College Football Early Odds: Clemson, FSU Ready to Inflict More Pain in ACC
FSU Better Come Strong if They Have any Shot at Taking Down Dabo and Clemson

North Carolina Quarterback Drake Maye Among Top Heisman Trophy Contenders
Clemson returned to the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference after a one-year absence. However, the question is whether the Tigers will stay there. The college football early odds have Clemson and Florida State almost in a dead heat in the ACC title projections.
Florida State is being projected by some as being the most talented team in the conference while North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye could be the best player in the conference.
This is a crucial year for the ACC as the SEC and Big Ten have flown right by the ACC in the conference pecking order.
Three of the top 10 highest rated transfers landed in the ACC with former Virginia cornerback Fentrell Cypress and ex-South Carolina tight end Jaheim Bell ending up at Florida State while Miami added former Alabama offensive lineman Javion Cohen.
The Louisville-Georgia Tech, South Carolina-North Carolina, Virginia-Tennessee, LSU-Florida State, and Clemson-Duke games in Week 1 of the NCAA football schedule will give ACC teams a chance to make an early statement. The Week 4 matchup between Florida State and Clemson might be the game of the year in the ACC.
Clemson is tied for sixth and Florida State is eighth in the current odds to win the national title.
Here is an early look at the ACC with some NCAA football betting odds to consider.
The defense will look much different with linebacker Trenton Simpson and linemen Myles Murphy and Bryan Bresee off to the NFL. There are still plenty of big hitters back on defense led by linebacker Jeremiah Trotter.
Cade Klubnik is the unquestioned starter at quarterback with running back Will Shipley having the potential to emerge as a Heisman candidate. Six of the top receivers in 2022 were either freshmen or sophomores, so their development will be huge. The early college football odds have Clemson as the team to beat, although it is a razor-thin margin.
This is a team that is drawing plenty of love in the offseason as evidenced by the top expected win total among ACC teams. That is just one number to consider when looking at the early college football odds.
Adding former South Carolina tight end Jaheim Bell to an offense that includes quarterback Jordan Travis, running back Trey Benson and receiver Johnny Wilson could make this one of the most explosive offenses in the ACC.
The defense got a boost when top pass rusher Jared Verse opted to return to Tallahassee.
Malik Cunningham is gone for the Cardinals and he will be missed as much as a runner as for his passing ability.
Jack Plummer could be the new quarterback after stops at Purdue and Cal. New Louisville coach Jeff Brohm worked with Plummer at Purdue.
Louisville defense was rock solid in 2022, but multiple all-conference players are gone. Still, there are some lofty expectations for the Cardinals.
Strong-armed quarterback Drake Maye returns and that alone makes the Tar Heels a team to watch. Maye will miss throwing to Josh Downs. However, five freshmen and five sophomores hauled in passes from Maye with tight end Bryson Nesbit leading the returning pass catchers. A couple of key transfers could help in the passing game as well.
There are plenty of players coming back on defense. Is that good news considering that UNC gave up the most points and yards in the ACC a season ago?
Quarterback Devin Leary is now at Kentucky and leading receiver Thayer Thomas is also gone. The good news is plenty of underclassmen caught passes in 2022.
Nine of the top 20 tacklers last season were either freshmen or sophomores.
Based on past success, North Carolina State is being given the benefit of the doubt. However, there are as many questions as answers right now with the Wolfpack.
Mario Cristobal’s first season at Miami was a huge disappointment and facing Texas A&M in the second game will be a huge challenge.
Quarterback Tyler Van Dyke is back and the Hurricanes added some help on the offensive line through the transfer portal. There are some experienced returning running backs while 16 of the 18 players who had receptions in 2022 were either freshmen or sophomores.
Safeties James Williams and Kamren Kinchens and defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor leads the list of returning players on defense.
Running back Israel Abanikanda, who ran for 1,431 yards and 20 TDs, is now in the NFL and quarterback Kedon Slovis was among the players to transfer out.
SirVocea Dennis and Calijah Kancey, who tied for the team lead with seven tackles in 2022, both landed with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It is still hard to bet against Pitt based on what has happened over the last two seasons.
Riley Leonard is back to lead the offense with plenty of familiar faces joining the dual-threat quarterback.
Tackle DeWayne Carter is among the defensive returnees.
Duke had seven one-score games a season ago so perhaps that is why the expected win total is so low. When looking at the 2022 NCAA football scores, keep in mind that Duke led all ACC teams with a 9-4 record against the spread.
Quarterback Sam Hartman is now at Notre Dame and 1,000-yard receiver A.T. Perry is headed off to the NFL. Could that open the door for a larger role for running back Justice Ellison?
Just one of the Demon Deacons to record sacks in 2022 was a senior so perhaps this will be an improved defense.
Quarterback Garrett Shrader gets overshadowed by others in the ACC. However, he did have his moments as a passer and runner in 2022. Running back Sean Tucker is gone, but tight end Oronde Gadsden (61 catches, 969 yards) returns.
Fifteen of the 21 players with at least 10 tackles last season were either freshmen or sophomores, led by leading tackler Marlowe Wax.
Grant Wells is back at quarterback. Will he be challenged by Baylor transfer Kyron Drones?
The Hokies added some receivers via the transfer portal to replace Kaleb Smith, now at Notre Dame.
There are some key departures on defense. It won’t be easy replacing sack leader Tyjuan Garbutt and leading tackler Dax Hollifield.
The Yellow Jackets were active in the transfer portal, especially on offense with the additions of quarterback Haynes King (Texas A&M), running back Trevlon Cooley (Louisville), receivers Christian Leary (Alabama), Chase Lane (Texas A&M) and Dom Blaylock (Georgia) and tight end Brett Seither (Georgia) among the newcomers.
Georgia Tech will miss defensive end Keion White while cornerback Myles Sims could be the best returning player on defense.
Virginia needs to find a new quarterback after Brennan Armstrong transferred to North Carolina State. Armstrong went from throwing for nearly 4,500 yards and 31 touchdown passes in 2021 to just 2,210 yards and seven TDs last season. The running game was almost nonexistent.
Three of the top seven tacklers in 2022 were sophomores, so that could be a positive sign.
The offense will look different without three-year starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec and star receiver Zay Flowers, who was a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.
The secondary lost some key players as well, especially cornerback Josh DeBerry as he transferred to Texas A&M.
Emmett Morehead, who played in 10 games a season ago, is the favorite to be the starting quarterback. Keep an eye on former UCF receiver Ryan O’Keefe as one of the players who could help fill the void left by the departure of Flowers.
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