Clemson Begins Game Week as Double-Digit Favorite at Duke

Clemson begins the first game week of the season as a prohibitive road favorite at Duke on Labor Day night. 

The Tigers are currently a 13.5-point favorite, according to the latest odds from sports betting site BetOnline, which is up from the 12-point spread that was created early in the summer. 

It’s not surprising that the line has trended toward Clemson, which is ranked No. 9 in the AP Preseason Poll and has increased its national profile during the offseason as the Tigers have worked in the new Garrett Riley offense. 

Duke, though, is a formidable foe coming off a 9-win season in 2022 and hosting at 8 p.m. at Wallace Wade Stadium on Sept. 4. Bettors are still choosing, for the most part, to lay the big points with the reigning ACC champion, which is getting -105 juice on the spread. 

Series history

Despite being in the ACC together since the early 1950s, Clemson and Duke have not been common opponents over the last 15 years or so. They’ve only played four times since 2007, with the Tigers covering three of the four, all as a double-digit favorite. 

Duke got under the 29.5-point spread back in 2018 when Clemson shut down a Daniel Jones Blue Devil-led offense, but the Tigers didn’t put up enough points in a 35-6 win to get the cover. 

Overall, Clemson is 37-16-1 against Duke all-time and has won five consecutive games in the series. The Blue Devils last beat Clemson 16-13 in 2004. 

Over/under

The total for this ACC showdown is currently at 55.5 points. This year, the NCAA instituted a new clock rule that on average had the seven Week 0 games running about six fewer plays than last season. This is very likely already baked into this week’s total.

Dabo Swinney’s squad has scored 30 points or more during their win streak in the series and 35 points or more in four of the five. Duke didn’t reach double digits in two of those meetings. 

What to watch for this week

This line likely won’t move a ton over the course of the next several days. There are no major injuries reported, and there might not be much of an updated health list from either team until next Monday. There’s not much to monitor unless new issues arise.

But as the week goes on and the betting public picks apart the Thursday-Sunday lines, it’ll be worth watching if there’s a late push on Monday to either side. Still, it’s hard to see Clemson getting more than two touchdowns on the road. It’s liklier that the line moves in Duke’s direction if there’s a serious change.

It’s a game that will feature quarterback Cade Klubnik, who’s making his second career start for Clemson, facing Duke’s Riley Leonard, who is coming off nearly 3,000-yard passing season.  

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