Bobby Dodd Stadium – Atlanta, GA
Kickoff: Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ET
Line: Clemson -9, Total: NA

#5 Clemson will be hoping to stay undefeated when the team faces Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Thursday.

Coming off of a National Championship appearance, expectations were understandably high for Clemson entering this year. You’ll have to forgive Tigers fans for being disappointed when the team looked uninspiring in its first two games, six-point wins (0-2 ATS) over Auburn and, less excusably, Troy. A Week 3 game against cupcake South Carolina State didn’t present an opportunity for Clemson to assuage the fears of anyone worried about how the team will handle elite competition, but the team did seem to get back on track in a 59-0 win (-53.5) that was somehow even more dominating than the score suggests. QB Deshaun Watson (56.9 CMP%, 692 yards, 7 TD, 3 INT) threw three quick touchdowns before taking the rest of the day off, and the defense held SC State to 102 yards. The Tigers led 45-0 at halftime, and things were so ugly that the teams agreed to play shortened 12-minute quarters in the second half. Meanwhile, a Georgia Tech squad for which everything went wrong in a 3-9 season (3-9 ATS) last year is quietly off to a 3-0 start. Of course, they started 2-0 last year against inferior teams, and the level of competition has been only marginally tougher this year, so anything could happen. But Paul Johnson’s group was and remains talented, and a definitively losing slate was out of character for a program that wins consistently. The Yellow Jackets gritted their way to a 17-14 (-3) victory in the opener against Boston College, a team that regularly features one of the nation’s best defenses. They beat Mercer 35-10 at home, and then blasted Vanderbilt 38-7 (-6) at home, as well. In the last five seasons, favorites of 3.5 to 10 points coming off of a game in which they allowed fewer than 100 rushing yards (Clemson) are 40-16 ATS in games wherein both teams are outrushing opponents by at least 50 yards per game. In the past 10 seasons, home teams having allowed 17 points or less in two straight games are 98-49 ATS against visitors coming off of wins of 21 points or more.

After a campaign in which he threw for 4,100 yards and 35 touchdowns—and ran for 1,100 and 12—Deshaun Watson had an incredibly high bar to live up to. So far, he’s failed to do so. His completion percentage is down over 10 points, his yards per completion is down over a yard-and-a-half and he’s down to 3.7 yards per carry from 5.3 last year. On one hand, the season is still young, the Tigers are 3-0 and Watson is an excellent quarterback even when he plays below his potential. On the other, he played much better against a similar early-season schedule last year, so one wonders if there is indeed a cause for concern. Questions will persist if Watson has a mediocre game on Thursday, but he can answer them definitively with the type of performance he’s capable of. His favorite target (with good reason) is WR Mike Williams (15 catches, 245 yards). The 6-foot-3 Williams missed all of last season with a neck injury, but is back in full form already as one of the best wideouts in the country. Sophomore WR Ray-Ray McCloud (13 catches, 154 yards, 2 TDs) and junior WR Artavis Scott (13 catches, 129 yards) have also seen a good number of targets from Watson. Sophomore wideout Hunter Renfrow (4 catches, 62 yards, TD), who broke out in the National Championship Game last season, broke a bone in his hand against Troy and is out Thursday, and will likely miss a few more weeks. RB Wayne Gallman (46 carries, 197 yards, 2 TDs) takes on the bulk of the rushing load. Sophomore DT Christian Wilkins and senior DR Carlos Watkins lead the defense with two sacks each, and sophomore LB Kendall Joseph leads with 27 total tackles. Along with Watkins, senior CB Cordrea Tankersley and senior LB Ben Boulware are considered the best players on the unit. Boulware missed the SC State game with an ankle injury, but is a full-go in practice this week and should be ready to play on Thursday.

Despite showing flashes of competence in a shocking win over Florida State and close games against Notre Dame and Georgia, the Yellow Jackets earned their losing record last season. They were 11th (of 14) in the ACC in total offense and ninth in total defense. They were bad, but probably not 3-9 bad, and many predicted substantial improvement for the team this season. Like Georgia Tech, Boston College finished 3-9 last year. But the Eagles led the nation in total defense last season, so it at least seemed impressive that Tech was able to put up 17 points with its patented triple-option attack. It seems less impressive now after BC gave up 49 points in a Week 3 shutout loss to Virginia Tech. The Jackets went down 7-0 against Mercer, but took control by the second quarter to win an ultimately uneventful home opener. And while Vanderbilt is no one’s idea of a good football team, a 31-point win as six-point favorites against a major conference opponent hinted at a team that’s ready to get back to its winning ways. Senior QB Justin Thomas (335 yards passing, TD; 169 yards rushing, TD) is the team’s focal point, and he leads both in the air and on the ground. He spent much of his time on the field trying to play catch-up last season, forcing him to pass far more often than is ideal for the option offense. In the three games so far this season, he’s appeared comfortable in a way that he hasn’t since 2014. True freshman RB Dedrick Mills (32 carries, 126 yards, 4 TDs) leads the team in carries and touchdowns despite being suspended for the Mercer game, and his arrival on campus has been a shot in the arm for the offense. Sophomore Clinton Lynch (116 yards) is averaging nearly 13 yards per carry and sophomore backup QB Matthew Jordan (49 yards) has three touchdowns in briefly filling in for Thomas. The defense is currently 27th in the country with just over 300 yards allowed per game. Senior linebacker P.J. Davis leads the team with 20 total tackles.