Gator Bowl Clemson Tigers vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers
Clemson may be the biggest disappointment in college football this season. The Tigers looked to have so much offensive weaponry at their disposal, and were considered such easy favorites in the ACC, given a great chance to compete for a national title. Instead, they had to get hot at the end just to secure a bowl bid, and head coach Tommy Bowden was given his walking papers.
BetUS NCAA Football Betting Odds: CLEMSON -2.5, Total 56
Here are some of the NCAA college football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:
* CLEM has won and covered four of its last five games
* CLEM has played 10 of its last 13 games UNDER the total
* NEB has covered eight of its last 23 games
* NEB has won five of its last six games SU
* NEB has played four of its last five games OVER the total
The good news for this program was that it indeed did show some progress toward the end, as Dabo Swinney took over the head coaching job on an interim basis (he has since gotten an extension). The numbers for the skill people on offense were way down for last year, though; James Davis had 725 yards in the backfield, with partner C.J. Spiller picking up 612. Cullen Harper, who was looked upon as the best quarterback in the senior class, threw for just 2395 yards with 11 TD’s and 12 interceptions, a far cry from his outstanding 2007, when he threw just six picks to go with 27 scores. Harper was benched at one point by Bowden and that led to a lot of friction between the two, which may have contributed to Bowden’s ouster.
Clemson certainly can’t be accused of not playing defense. The Tiger stop unit ranked ninth nationally in scoring defense and allowed only two opponents (‘Bama and FSU) to score more than 21 points. They’re 10th in pass defense and held the opposition to 3.8 yards a rush,. This is a solid group, and will present problems for Joe Ganz, Nebraska’s quarterback who was a real gunslinger last season when he replaced the injured Sam Keller, but opted more for accuracy this year, completing 69% of his throws with 23 touchdowns. Marlon Lucky, considered a pro prospect at running back, didn’t produce much, but Roy Helu Jr. did have 166 yards in the regular season finale against Colorado.
The Huskers, in their first year under Bo Pelini, emphasized defense more and were a little stingier, but are still a work in progress. Nebraska surrendered 34 points a game to foes over the last nine games, although it bears mentioning that there are a lot of quality attacks in the Big 12. A huge concern is turnovers; Nebraska has lost 15 fumbles this year, contributing to a minus-10 ratio. Personal tragedy sidetracked the coaches, as Anthony Pelini, father of Bo and Carl Pelini (the defensive coordinator) died last week.
The time off between games has allowed Clemson to settle down and get everything on the same page offensively, not to mention providing more stability for the ever-changing offensive front and more practices. We know they have the horses. The question is whether they have breezed through enough workouts to go the distance and finish strong. I’m looking for some more offensive cohesion, enough to lay 2.5 points with the Tigers in the BetUS NCAA college football sports betting odds.
