Early vegas odds on Clemson-Alabama Playoff matchup

Brandon Rink - Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer - Sunday, November 04 2018

Dominating wins for No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Clemson this season have no provoked shortage of thoughts on skipping the rest of the season straight to a fourth-consecutive meeting of the Tide and Tigers.

The Westgate Las Vegas Superbook provided a way too early look on Sunday, making Alabama an 8.5-point favorite on Clemson at this point.

The first two of the more recent meetings between the CFB juggernauts were close, with Alabama taking a 45-40 win in 2016 and Clemson coming out on top 35-31 in 2017. The Crimson Tide controlled the action in last year's Sugar Bowl, however, in a 24-6 decision.

Going into this week, Alabama has been favored by an average of 29 points per game this season, covering that spread in 6-of-9 games. Clemson has been favored by an average of 26 points and covered the spread in all four games where Trevor Lawrence has started and played in both halves.

According to the S&P+ advanced metric, Alabama (31.4) and Clemson (29.2) are the far-and-away top-2 teams.

Here's a look at the numbers through an undefeated run through nine games for both:

Stat comparison

ESPN FPI: Alabama - 1 (31.7); Clemson - 2 (30.7)

TeamRankings SOS: Alabama - 5; Clemson - 16.

Total offense: Alabama - 1 (565.6 YPG); Clemson - 7 (538)

Yards per play: Alabama - 2 (8.17); Clemson - 4 (7.59)

Total defense: Alabama - 11 (295.4); Clemson - 3 (269.22)

Opp. yards per play: Alabama - 9 (4.56); Clemson - 2 (4)

Avg. scoring margin: Alabama - 1 (37.2); Clemson - 2 (34.5)

Red zone TD%: Alabama - 33 (68.6); Clemson - 8 (77.8)

Opp. red zone TD%: Alabama - 38 (54.2); Clemson - 14 (47.8)

3rd down offense: Alabama - 1 (56.3); Clemson - 19 (46.1)

3rd down defense: Alabama - 11 (30); Clemson - 6 (27.5)

College Football National Championship Game Spread OUT in Vegas:
Alabama Crimson Tide -8.5 over the Clemson Tigers#RollTide #ALLIN
via @SuperBookUSA @golfodds @llased @vegasmurray pic.twitter.com/3WeDeUP7QS
— Johnny Detroit (@Johnny_Detroit) November 4, 2018