With college football season on the horizon, ESPN Chalk's college football experts -- Phil Steele, "Stanford Steve" Coughlin and Chris Fallica -- combine to give you betting previews of the top 25 teams, according to the ESPN College Football Rankings. They break down each team's strengths and weaknesses, along with season win total bets and national title odds.
Odds from Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as of Sept. 1.
Clemson Tigers
National title odds: 20-1
Season win total: 9.5
Phil Steele
Strengths: If you are a casual fan, this team has check marks in all the boxes you look for. The Tigers have the dynamic QB, top RB, their top three WRs all back from last year and they won their bowl game 40-6 over Oklahoma. They get to host Florida State, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame, and Death Valley is very intimidating. Check, check, check, check, check.
Weaknesses: Clemson is like a shiny new car that has everything you want, but when you look under the hood there are some question marks. How about just one returning starter on the offensive line since projected starting LT Isaiah Battle left early for the NFL supplemental draft. The defense was deep and experienced last year. This year, 11 players from that defense were in NFL camps at the start of August (four draft picks, seven UFAs) and the Tigers then lost one of their returning starters (NB Korrin Wiggins) to an injury. While QB Deshaun Watson is dynamic, he is also injury prone and there is a huge drop-off at the QB position if he gets hurt.
Over/under: Clemson is probably a pretty popular play in Vegas as the Tigers have all the shiny things you look for and are favored in almost every game. They are favored in six marquee games but their biggest favorite role is 3.5 points, which means all games are very close to toss-ups. Clemson has had four straight years of double-digit wins, but with just one returning starter to the offensive and defensive lines combined, I will side with the under.
National title: I project the ACC to be the conference that misses out on the playoffs, and I don't have Clemson winning its own division in the conference and making it to the ACC title game. I have no interest here.
"Stanford Steve" Coughlin
Here they are, everyone's favorite team to pick as a possible dark horse to win the ACC. Let me hear from you, Tigers fans ... The offense will be better without Chad Morris calling plays, Watson is the best QB in the country, the win over Steve Spurrier and South Carolina last year was the hump that Dabo Swinney needed to get over to take this team to the next level ... I've heard it all about Clemson, year after year after year.
I was there a couple of years ago, when undefeated Jameis Winston and the Noles came in and that was the night Clemson would take that step. Didn't happen. So where will the Tigers stumble this year? At Louisville on a Thursday night? Vs. Notre Dame? Vs. Georgia Tech? At Miami? Vs. FSU? At South Carolina? You see, that's the problem, it always seems like Clemson trips up where it's not expected to ... and I look at a trip to NC State the week before they host Florida State as a tricky game for Dabo and his Tigers.
Look, if you are confident in the Tigers with Watson in charge of the offense, go for it! Put your money on them to make the College Football Playoff. I just think it's easier to lay off and wait for Clemson to actually go ahead and prove it.
O/U: I don't trust this team to get to 10 wins. Take the under.
Chris Fallica
Gone are the days of "Clemsoning" -- the Tigers haven't been victims of the unlikely upset the past few years. Sure, they kind of gave one away in Tallahassee, Florida, last year, but only three Power 5 teams have won 10-plus games the past four years -- Alabama, Oregon and Clemson. What you see is what you get these days as the Tigers haven't deviated much from their preseason ranking. Nov. 7 is circled on the calendar, but there is a lot of work to be done to get there undefeated with all the new faces on defense, a unit that led the nation last year in defensive efficiency.
O/U: I lean toward the under here. All the road games except for Syracuse are losable, though on the plus side FSU, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech visit Death Valley. While Watson is the best player in the ACC, Morris is gone, as are six of the front seven on defense. I'll call for a 9-3 regular season and a bowl win for another 10-win season.
Title odds: A bit short for my liking. This could be a year when the ACC champ is low man on the CFP selection totem pole, given the perceived lack of a dominant team.