Vegas has released its opening line for Clemson football’s matchup against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Cotton Bowl.
The Clemson football team improved to 13-0 with a win over Pittsburgh in the ACC Championship game Saturday night in Charlotte.
With the win, the Tigers locked up their fourth-straight conference championship and received a berth in the College Football Playoff for a fourth-straight year.
The No. 2-rated Clemson Tigers will take on the No. 3-rated Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 29 in Dallas, Texas.
Here’s a look at the early Vegas odds for the playoff matchup.
Clemson Football Vegas Odds:
Opening Line: Clemson -11.5
Early Over/Under: 56.5
Thoughts:
Clemson opens as an impressive 11.5-point favorite against the Fighting Irish. That’s pretty remarkable.
Most believe the Tigers are clearly the better team and I tend to agree. I’ll be interested to see how the two teams match up on the field later in December, though.
I think the 11.5 point spread is pretty accurate. The Tigers are probably about 10-13 points better than Notre Dame and that over/under is interesting, as well.
We won’t give our official spread prediction until later in December, but I will tell you that I’m favoring Clemson when picking against the spread. This is the first instance in quite some time that the Tigers are less than 20 point favorites.
This should be a fun one with a trip to the National Championship on the line.
Perhaps the most intriguing matchup will be that of Trevor Lawrence vs. Ian Book. Both quarterbacks have been very good since taking over for their respective teams this season and it will be interesting to see how they perform on the biggest stage of their young careers.
We will have plenty more analysis, coverage and updates heading into Clemson football’s matchup with Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl. Make sure you check back here on Rubbing the Rock throughout December for complete coverage of the game.