TCU vs Clemson Odds

Written by Riley Martin

This Saturday the Clemson Tigers take on the number 15 Texas Christian Horned Frogs at home in Death Valley. Tigers coach Dabo Swinney has sure made a great impression so far but he still is yet to beat a ranked team. TCU stands at 16-2 in their last 18 games, beating teams like Virginia, Boise State, Stanford, and BYU. A win against Clemson could be the biggest yet though. Even though some of these mid major teams like TCU have proven to be legitimate BCS contenders, they will relish at any opportunity to knock off a top team in a big conference, like Clemson. However Clemson will be ready to play as well. After two great seasons and a filthy defensive unit, TCU is hardly underestimated anymore. A quick look at the NCAA football lines show Clemson as 2.5 point favorites over TCU with an over/under set at 42 points at most books.

This game will be all about defense for both sides and TCU has one of the best. They return eighteen defensive players, led by star defensive end Jerry Hughes. For those who don’t know, Hughes is a special player. He can be found on just about every watch list in the country and finished last season with 15 sacks and 2 interceptions. NFL draft guru Mel Kiper even has him going 18h pick in the 2010 NFL draft. They do still have a few holes to fill on defense though with departures from Stephen Hodge and linebackers tcu-clemson-predictions-092409 Robert Henson and Jason Phillips. All three are now in the NFL and meant a lot to this defense, but are indeed replaceable. The offense isn’t bad either with returning quarterback Andy Dalton and his great core of wide receivers. Overall, this game on Saturday will be a huge test for the Horned Frogs so it will be interesting to see how they respond to a top notch ACC team.

Clemson has definitely impressed so far this season. Coach Swinney has gotten this team to play great football, and incredible defense. Last week against Boston College they struggled offensively but showed signs their defense could be a top 10 defensive unit by years end. In fact, it was Clemson’s best defensive showing since 1963 at Virginia, as BC had -2 total yards in the first half. They’re showing a lot of passion and effort and I believe that’s one of the most important parts to this team. We also have to give a lot of the credit to Mad Scientist defensive coordinator Kevin Steele. He is known from his recent successful tenure at Alabama but is showing a much more aggressive style this year. However, one problem for the Tigers this week is the TCU defense. TCU has allowed an average of 43 rushing yards a game so far, creating a scare for a Clemson offense that relies heavily on CJ Spiller.

As for the breakdown, I think we have to go back to the defenses. Which team will be able to put points up on the board? Will TCU’s defense stand as strong against a top ACC team? Will Clemson’s special teams be as strong against a team like TCU? These are all questions to consider. The bottom line is that if CJ Spiller has less than TCU’s average of 43 rushing yards per game, than this will be a long day for the Tigers. But the truth is that there is no way I can see that happening. Spiller will have well over 43 yards rushing, as the Tigers should have over 100 as a team. Yes this will be an unbelievable game, but when it comes down to it, you have to go with the tigers against the spread.

Final Score Prediction: Clemson 23 TCU 17

Riley’s Pick: Clemson -2.5

Comments

2 Responses to “TCU vs Clemson Odds”

Ted Kuchta on September 26th, 2009 7:39 PM

Very accurate writeup with the exception of final score. Both defenses played great
Riley Martin on November 14th, 2009 1:21 AM

Thanks man. Yes it was a sad day for me, haha.

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