Although ESPN did a good job creating drama leading up to the announcement of which four teams would make the College Football Playoff, it was pretty easy to see which four teams would make it. Alabama, Clemson, and Notre Dame finished the season undefeated, and Oklahoma was clearly the best one-loss team in the country. Those four teams will meet up on December 29 with a trip to the national championship on the line.
College Football Playoff Semifinal Betting Lines (Courtesy of BetDSI)
Alabama -14 vs. Oklahoma, O/U 79
There was no doubt that Alabama was going to be the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. The Crimson Tide have been the best team in the country all season, and even though they needed to survive a scare against Georgia, their resume is still noticeably better than the rest of the teams.
Related: College Football Betting Guide | College Football Playoff
Heading into this game, the big question for Alabama is the health of Tua Tagovailoa, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the SEC Championship Game. Jalen Hurts had to take over to lead the Crimson Tide to a come-from-behind victory. Tagovailoa is expected to be ready four weeks from now, but Hurts is a fantastic second option as was the leader of the offense in 2016 and 2017 before Tua took over.
The big question coming into this game is whether Oklahoma can score on Alabama’s defense. We know that Alabama is probably going to light up Oklahoma’s defense given what we’ve seen from the Sooners. They were ranked No. 89 on defense in the final S&P+ ratings, and they have had a hard time stopping even above average offenses this season. Kyler Murray will probably need to get his team at least 35 points for Oklahoma to have a chance of pulling off the upset.
Pick: Oklahoma +14
Clemson -11.5 vs. Notre Dame, O/U 55
The Tigers have one of the best defenses in the country, and they have consistently shown why they were ranked ahead of Notre Dame from Week 10 onward. Clemson has the best defensive line in the country, and the big boys up front set the tone early in the team’s ACC Championship victory over Pittsburgh last weekend. The Tigers allowed the Panthers to gain just 200 total yards of offense in the 42-10 win.
Notre Dame has looked much different on offense since Ian Book took over for Brandon Wimbush. Book has proven himself to be a solid passer, and that has given the team a dynamic that it didn’t have with Wimbush. Their offensive output has increased as a result, and there have been only two games where the offense has scored less than 30 points since Book became the starter.
These are two of the top defenses in the country, but the oddsmakers don’t believe this will be a very low-scoring affair. Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence has shown us why many people believe he will eventually be the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft and Travis Etienne will probably be a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Pick: Clemson -11.5
