from their board today....
"We are finally healthy at WR. We have a returning QB who is in his second full offseason as starter. We have a new OL coach that I expect to pay immediate dividends. Our DL is elite. Our LB are fairly elite. And UGA is replacing a ton of proven producers on offense. I also do not believe their D is ready to be dominating in game 1.
Add in that I think we "need" it more than they do.
Clemson 24 - UGA 20"
"It all comes down to Cade IMO. If he can play B+ football I think we win. If he runs around like a chicken with his head cut off this gets ugly."
"Clemson absolutely CAN win. First game of the season and it being a big game it is always hard to know what teams really are and how they show up. I choose to believe they will win. The game hinges on: is Cade really improved? Is the OL really improved? Does the secondary hold up? Do we get pressure on Beck? If the answer to those four questions are yes, I will be shocked if we lost. I am still in the show me camp with the Cade and the OL, but I am a fan and will go in believing and hoping. Let's get this party started right!!"
"This, and we have the guys to do it. The situation is peak Dabo, as well.
We will have to be able to throw the football, no doubt. That’s where it all hinges.
I think Clemson’s defense eats."
"Mafah is going to tote the rock and the defense is going to lock it up"
"I have a few reasons for hope. I think we can have some success on the ground, and we'll have to, to keep the D fresh. I'm curious how Beck will be without the security blankets of McConkey and Bowers. I'm hoping he'll have to read the D more and might lead to some mistakes. I think Wesco will play early and often and have an impact. And lastly, Cade has bigger guns now and bigger guns = more self confidence."
"Clemson 37
UGA 28
Clemson has the D to give UGA enough issues to keep the score manageable. Clemson runs on UGA and this opens up the passing game. Mafah has a great 4th quarter. Clemson wins if FG kicker is on and the punter has a great day."
"I have a good feeling about the game, but it really does boil down to how much Cade and the Oline has improved since last year."
"Why do I see Clemson winning by double digits in Atlanta against the #1 team in the country? Clemson is simple the better team with a NFL coaching staff.
uga offense only success would be too effectively run the football against Clemson front 7 and not be dependent on their below average receiving core. uga strength is their OL meanwhile Clemson DL looks like it came out of 80s with a 315 DE, 300 DT, 315 DT and a 270 DE front that's built to smother the run. Clemson is VERY experienced at safety which is important against a team that'll running a lot of play action.
I foresee Clemson offense taking a HUGE step forward starting with Klubnik. I believe in the offseason work he has put in, sold on his leadership and praise his initiative to have player's meeting to further work on the playbook. The receiving core is young, talented, deep and offer so much like a 5 star buffet, a NFL TE and an experienced, improved, nasty OL led by Matt Luke. I don't need to be in the building to know Coach Luke will have them ready to hit uga in the mouth for 60 minutes.
Last not least and a nugget. This game will make Phil Mafah the Heisman leading contender after he puts 150+ yards and 2 TDs on uga. uga front 7 is not built to stop the run with those LBera smaller than Phil."
"YES, because once the season plays out, it won't be looked back upon as an "upset". "
"I agree with this and will add a few additional psychological thoughts...
The UGA coaches will remind their team the last time we played it was a tough game and they'll try to beat into them to not take Clemson for granted. However, these players are young and despite coaches' warnings, they mentally believe Clemson has gone down and UGA up - although not entirely a lie, the fact remains that 11 on 11, they are not far superior and will find that out quickly.
The general perception is the SEC is tougher, and on balance, that is also true. But again, Clemson has proven to be as tough before so it is not inconceivable and I believe they have been motivated to return to this toughness as evidenced from the off-season returns and sprinkled throughout player interviews.
