Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide defensive tackle A’Shawn Robinson (86) in action in the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl against Michigan State Spartans guard Brian Allen (65) at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
The Alabama Crimson Tide are seven-point favorites over the Clemson Tigers in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Jan. 11 in Glendale, Ariz.
No. 2 Alabama (13-1) convincingly punched its ticket to the CFP title game by dismantling No. 3 Michigan State 38-0 on New Year’s Eve in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium.
Top-ranked Clemson (14-0) also was impressive, beating No. 4 Oklahoma 37-17 in the first semifinal Thursday in the Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium.
The Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas opened with Alabama as a touchdown favorite over Clemson. The undefeated Tigers were four-point underdogs to the Sooners.
Las Vegas books opened betting on the national championship game late Thursday night as Alabama continued to dominate Michigan State in the second half. Sportsbook operator CG Technology opened the Crimson Tide as 4.5-point favorites, but the line quickly climbed to Alabama minus-6.
The Crimson Tide have been favored in 80 of their past 81 games, including all three national championship game appearances under head coach Nick Saban. Alabama won all three of those title games.
Clemson is 3-12 overall against Alabama and has lost the past 12 meetings. It is the Tigers’ worst record against any opponent they have played at least 10 times, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
It didn’t take long for Saban to get asked about Clemson.
“We’d like to enjoy this game for 24 hours, but Clemson’s got a great team,” Saban said Thursday night. “They’re undefeated. They’ve got a great program, so I’m sure our guys are going to be motivated to play the best they can.
The Tigers are within one win of their first national title since 1981.
“I knew that we would be here,” said Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, an Alabama alumnus who played on the Tide’s 1992 national championship team. “It was just a matter of when.”
