Texas A&M vs. Clemson Spread Pick
The Clemson Tigers will face a nice road test on Saturday when they visit the Texas A&M Aggies at 7:00 p.m. ET. While the Tigers will certainly be up for the challenge, will they cover the double-digit spread?
Game Snapshot
365 Clemson Tigers vs. 366 Texas A&M Aggies
7:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, September 8, 2018
Kyle Field, College Station, Texas
Public Betting Trends
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Tigers are 12-point favorites to beat the Aggies. The total, meanwhile, sits at 51.5 points. As of this writing, 55% of the public betting tickets wagered on this matchup are on the Tigers.
Clemson Tigers
Clemson HC Dabo Swinney said both QB Kelly Bryant and QB Trevor Lawrence will play this week against Texas A&M. “We definitely will play both quarterbacks,” Swinney said. “There’s no doubt about that. Nothing happened [against Furman] to warrant not playing both those guys.” Bryant completed 10-of-16 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another score. Lawrence threw for 137 yards and three touchdowns, and the team scored on all five of his drives. We expect Bryant to eventually cede the starting gig to Lawrence, ESPN’s No. 2 overall recruit in the class of 2018. “He’s just a great talent,” Swinney said of Lawrence. “It’s easy to fall in love with his arm. That’s great, but it’s not what makes him special. What makes him special is his ability to process. He has a great Football IQ. He’s a really good preparer. For a young guy, he’s very focused. Those are things that have given him a chance to compete at this point.”
Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M sophomore QB Kellen Mond went 17-of-25 for 184 yards and two touchdowns in Thursday’s 59-7 win over Northwestern State. Mond, who won an intriguing QB battle against Nick Starkel this offseason, showed well the opener. Behind Trayveon Williams 240 rushing yards, the Aggies put up the second most total yards in school history. After adding a rushing touchdown and jumping out to a huge lead, Mond handed over the keys to Starkel. Mond will start next week against Clemson, one of the best defenses in the country, but if Mond struggles — which is to be expected — Starkel could get some looks.
Betting Trends
Clemson
The Tigers are 8-2 against the spread in their last 10 non-conference games.
Texas A&M
The Aggies have covered in four of their last five games overall.
Prediction
The Aggies racked up more than 700 total yards in a 59-7 win over Northwestern State in Jimbo Fisher’s debut but will face a much greater challenge tonight. The Tigers have four NFL-caliber pieces on their defensive line and with A&M rotating quarterbacks Nick Starkel and Kellen Mond, continuity could be a problem for the Aggies offensively. While Clemson will also rotate its quarterbacks (Kelly Bryant and Trevor Lawrence), I like the Tigers to pull away in the second half tonight.
College Football Week 2 Prediction: Clemson Tigers -12