Is anyone really surprised that No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Clemson will meet in the College Football Playoff national title game on Jan. 7? It’s the fourth straight year the schools meet in the CFP and third time in the title game. The Tide have won two of the previous three and are National Championship odds favorites to do so again.

Clemson vs Alabama 2019 National Championship Odds & Analysis

For the 4th straight season Alabama will play for the National Championship! #RollTide pic.twitter.com/KFliUfgXAc

— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) 30 de diciembre de 2018

• 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)

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Last Meeting

In last season’s CFP semifinals, No. 4 Alabama knocked off No. 1 and unbeaten Clemson 24-6. It was 10-6 Tide in the third quarter, and they broke it open in the span of just 13 game seconds as defensive tackle Da’Ron Payne caught a 1-yard TD pass from Jalen Hurts and then Mack Wilson returned an interception 18 yards for a score.

Clemson had just 188 yards behind QB Kelly Bryant, who began this year as the Tigers’ starter but was replaced by freshman Trevor Lawrence and has since transferred. Hurts threw for just 120 yards but two scores – he’s now the backup to Tua Tagovailoa.

Why Bet on Alabama?

The Crimson Tide are going for their third national title in the five-year history of the College Football Playoff. The Tide had no trouble in this year’s semifinals, either, in beating Oklahoma 45-34. Wasn’t really that close as Bama jumped out to a 28-0 lead.

Sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the Heisman runner-up, was great in completing going 24-of-27 for 318 yards and four touchdowns. DeVonta Smith led the team with six catches for 104 yards and a score. Running back Josh Jacobs added 158 total yards and a touchdown. The Tide compiled 528 yards of total offense and controlled the ball for 36 minutes.

Alabama scored touchdowns on each of its first four possessions, marking the third time this season the Tide reached the end zone on their first four drives (Sept. 29 vs. Louisiana, Oct. 20 at Tennessee). In the first half of games this season, Tagovailoa has thrown for 2,589 yards and 29 touchdowns. He was 15-of-17 with 224 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the first half vs. OU. With a 21-0 advantage after the opening 15:00, Alabama has now outscored its opponents 220-45 (+175) in the first quarter this season.

Tagovailoa’s 318 yards passing against Oklahoma marked his sixth 300-yard passing game this season, a school record. With 3,671 passing yards this season, Tagovailoa moved into the top spot on the UA single-season passing yards list. Tagovailoa passed Blake Sims, who had been No. 1 with 3,487 yards in 2014. Tagovailoa is just the fourth quarterback in school history to throw for 3,000 yards in a season. His 41 TD passes are second-most in SEC history.

Alabama’s senior class now has an insane record of 55-3 (.948). The 55 wins surpass Alabama’s 2017 senior class (53-5; .914) for the most wins by a senior class in NCAA history. It’s the fourth time in school history the Tide have reached 14 wins.

Why Bet on Clemson?

Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence looks to become the first true freshman quarterback to win the national championship since Jamelle Holieway and Oklahoma went 11-1 and beat Penn State in the Orange Bowl in the 1985 season.

Lawrence was great in the 30-3 semifinal win over Notre Dame. He completed 27 of 39 pass attempts for 327 yards and three touchdowns, including 19 of 26 for 264 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to Justyn Ross in the first half alone. Travis Etienne ran for 109 yards on 14 carries, including a 62-yard touchdown run that pushed him past Wayne Gallman’s 2015 mark for the most rushing yards in a single season.

Clemson became only the second team in ACC history to score 600 points in a single season (723, Florida State in 2013). Clemson now has 620 points this season. Clemson gained 538 yards of offense and reached the 7,000- yard mark on offense this season, marking only the third 7,000-yard season in school history (2015 and 2016).

Clemson rushed for 236 yards and now has 3,613 rushing yards this season, breaking the school record for rushing yards in a single season, held previously by the 1978 Tigers (3,469). Clemson eclipsed 300 passing yards and 200 rushing yards. Clemson is now 41-0 when both passing and rushing for 200+ yards under Dabo Swinney. Clemson outrushed Notre Dame, 211-88. Clemson has outrushed opponents 13 times this season. The Tigers have outrushed opponents in 24 of their 28 games since 2017 and are 24-0 when outrushing opponents in that time frame.

Clemson added to its existing school record by scoring at least 27 points in a 14th straight game. The Tigers also extended their school record by winning a ninth consecutive game by 20 or more points for the first time in school history. The victory was Clemson’s 12th of 20 points or more this season, tying the 2013 Florida State Seminoles for the most by an ACC team since 2000.

Austin Bryant’s two sacks and six total tackles were one of the main sparks of a defensive effort that only allowed three points to a Notre Dame team averaging over 33 per game this season.

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Clemson vs Alabama 2019 National Championship Betting Trends

• Alabama is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games
• Alabama is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
• The total has gone OVER in 10 of Alabama’s last 14 games
• Clemson is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games
• Clemson is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games

Expert 2019 National Championship Prediction for Clemson vs Alabama

Alabama Crimson Tide 30 – Clemson Tigers 27