Spread for Title Game Drops Full Point
The point spread in Monday night’s Clemson and Alabama national championship matchup has dropped a full point from the opening line. Kickoff between the Tigers and Crimson Tide is set for 8:00 p.m. ET in Santa Clara.
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetNow.eu, the Crimson Tide are now 5.5-point favorites to beat the Tigers on Monday night. Alabama opened as 6.5-point favorites (or as high as 7 at some sportsbooks) when the line was released, but oddsmakers took enough money on Clemson to drop the line a full point.
The total for this season’s championship game has also dropped a full point, moving from 60.5 down to 59.5. As of this writing, 57% of the betting tickets are on the Crimson Tide and 56% of the money is also on Alabama to cover the 5.5 points. As for the over/under, 57% of the betting tickets and 59% of the money is on the over.
Clemson’s appeals on behalf of suspended junior DT Dexter Lawrence, OL Zach Giella and TE Braden Galloway have been denied by the NCAA. That trio was suspended for Clemson’s Cotton Bowl semifinal win over Notre Dame after testing positive for banned substance ostrarine. While the school appealed in an attempt to allow them to play in the National Championship Game against Alabama on Monday, those appeals have fallen in vain. Lawrence finished with 36tackles (7 for loss), 1.5 sacks and three passes defended across 13 games. It’s a huge loss for the Tigers.
As for Alabama, LB Terrell Lewis (knee) did not practice on Wednesday. Lewis (6’5/254) has yet to play this season due to a torn right ACL sustained in July, but he had been back practicing with the team since November. The junior linebacker is unlikely to take the field for the National Championship Game on Wednesday, though it is not completely outside the realm of possibility. Regardless of whether or not he plays in that contest, Lewis will be eligible to take a redshirt for the year. He is also eligible to declare for the draft should he so choose, though given the amount of time he has missed, a return to school for the 2019 season would allowing him a proof of concept when it comes to his health.