Coaching. As Da Swami referenced, our staff is top shelf, they are competitive and know we have slipped. CDS has chipS on his shoulder and usually just one is enough to motivate but they add up... Negative National perception, CU is too slow to react to today's new CFB world, and embarrassment from last year's seemingly unending player mental lapses or untimely turnovers. He showed he takes it personal and showed he can right the ship (see '23 season after the coaches call-in show call lol). The Defensive line coaching was already one of the best BEFORE we added John Scott (most recently the Detroit Lions DL coach) - Now it is just ridiculous! Plus, there is Lorenzo Ward too... These guys are NOT here on vacation, they are building a machine to eat. You add this to our secondary coaching and it is hard not to use the word, "ELITE". One more thing that should give confidence in the defense is, these coaches believe in Wes. On Offense it is simple, Garrett has done it before, has something to prove, and has the pieces to make things go - ie a more experienced QB, RB, TE, competitive WR room, and a competent OL. Adding Luke's experience and skills will prove to make a difference in our OL, who by virtue of another year of experience were going to be better anyway. Our coaches know if our OL holds up things will start humming again.
UGA will be no push over and they too have a few interesting motivations such as living up to the standard of the departed players they replaced. Although UGA has its own motivations I believe ours outweigh theirs. Finally, considering we have the Jimmys and Joes to match up, this is going to be a great game and the Tigers win. I will be there. GO TIGERS!"
"Clemson will win this game. UGA isn’t going to be clicking on offense game 1, and will have to rely on their running game to get comfortable. Nobody will be comfortable running the ball against our defensive front.
Clemson will face 5 better interior defensive lines this season(FSU, NC State, Louisville, Pitt, and Va Tech) than Georgia. I expect this game to be low scoring,
I expect Clemson to run the ball 45+ times, I expect UGA to struggle on 3rd down, and I expect Clemson to win in a low scoring game.
17-13"
“$900 on ML +460. Will cover with Clemson ATS. Early games have particularly high unpredictability More likely to be a close game where mistakes tip the outcome than a blow out. UGA is replacing a lot. They have talent, but not fully coordinated early season. Clemson is underdog with more to prove and returning many key pieces who have played together.”
"We are finally healthy at WR. We have a returning QB who is in his second full offseason as starter. We have a new OL coach that I expect to pay immediate dividends. Our DL is elite. Our LB are fairly elite. And UGA is replacing a ton of proven producers on offense. I also do not believe their D is ready to be dominating in game 1.
Add in that I think we "need" it more than they do.
Clemson 24 - UGA 20"
"It all comes down to Cade IMO. If he can play B+ football I think we win. If he runs around like a chicken with his head cut off this gets ugly."
"Clemson absolutely CAN win. First game of the season and it being a big game it is always hard to know what teams really are and how they show up. I choose to believe they will win. The game hinges on: is Cade really improved? Is the OL really improved? Does the secondary hold up? Do we get pressure on Beck? If the answer to those four questions are yes, I will be shocked if we lost. I am still in the show me camp with the Cade and the OL, but I am a fan and will go in believing and hoping. Let's get this party started right!!"
"This, and we have the guys to do it. The situation is peak Dabo, as well.
We will have to be able to throw the football, no doubt. That’s where it all hinges.
I think Clemson’s defense eats."
"Mafah is going to tote the rock and the defense is going to lock it up"
"I have a few reasons for hope. I think we can have some success on the ground, and we'll have to, to keep the D fresh. I'm curious how Beck will be without the security blankets of McConkey and Bowers. I'm hoping he'll have to read the D more and might lead to some mistakes. I think Wesco will play early and often and have an impact. And lastly, Cade has bigger guns now and bigger guns = more self confidence."
"Clemson 37
UGA 28
Clemson has the D to give UGA enough issues to keep the score manageable. Clemson runs on UGA and this opens up the passing game. Mafah has a great 4th quarter. Clemson wins if FG kicker is on and the punter has a great day."
"I have a good feeling about the game, but it really does boil down to how much Cade and the Oline has improved since last year."
"Why do I see Clemson winning by double digits in Atlanta against the #1 team in the country? Clemson is simple the better team with a NFL coaching staff.
uga offense only success would be too effectively run the football against Clemson front 7 and not be dependent on their below average receiving core. uga strength is their OL meanwhile Clemson DL looks like it came out of 80s with a 315 DE, 300 DT, 315 DT and a 270 DE front that's built to smother the run. Clemson is VERY experienced at safety which is important against a team that'll running a lot of play action.
I foresee Clemson offense taking a HUGE step forward starting with Klubnik. I believe in the offseason work he has put in, sold on his leadership and praise his initiative to have player's meeting to further work on the playbook. The receiving core is young, talented, deep and offer so much like a 5 star buffet, a NFL TE and an experienced, improved, nasty OL led by Matt Luke. I don't need to be in the building to know Coach Luke will have them ready to hit uga in the mouth for 60 minutes.
Last not least and a nugget. This game will make Phil Mafah the Heisman leading contender after he puts 150+ yards and 2 TDs on uga. uga front 7 is not built to stop the run with those LBera smaller than Phil."
"YES, because once the season plays out, it won't be looked back upon as an "upset". "
"I agree with this and will add a few additional psychological thoughts...
The UGA coaches will remind their team the last time we played it was a tough game and they'll try to beat into them to not take Clemson for granted. However, these players are young and despite coaches' warnings, they mentally believe Clemson has gone down and UGA up - although not entirely a lie, the fact remains that 11 on 11, they are not far superior and will find that out quickly.
The general perception is the SEC is tougher, and on balance, that is also true. But again, Clemson has proven to be as tough before so it is not inconceivable and I believe they have been motivated to return to this toughness as evidenced from the off-season returns and sprinkled throughout player interviews.
Coaching. As Da Swami referenced, our staff is top shelf, they are competitive and know we have slipped. CDS has chipS on his shoulder and usually just one is enough to motivate but they add up... Negative National perception, CU is too slow to react to today's new CFB world, and embarrassment from last year's seemingly unending player mental lapses or untimely turnovers. He showed he takes it personal and showed he can right the ship (see '23 season after the coaches call-in show call lol). The Defensive line coaching was already one of the best BEFORE we added John Scott (most recently the Detroit Lions DL coach) - Now it is just ridiculous! Plus, there is Lorenzo Ward too... These guys are NOT here on vacation, they are building a machine to eat. You add this to our secondary coaching and it is hard not to use the word, "ELITE". One more thing that should give confidence in the defense is, these coaches believe in Wes. On Offense it is simple, Garrett has done it before, has something to prove, and has the pieces to make things go - ie a more experienced QB, RB, TE, competitive WR room, and a competent OL. Adding Luke's experience and skills will prove to make a difference in our OL, who by virtue of another year of experience were going to be better anyway. Our coaches know if our OL holds up things will start humming again.
UGA will be no push over and they too have a few interesting motivations such as living up to the standard of the departed players they replaced. Although UGA has its own motivations I believe ours outweigh theirs. Finally, considering we have the Jimmys and Joes to match up, this is going to be a great game and the Tigers win. I will be there. GO TIGERS!"
"Clemson will win this game. UGA isn’t going to be clicking on offense game 1, and will have to rely on their running game to get comfortable. Nobody will be comfortable running the ball against our defensive front.
Clemson will face 5 better interior defensive lines this season(FSU, NC State, Louisville, Pitt, and Va Tech) than Georgia. I expect this game to be low scoring,
I expect Clemson to run the ball 45+ times, I expect UGA to struggle on 3rd down, and I expect Clemson to win in a low scoring game.
17-13"
“$900 on ML +460. Will cover with Clemson ATS. Early games have particularly high unpredictability More likely to be a close game where mistakes tip the outcome than a blow out. UGA is replacing a lot. They have talent, but not fully coordinated early season. Clemson is underdog with more to prove and returning many key pieces who have played together.”
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