No two teams have been better than the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Clemson Tigers over the last five years. Alabama is the only team to make it to the College Football Playoff in all five seasons of its existence. The Crimson Tide have won two of the four national championships awarded during the CFP era and are odds-on favorites to make it three in five years. Meanwhile, Clemson has made four straight appearances in the CFP, and the Tigers have always been ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 by the committee. Given both teams success, they are double-digit favorites headed into their semifinals games this Saturday. BetDSI has listed a prop as to whether both teams will cover the spread.
Will Alabama and Clemson both cover the spread?
Yes +250
No -300
This is essentially a two-team parlay conveniently packaged up to back the two heavy favorites.
Alabama is currently a two-touchdown favorite over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl on Saturday night. The big concern for the Tide entering this game is the health of Tua Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa has been dealing with an ankle injury for over a month, and he has spent a lot of time in a protective boot off the field. On the field, reports say that he is fully practicing with the team, which is great news for Alabama.
Related: College Football Playoff Betting
Tagovailoa is the first real quarterback that Nick Saban has had during his time at Alabama. He is not just a game manager, but a dynamic dual-threat option that can beat defenses in a number of ways. Tagovailoa is a better quarterback than Jalen Hurts, and the Crimson Tide are more likely to cover the number if he is healthy.
He should be able to shred a bad Oklahoma defense. Whereas the other three teams in the CFP have decent balance, the Sooners do not. Their defense was ranked 89th in the country per S&P+, and they have been torched on the ground and through the air. Provided Tagovailoa is healthy, it isn’t a stretch to see Alabama putting 50 points on Oklahoma.
For Oklahoma to cover, and certainly to win, they need to score points. The Sooners had the best offense in the country by a wide margin, and Kyler Murray became the second straight OU quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy. Lincoln Riley is an offensive genius and will come up with a good gameplan, but Saban is the most prepared coach we have seen in the modern era. The Crimson Tide have won their last three CFP Semifinals by 17 points or more, and they are likely to make it four in a row.
What about Clemson? The Tigers took a hit when it was announced that Dexter Lawrence failed a drug test earlier this month. Lawrence is arguably the best defensive tackle in the nation and not having him against Notre Dame would hurt.
Of course, the good news is that Clemson has more talent along the defensive line than at any other position. Christian Wilkins, Austin Bryant, and Clelin Ferrell are all supposed to be NFL draft picks as well, and all four players were All-Americans during their career.
Even without Lawrence, they should be able to bottle up Notre Dame’s running game, forcing them to beat them through the air. While Ian Book has shown that he can throw the ball better than back-up Brandon Wimbush, his numbers tailed off over his last three games.
Clemson has arguably the most talented quarterback in the country in Trevor Lawrence and one of the top running backs around in Travis Etienne. Those two were able to put up big numbers on ACC defenses, but they haven’t faced a defense quite like Notre Dame. The Irish had the fourth-best defense in the nation by S&P+ Rating, and the best defense Clemson has faced to date ranks just 28th (Boston College). That’s enough for me to lay off Clemson giving this many points, but if you think Lawrence is ready to make the jump, the ‘Yes’ on this prop makes sense.
