After several months of exciting college football action, we are down to just one game remaining on the schedule. That game, of course, is the National Championship match-up between the defending champion Alabama Crimson Tide and the Clemson Tigers. The playoffs have been in existence for 5 years now and this will already be the 4th meeting between these two in the postseason. It has been Alabama that has had the edge in those meetings, going 2-1, including a win over Clemson in the semi-finals last season.
As far as National Championship meetings go, these two have split when going head to head. While these two have been familiar foes in the playoffs, it will be the first time that both teams come into a meeting with an unbeaten record, so it really is all to play for next Monday night, January 7. We are going to look at this game from several different angles, so let’s start by looking at our SU prediction based on the latest NCAAF Odds to win it all.
2019 National Championship SU Betting Pick
One, Not Done.#OutworkYesterday#CapitalOneOrangeBowl#CFBPlayoff#RollTide pic.twitter.com/Y8HzJXQfhI
— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) 1 de enero de 2019
- When: Monday, Jan. 7, 8 PM ET
- Where: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif.
- TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- Radio: TuneIn
- 2019 National Championship Odds: Alabama Crimson Tide -6.5 (Total 59.5)
Clemson vs Alabama 2019 National Championship Odds & Analysis
Recent Head to Head (Last 4 Games)
- Record: Alabama leads 3-1
- Score: Clemson 22.75 / Alabama 33.50
- Rush Yards: Clemson 75.00 / Alabama 184.75
- Pass Attempts: Clemson 43.75 / Alabama 27.75
- Completion Percentage: Clemson 59.43 / Alabama 61.26
- Passing Yards: Clemson 284.25 / Alabama 197.50
- Total Yards: Clemson 359.25 / Alabama 382.25
- Turnovers: Clemson 1.75 / Alabama 0.25
Why the Alabama Crimson Tide should be your SU pick?
A lot of people talk about being tired of seeing Alabama compete for the National Championship, with this being the 4th straight year that they will be doing so, but the reality is that they are going to continue to be there until someone can stop them. The team that has come closest to doing that over the past two seasons has been the Georgia Bulldogs, but Alabama showed the heart of a champion in both those near losses, coming back to win on both occasions.
This is a team that has grown accustomed to playing on the biggest stage possible, so they are definitely going to be ready. They have a QB in Tua Tagovailoa who has already led this team to a national crown, so give him the edge over Trevor Lawrence of Clemson, which means that the Tide offense also gets the nod. Defensively, it’s a bit more even, but you have to think that from top to bottom, Alabama is just that bit stronger.
Why the Clemson Tigers should be your SU pick?
We mentioned earlier that the defenses of these two teams were pretty much even, but if we are going to nitpick a little, then the edge needs to go to the Clemson Tigers, as they gave up 1 PPG less than the Alabama Crimson Tide. Perhaps more importantly, they were better defensively in the postseason, giving up just 3 points to Notre Dame, while Alabama surrendered 34 to the Oklahoma Sooners, although a lot of those points came late when the game was pretty much all but decided.
The Tigers had a couple of game they had to claw through to win earlier this season, most notably against Texas A&M and Syracuse, but they always found a way to win. The decision to put Trevor Lawrence in ahead of Kelly Bryant at QB looks to have been a good one, but you do have to wonder if nerves will be a factor for the young man in this one.
2019 National Championship Betting Trends
- Clemson is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games
- Clemson is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Clemson’s last 5 games
- Alabama is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone OVER in 10 of Alabama’s last 15 games
Our 2019 National Championship SU Betting Prediction
These are two very good, very evenly matched teams, which makes me think that the difference could be a mistake or a turnover. Since I see Trevor Lawrence more likely to make a mistake, I am taking Alabama SU.
