College Football: 3 Best Bets and Player Props for Clemson at Texas

The 2024-25 College Football Playoff bracket is set, with first-round action kicking off this weekend. There are several intriguing matchups set for the opening round, including the Clemson Tigers vs. Texas Longhorns.

Clemson-Texas kicks off on Saturday, December 21st at 4pm ET.

Using the college football odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, let's dive into the Clemson-Texas odds, best bets, and player props.

All college football odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

Clemson at Texas Betting Picks

Over 50.5 Total Points (-112)

Compared to the other first-round games, Clemson-Texas' 50.5-point over/under is smack-dab in the middle. But with temperatures approaching 60 degrees and wind speeds under 10 mph, weather shouldn't be nearly as big of a factor compared to the three Midwest host sites.

That alone has me interested in the over, especially when we consider both offenses' styles.

Clemson and Texas are two of the fastest-paced teams in the country, with the Tigers ranking 8th in plays per game (75.1) and the Longhorns sitting at 20th (73.3). Both sides are top-50 nationally in raw pass rate.

There's plenty of firepower here to take advantage of that play volume, too. Texas is 8th nationally in EPA (expected points added) per play while Clemson is 21st (per College Football Insiders).

I'm not expecting Texas to have much trouble scoring on a Tigers defense that's just 26th in EPA per play allowed and 39th in scoring defense (23 points per game allowed), and that's reflected in their 31.5-point implied team total. The Longhorns are 24th in scoring (33.6 points per game) and have cleared 30 points in seven of eight home games.

The real question mark here is how Clemson will fare against a Texas defense that's 3rd in EPA per play allowed and second in scoring defense (12.5 point per game allowed), but we've seen the Longhorns let up 20-plus points in three of six games against ranked opponents, so it's not like Clemson will be up against the '85 Bears on Saturday.

The Tigers aren't nobody on offense, either. They're 21st in EPA per play and 17th in scoring (34.3 points per game) after putting up 34 points on the second-best defense (by EPA per play) on their schedule in the ACC Championship game.

With favorable conditions and two fast-paced offenses on deck, I'm happy to back the over of 50.5, hitting a key number of 51.

Cade Klubnik Over 250.5 Passing + Rushing Yards (-114)

The Cade Klubnik experience can be a wild ride at time, but he's playing some of the best ball of his career right now. The Clemson quarterback is averaging 260 passing yards and 36.3 rushing yards over his last eight games, positioning him well to go over 250.5 combined passing and rushing yards against Texas.

Klubnik has cleared this line in 10 of 13 games on the year, including twice in three games against top-15 defenses (by EPA per play). That includes a 342 total yards against the South Carolina Gamecocks (8th in EPA per play allowed) and 283 yards against the SMU Mustangs (11th).

Now, Texas is a different beast than those two. They're third in EPA per play allowed overall and second in drop back EPA per play allowed. They allow the fewest passing yards per game (143.1) in the country.

But the Longhorns haven't exactly faced a gauntlet of elite quarterbacks. They've gone against just one quarterback -- Georgia's Carson Beck -- in the top-50 nationally for EPA. Klubnik is 11th in total EPA and 15th in ESPN's QBR metric.

It's not a stretch to say Cade Klubnik will be the best quarterback Texas has faced all year. He's one of the top players to watch in the College Football Playoff and is well-positioned to rack up yardage in what's expected to be a negative game script for the Tigers.

Jaydon Blue Over 25.5 Rushing Yards (-114)

Texas running back Jaydon Blue has seen his role diminish the last two games after fumbling twice between Weeks 12 and 13 and injuring his shoulder the following game. That resulted in just 7 carries and 9 rushing yards total over the final two games leading up to the playoff.

But Blue has now had an extended rest to nurse that shoulder injury, so I'm optimistic the Longhorns award him a heftier workload in a game they're favored by 12.5 points in. This is the same back who averaged 59.5 yards in the eight games leading up to his injury, so I like him to go over his 25.5-yard rushing prop against Clemson.

Blue's operated as the 1B to Quintrevion Wisner's 1A all season, averaging 10.5 rush attempts and 55.5 rushing yards over their first 10 games. He cleared 25.5 yards in eight of those 10 games, surpassing 40 yards in six of them. That certainly puts some of his alternate rushing lines on the table given the advantageous matchup ahead.

In addition to benefiting from an expected positive game script, Blue and the Longhorns are further set up well by Clemson's lackluster run defense. The Tigers are 24th in rushing EPA per play allowed and just 45th in rushing yards per game allowed (139.1).

Yet -- for as good of a spot as this is for the Longhorns rushing attack -- this prop is more of a bet on Blue's role returning to what it was earlier in the season coming off an extended rest period. Both Texas backs should get in on the fun in a game they're expected to win handedly, and 26 yards isn't an especially high bar to climb for a back that's netted at least 10 yards on 10% of his rush attempts this season.

Check out our latest 2024-25 College Football Playoff printable bracket!

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.