FSU football: Why has betting line moved towards Noles against Clemson?

FSU football is a slight betting underdog against Clemson Saturday night. The betting line opened at +7 and moved to +3.5 quickly after the line opened, entering week 7.

The Noles coming into the game off a gut-wrenching loss against NC State, and Clemson pulled away from a poor Boston College team in the second half. Clemson favored at -7 makes sense, with it being a night game in Doak Campbell Stadium.

The Noles played Clemson tough last year and nearly upset the Tigers. This year’s version of FSU has the potential to be much better than last year’s.

The defense has consistently been better than last through the first six games. It’s the FSU offense that has been inconsistent. So why has the line moved so much toward FSU? FSU has injuries on both sides of the ball, and Clemson returns a lot of guys they have been missing in previous games.

The teams have three common opponents: Wake Forest, NC State, and Boston College. Clemson could have lost to Wake Forest but won in overtime. NC State played Clemson tough, and the Boston College game was a one-possession game at halftime before Clemson pulled away in the second half.

FSU and Wake Forest was a one-possession game late in the fourth quarter, and the FSU defense held Wake Forest to season lows offensively. FSU dominated NC State in the first half before giving the Wolfpack a win late, and FSU dominated Boston College from start to finish.

It’s almost like bettors feel FSU has a higher ceiling than Clemson based on common opponents and the game taking place at night in Doak Campbell Stadium.

The gamble is FSU healthy enough to compete for four quarters, and can they make the plays at critical moments in the game?

I don’t know, Clemson at -3.5 seems too good to be true, and that’s usually the case when the line appears that way. This game largely comes down to the FSU offense. If they show up as they have at different points this year, they can beat Clemson, handily at that.

However, what makes that difficult is Clemson has one of the best defensive lines in the country. I’m not sure what Vegas knows, but it’ll be interesting to see if this line moves again before Saturday night.

**Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.