The top-ranked Clemson Tigers will look to open their home slate in a big way when they take on The Citadel Bulldogs on Saturday. The Tigers defeated Wake Forest 37-13 in the season-opener last week, while The Citadel dropped a 27-6 decision at South Florida. Clemson leads the all-time series 32-5-1, including a 14-1 edge at home, and the Tigers have won 17 in a row in the series.
Kickoff from Memorial Stadium is set for 4 p.m. ET. Clemson won five games last year by 45 or more points, while seven of the Bulldogs' 12 games were decided by nine points or fewer. The Tigers are 43.5-point favorites in the latest Clemson vs. The Citadel odds from William Hill, while the over-under for total points scored is 57.5. Before making your The Citadel vs. Clemson picks, be sure to see the latest college football predictions from SportsLine's Barrett Sallee.
When it comes to college football, there are few who deserve the "expert" tag quite like Sallee. The CBS Sports writer and analyst hosts shows on SiriusXM College, writes for CBSSports.com and appears regularly on CBS Sports HQ as well as countless radio shows across the nation as a guest.
Sallee debuted with SportsLine in 2017 and has delivered in a big way, posting a winning record in his weekly best bets column since that point. He stayed red-hot in 2019, finishing an amazing 42-20 (68 percent) in his popular best bets column and going 59-35-2 (63 percent, plus $2,037) overall. He got off to a fast 2-1 start in Week 1 of 2020 as well on his best bets, running his current streak to 44-21. Anybody who has been following him is way up.
Now, Sallee has studied Clemson vs. The Citadel from every angle and has revealed his picks over at SportsLine. Here are the college football odds from William Hill and trends for The Citadel vs. Clemson.
- The Citadel vs. Clemson spread: Tigers -43.5
- The Citadel vs. Clemson over-under: 57.5
- CIT: K Colby Kintner became first Bulldog with multiple 40-plus yard field goals since 2015 last week
- CLEM: Tigers have a 94-17-8 record in home openers
Why Clemson can cover
The Tigers return plenty of firepower from a team that averaged 43.9 points per game in 2019, the fourth-most in the country. Junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence was on fire in the season-opener, completing 22-of-28 passes for 351 yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for two scores as Clemson built a 27-0 halftime lead en route to a decisive win. Lawrence's passing TD was the 67th of his career, moving him into the top 10 in Atlantic Coast Conference history.
Also having a big game was senior running back Travis Etienne, who rushed 17 times for 102 yards and a touchdown. It was his 18th career 100-yard rushing game, breaking Wayne Gallman's Clemson record of 17 from 2014-16. He also caught three passes for 47 yards.
Etienne was a Maxwell Award and Doak Walker Award semifinalist in 2019 after rushing for 1,614 yards on 207 carries and 19 touchdowns. He also had 37 receptions for 432 yards and four touchdowns in 15 starts.
Why The Citadel can cover
The Bulldogs have proven they can run the football and have had success in their last eight games against FBS opponents, rushing for at least 200 yards in seven of those games, including last week against South Florida. The Citadel rushed 54 times for 200 yards against the Bulls, with senior quarterback Brandon Rainey leading the way with 65 yards rushing on 20 carries. He also passed for 84 yards. Rainey enters the weekend just 11 rushing yards shy of 2,000. He is poised to become the 16th member of The Citadel's 2,000-yard club.
Redshirt junior wide receiver Ryan McCarthy was the Bulldogs' top receiver in the opener with two catches for 44 yards. He appeared in 11 games in 2019, catching 11 passes for 197 yards and a touchdown. He had a career-high five catches for 49 yards against VMI and hauled in a 53-yard touchdown pass against Chattanooga.
How to make Clemson vs. The Citadel picks
Sallee is leaning over on the total, and he's also found a critical x-factor that makes one side of the spread a must-back. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Clemson vs. The Citadel? And which critical x-factor has Sallee jumping all over one side of the spread? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the The Citadel vs. Clemson spread to jump on Saturday, all from the expert who's on a 44-21 roll on college football best bets, and find out.
