Gridiron Player Club CFB 1-2 Units (9/7/24)

CFB

2 Picks.

3:30PM EST: Northern Illinois +28.5 (2 Units).

Prime let down spot for the fighting Irish following the big win over Texas A&M but it's also a look ahead spot. Northern Illinois returned 15 starters from one of the best MAC teams last year. They kicked off last season with an outright win over Boston College and battled Nebraska a few weeks later. Notre Dame is clearly more talented, but they have a lot of new pieces on this team, including a brand-new offensive line. They did find some success rushing on Texas A&M thanks in large part to dual threat QB Riley Leonard. Considering he missed half of last season with an injury, and they face an inferior opponent today, don't expect them to run Leonard too much. The weakness of the Northern Illinois defense was its rush defense last season. They were 6th in passing yards allowed among FBS programs last year. Northern Illinois also leans on its ground game, ranking 21st in rushing YPG last season and averaging just shy of 240 in their last 3. Each team running the football will help shorten this game up. Just too big a number here.

8:00PM EST: App St/Clemson Under 53.5 (2 Units).

Clemson's offensive struggles carried over from last year and into their meeting with Georgia. Arguably the best defense in the Country but the overall lack of speed for Clemson was apparent. It's the same thing that plagued them last year and why they were the 59th ranked scoring offense. While Appalachian State is a less talented team, they have 9 starters returning on the defensive side of the ball. We don't expect them to stop the Tigers, but they have enough experience to slow them down. Clemson has found themselves in close games against much less talented teams quite often the last few years.

As for the App State offense, they're going to struggle. They have 5 returning starters and this Clemson defense is the truth. They held Georgia down and in check for the majority of the game before the dam finally broke. Their offenses inability to stay on the field eventually caught up to them, especially week 1. Their defensive line is loaded and it's a massive edge they'll have on a completely revamped App State offensive line.