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Overview:

On Monday, January 9th, at 8:00 P.M. the Alabama Crimson Tide will take on the Clemson Tigers in the 2016-17 NCAA Football Championship Game.

Mark May:

Mark is going with “The Crowd” predicting a final score of Alabama 31 – Clemson 30.

The Crowd:

“The Crowd” projects a final score of Alabama 30.9 – Clemson 27.3 with an over/under of 58.2.  The Vegas Line has a final score of Alabama 28.5 – Clemson 22.5 with an over/under of 51.0.

2016-17 Statistics (127 total teams):

Passing offense: Clemson 327.8 YPG > Alabama 214.2 YPG

Rushing offense: Alabama 246.7 YPG > Clemson 175.4 YPG

Scoring offense: Clemson 39.5 PPG > Alabama 39.4 PPG

Scoring defense: Alabama 11.8 PPG > Clemson 18.4 PPG

Passing defense: Alabama 184.5 YPG > Clemson 188.2 YPG

Rushing defense: Alabama 63.4 YPG > Clemson 125.8 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Alabama +0.5 > Clemson -0.1

Strength of schedule:

Alabama is (14-0) with wins over Washington, USC, Western Kentucky, Ole Miss, Kent State, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State, Chattanooga, Auburn, and Florida.   Clemson is (13-1) with wins over Ohio State, Auburn, Troy, South Carolina State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Boston College, North Carolina State, Florida State, Syracuse, Wake Forest, South Carolina, and Virginia Tech.  Their lone defeat was a one point loss at home to an unranked Pittsburgh team.

Summary:

The rematch for the National Championship is set with two great teams going head to head with everything on the line.  Clemson looked great in their blowout win over Ohio State.  That was the first time Ohio State has been shut out in a game since 1993.  Alabama’s defense also rose to the occasion holding Washington to just seven points when they were averaging over 40 per game for the season.  Speaking of the Alabama defense, they lead the nation in fewest rushing yards allowed per game (63.4) and fewest points allowed (11.8).  Alabama is one of the best teams at running the football with an array of big powerful backs.  Clemson better be prepared to stuff the run otherwise they will have no chance.

It’s nearly impossible to run against the Alabama defense so you have to beat them through the air.  Clemson has a great quarterback in DeShaun Watson who throws for nearly 330 yards per game.  Clemson managed to put up 40 points against Alabama last year but they are even better on defense this season.  Both teams rank in the top 20 in terms of scoring offense and scoring defense.  Alabama has the advantage in terms of turnover margin as the Clemson offense has been careless with the football at times.  I really think this Alabama defense is historically great and they will repeat as national champions once again.

**LISTEN HERE** to the latest edition of “The Berger Shop” podcast, sponsored by The Crowd’s Line.  This week’s episode features an in-depth discussion about the return of Tiger Woods with golf pro Jason Birnbaum.

Note:

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