College football odds: Clemson the underdog against Alabama in national title game
The Clemson Tigers are 8-6 straight up and 11-3 against the spread in their last 14 games as a betting underdog. The Tigers will try to pull off another upset in a rematch of last year's championship game against the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Clemson is a 6.5-point underdog in the CFP national championship game at Raymond James Stadium at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Dabo Swinney and the Tigers are 4-1 SU in their last five games as an underdog and 6-0 ATS in their last six.
The Tigers couldn't have put together a much more dominant game against the Ohio State Buckeyes last Saturday. Clemson out-gained Ohio State 470 yards to 215 en route to a 31-0 blowout, handing Urban Meyer his first shutout loss in 15 years of coaching.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson was wildly effective against Alabama last season, rushing for 73 yards and passing for 405 yards and four touchdowns. This team will enter Monday's championship game believing that it can beat Alabama.
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In their last nine games against SEC opponents, the Tigers are 6-3 SU and 5-4 ATS per the OddsShark College Football Database.
Alabama's defense dominated one of the best offenses in college football last week, holding Washington to just seven points in a comfortable 24-7 victory.
But after freshman QB Jalen Hurts suffered through the most ineffective game of his young career with just seven pass completions and 57 passing yards, Nick Saban decided to part ways with offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin over the weekend. Steve Sarkisian will take over the play calling on offense for the Crimson Tide, who are 26-0 SU and 17-9 ATS over their last 26 games.
The total on Monday night is set at 50.5 points on the college football betting lines. The UNDER is 4-1 in Clemson's last five games played on a Monday.
If there was any doubt that Alabama and Clemson were the two best teams in college football heading into the College Football Playoff, these two teams put that doubt to rest with their dominant performances in the semifinals. Alabama has looked unstoppable for the last two months, but Clemson just might be good enough to give them another run for their money.
