Lookahead Lines: Who is Clemson Favored Over in CFP?
Teams don't look ahead...at least they're not supposed to.
Fans, media folks and sports bettors, though, have every right to wonder what's next, so have you let yourself go there yet? Have you given any thought to who Clemson would be favored over in the College Football Playoff if the No. 3 Tigers make it there for the sixth consecutive season.
This week, Clemson is a 21.5-point favorite at Virginia Tech. It's a game this program is supposed to win handily in its orange britches and advance to the ACC Championship Game against Notre Dame, a dream rematch for the league.
That's for Dec. 19, and Clemson will likely be favored with Trevor Lawrence and a healthier defense back. Let's look even further into the calendar and assume the Tigers get revenge and win another ACC title.
While the entire CFP picture is still trying to clear up, it's safe to assume all four of the top teams in the rankings can still get there, so Betonlie.ag released some look-ahead lines involving projected matchups based on those squads.
Between No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 4 Ohio State, Clemson would only be favored over one of those three. Yep, the one it's least likely to play because it would be their third matchup.
The Tigers are listed as a 7-point favorite over the Irish. Clemson is a 1.5-point underdog to Ohio State. Alabama would be favored by 6.5 points.
None of that should be a surprise, even though the Tigers were the preseason No. 1. The Crimson Tide have looked the best of anybody in college football right now. That doesn't mean they're unbeatable. That's what people said about the 2018 team and Tiger and Tide fans know how that worked out in California.
Ohio State, which probably isn't as good as last year, was a slight underdog to Clemson, which probably isn't as good this year either, in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl, which the Tigers won 29-23.
But the Buckeyes, despite only playing four games and teetering on missing enough contests to get moved out of the CFP top-4, still get the benefit of the doubt from oddsmakers and bettors.
In case you're wondering, Alabama favored by 4 against Ohio State and 10.5 against Notre Dame. The Buckeyes are a 6-point favorite over the Irish.
If this holds true, which is fairly likely considering several scenarios, it'll be interesting to see how these early December lines matchup to the ones later this month.
