ESPN Thursday Night Clemson vs. Georgia Tech Preview

Betting Line: Georgia Tech -5
Over/Under: 43 points
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Georgia Tech won 37-17 against Jackson State last week but their head coach Paul Johnson was not happy with the way they played. Now the Yellow Jackets have a short week to prepare for conference foe Clemson Thursday night. Georgia Tech looked a bit sluggish in the opener as they fumbled the ball five times and dropped a number of catchable passes. All things considered, they simply weren’t as sharp as a top 15 team in the country should look against a Division IAA team. Johnson is concerned about his team’s motivation and mental toughness and feels they have to be 100 times better this week or they could be in trouble against a very good Clemson team.

Clemson started their season off with a nice win against Middle Tennessee in a game where they were victorious 37-14 and covered the 18.5 point spread. C.J. Spiller opened the game with a 96 yard kick return but tweaked his hamstring in the second quarter. Spiller is expected to play Thursday night and his health is a big key to this game because he is the best playmaker on the Clemson offense. Spiller had to sit out last year’s game between these two clubs in which Georgia Tech won 21-17 but he says he feels fine and could have played the second half if the game was closer.

In order for Clemson to pull off the upset, they will have to stop the run game and star running back Jonathan Dwyer who rushed for 109 yards in last year’s contest. Although it was against a Division IA school, Tech rushed for 335 yards last week and seem to still have one of the nation’s best running attack. Clemson gave up 92 yards on the ground against Middle Tennessee but will have their work cut out for them. The other concern for Clemson will be starting a freshman quarterback in what should be a very hostile environment on a Thursday night game.

Kyle Parker played well last week as he went 9 of 20 for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns. However, he will be facing a much better defense in Georgia Tech this week. It will be a real test for the young quarterback. It will be crucial for Clemson to get things going on the ground as well to take some of the pressure off of Parker. This should be an exciting match-up as two talented teams will take the field. Georgia Tech has been installed as a five point favorite over the Tigers of Clemson.

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