Florida State, and on the road against Louisville, Miami and South Carolina. Clemson has six victories that should happen. It’s college football, so what should happen doesn’t always happen.
That leaves three more wins to find in six toss-up games, which includes three apiece at home and on the road.
The Verdict
If the defense doesn’t return, then Clemson will likely be on the wrong side of this over/under.
However, oddsmakers are depending on gamblers to take the over, and the number is far more juiced for the over. There’s reason for oddsmakers to juice it that much. The Tigers should make nine wins, and it likely won’t be too close.
