NCAA Football Championship Betting Pick: Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Clemson Tigers
To the surprise of almost no one, the Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers are the two teams left standing at the end of the college football season and are set to dual in Monday’s national championship game. With neither team getting much of a geographic advantage in Santa Clara, Alabama is listed as a 4.5-point favorite.
The Crimson Tide cruised through the regular season, winning their 12 games by an average of 35 points. However, they had to come from behind against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game and then withstand a comeback effort from Oklahoma in the national semi-finals. Nevertheless, Alabama is still 14-0 and favored to win their sixth national title under Nick Saban.
Of course, Clemson is also 14-0 and chasing their second title in the last three years. The Tigers may not have played the toughest schedule, but they played 11 of their 14 games against bowl teams. More importantly, they obliterated Notre Dame in the national semi-finals last week, looking the part of a championship team.
Rising Sophomore
For Clemson, a great deal of attention has been paid to freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence, but he’s not exactly looked like a freshman this season. He’s made almost no youthful mistakes and he really shined on the big stage against Notre Dame. Lawrence has also gotten plenty of help from a deep contingent of wide receivers and running back Travis Etienne, who is one of the top home run threats in college football.
Of course, Lawrence and company will have to maintain their high level of play against the vaunted Alabama defense. The Crimson Tide have had some trouble against Georgia and Oklahoma in their last two games. But they were also able to shut down both teams for extended periods of time. Lawrence will need to be at his best all game if Clemson is going to put a significant number of points on the board. However, everything he’s done this season indicates that he’s capable of doing that.
Back to Good
During the win over Oklahoma, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa showed no ill effects of the high-ankle sprain he suffered in the SEC Championship Game. He completed 24 of his 27 passes and threw the ball all over a porous Oklahoma defense. The Crimson Tide also used Jalen Hurts in creative ways and totaled 200 rushing yards. In short, the Alabama offense is back to the high level they played at for most of the season.
Of course, the Clemson defense may be the best Alabama has faced. The Tigers dominated Notre Dame at the line of scrimmage, as their defensive line (which goes two-deep at nearly every position) was too much for the Fighting Irish. Alabama will need their offensive line to neutralize Clemson’s defensive front if they expect Tagovailoa to work his magic. The Tigers may be able to generate enough pressure to throw the Hawaiian quarterback off his game.
Even the Series
As most people know, this will be the fourth straight years these two teams will meet in the College Football Playoff and the third time in the title game. While Alabama won easily last year in the semi-finals, the other two meetings were both close games. Fans should expect more of the same in Round 4 because both sides have elite talent on both sides of the ball. Bet on Clemson at least beating the 4.5-point spread in a close game and possibly knocking off Alabama to win the title.
