Week 1 of the college football season finishes off on Labor Day night when the Clemson Tigers and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets face off in a prime-time conference showdown. It's a rematch of a close contest from 2021 that saw the Tigers struggle at home to beat a team they walloped by 70 points a year prior.
A lot of question marks surround the performance of starting quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, whose performance for Clemson last year was a massive disappointment after opening the year as a Heisman favorite. He will have a short leash in 2022, with highly-touted freshman Cade Klubnik waiting in the wings.
Meanwhile, Georgia Tech has questions of its own to answer, mainly head coach Geoff Collins after another poor season with just three wins. Entering his fourth season at the helm, he will try to find a way to replace his best player and hope that his veteran quarterback can have a solid season.
This game is rife with storylines, but it’s also filled with plenty of opportunities to make some money on player props. Here are the three best player prop bets for you to consider in Monday night’s showdown between Clemson and Georgia Tech.
Clemson vs Georgia Tech prop picks
- Shipley Over 0.5 Rushing TDs (-133)
- Carter Over 42.5 Receiving Yds (-114)
- Sims Under 29.5 Rushing Yds (-115)
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Clemson vs Georgia Tech Week 1 props
Shipley ahoy!
Will Shipley’s going to score a touchdown against Georgia Tech, it’s almost a certainty. In their 14-8 win last season, Shipley rushed for 88 yards and scored both of Clemson’s touchdowns. It was one of four games in which he found the end zone multiple times as he finished with 11 scores on the year.
He scored a touchdown in seven of the 10 games he played, with only Georgia, Pitt, and Louisville ultimately keeping him out of the end zone. He also only had 28 combined carries in those three games. To put that in perspective, he had 21 against Georgia Tech alone.
Shipley averaged 19 carries over his final three contests and scored four touchdowns in the process. Provided he gets the carries against Tech — which he should — it’s hard to see him failing to score against the 12th-ranked defense in the conference last season, especially after the loss of their top tackler.
For something that seems so obvious, you might ask yourself why it’s on this list, as it would probably be juiced quite high. You would be right, which is why I am utterly baffled that Caesars has Shipley to score a rushing touchdown at just -133.
Considering the lowest price you can get at another book for him to score a touchdown of any kind is -250, I would run as fast as you can with all the money you are able to wager and take advantage of this line before it gets bet up to where it should be.
Will Shipley Prop: Over 0.5 rushing touchdowns (-133 at Caesars)
Malachi hauls 'em in
In their defeat in Death Valley last season, Georgia Tech threw for 203 yards on 20 completions. Jordan Yates completed passes to eight different receivers, with three of them making four grabs on the day.
Malachi Carter was one of those three, racking up 47 yards on the day. Kyric McGowan also caught four but went for 82 yards. McGowan and Carter tied for the team lead in catches with 37, proving each a solid target in the offense. McGowan is now in the NFL, and his catches are there to be taken by someone else.
Carter will likely see single coverage much of the day, as Clemson will have to keep safety help for the receiver lined up on the other side of the field. E.J. Jenkins, a transfer from South Carolina, is a physical freak, standing 6-foot-7 and weighing nearly 250 pounds.
This line varies from book to book; FanDuel’s line is 45.5 while Caesars and PointsBet have the total at 44.5. BetRivers is your best bet on this one, as they’ve got him at just 42.5 yards for the total. Carter’s chemistry with Jeff Sims should lead to him having a solid day — especially if the Yellow Jackets fall behind and have to take to the air.
Malachi Carter Prop: Over 42.5 yards receiving (-114 at BetRivers)
The Sims glitches out
In his six starts last season, Jeff Sims topped 38 yards rushing in five of them. In four of his five starts, he gained at least 55 yards on the ground. The one start where he failed to reach 38 yards rushing was against Miami, which was the best defensive line he faced in 2021. Sims was sacked three times and lost eight yards on the ground, with one of those sacks resulting in a loss of 17 yards
Sims is not the most accurate passer, and he’s lost his best running back with Jahmyr Gibbs heading to Alabama via the transfer portal. Now, he’s opening the year against a Clemson team with something to prove after last season, and a new defensive coordinator and new defensive line coach. The defense allowed just 4.3 yards per play last season, third-best in the nation, and Myles Murphy returns after having seven sacks on the year.
Sims did not play in the game against Clemson last year, but he was sacked four times in their 73-7 loss in 2020, losing 23 yards on 13 official carries. Monday night will see him facing that same ferocious pass rush behind an offensive line that returns just one starter from a year ago. Sims will be running a lot on Monday night, mostly for his life, and it’s hard to see him reaching 30 yards with the sacks he’s likely to take.
Jeff Sims Prop: Under 29.5 yards rushing (-115 at PointsBet)
