Who: Clemson Tigers (10-2) vs LSU Tigers (10-2)
Where: ATL
When: New Year's Eve, 7:30 PM EST
TV: ESPN
Line: LSU by 6
Ross: Great defense, meet great offense. LSU had the 11th best scoring defense (16.9 ppg),10th best rush defense (102 ypg), and 20th best pass defense (194 ypg). On the other hand, Clemson had the 6th best scoring offense (42.3 ppg), 32nd in rush offense (192 ypg), and 13th in pass offense (318 ypg). Neither team lost to any bad opponents, but LSU's pair of close losses to Florida and Alabama is a bit more impressive than Clemson's pair of losses to Florida State and South Carolina. A bad omen for Clemson? Their season-lows in scoring output came in their two games against SEC opponents — 26 in a win over Auburn and 17 in a loss to South Carolina. And LSU is probably better than either of those teams (definitely better than Auburn; South Carolina is more debatable). Still, Clemson will likely score some points on LSU's defense — the bigger question is how many QB Zach Mettenberger and the LSU offense can hang on Clemson's defense. They weren't especially prolific this season (30.3 ppg, 56th nationally) and will likely need a pretty big performance to win this game. Still, when in doubt, bet on the SEC.
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