ESPN’s FPI projects a 10-point margin for Alabama and a 10-point margin for Clemson.But given how the teams have performed against expectations this year, S&P+ creator Bill Connelly sees that equating to “something in the neighborhood of Alabama by about 16 and Clemson by about 14.” S&P+ entered bowl season with a 53.2 percent win percentage against the spread this season.

S&P+ projects a 7-point margin for Alabama and an 8-point margin for Clemson.You can see a full array at Odds Shark, but those are the most common numbers for the two games. These spreads both vary slightly across sportsbooks. While it expects one to be a relatively low-scoring slog between two great defenses and the other a high-scoring shootout between the two best offenses in the sport, it doesn’t think either game will be that close.įor your quick reference, here’s the betting landscape for these games. Vegas sees the games similarly and differently. The College Football Playoff starts with two semifinals on New Year’s Eve: Notre Dame and Clemson in the Cotton Bowl, Alabama and Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.