College Football Playoff Title Game Trends
By:
Marc Lawrence |
Saturday, January 7, 2017
College Football Playoff Title Game
Trends
By Marc Lawrence
And
then there was one.
One
team will be left standing at the conclusion of the 2017 College Football
Championship game Monday evening, either last year’s champion Alabama, or last
year’s runner-up Clemson.
From
our all-knowing database, presented below are some of the more notable findings.
Enjoy the game.
How They Got Here
Ironically,
while the pointspread on this year’s game is the same as last year’s title game
- Alabama is a 6.5-point favorite - the record of the two teams has reversed.
The
Tide enters as the 13-0 undefeated favorite, whereas the Tigers were the 13-0
undefeated underdog last year.
Nick
Saban’s Crimson Tide began the season as the AP preseason No. 1 ranked team and
sailed undefeated into the championship game.
On the flip side, Dabo Swinney’s Tigers suffered their only defeat in a
one-point shootout loss against Pittsburgh.
It
should be noted that undefeated AP preseason No. 1 ranked teams have gone 3-7
SU and ATS in bowl games since 1980, including Alabama’s win over Washington in
the Peach Bowl this season.
Title Game Tendencies
Looking
back at the BCS championship and College Football Playoff title games,
undefeated teams have been a 50-50 proposition, going 10-10 straight up (SU)
and 10-10 against the spread (ATS) since the first BCS title fight in 1999.
However,
spotless teams are only 1-2 SU and 0-3 ATS when facing a foe off consecutive
SU/ATS wins.
In
another twist, three teams have entered national championship title games off a
SU underdog wins. All three have managed to take home the money.
Conference And Team Trends
Alabama
stands 12-3 SU against ACC opposition since 1980, with 10 of the twelve wins by
double-digit margins.
The
SEC is 5-6 SUATS in bowl games this season, while the ACC is 8-3 SU and 9-2 ATS
– including 2-0 SUATS versus the SEC.
Clemson
is 3-13 SU in its last sixteen games against the SEC, but 8-3 ATS as dogs of
more than 3 points in those games.
Coaches DNA
As
expected, both coaches bring plenty of cred into this affair.
Nick
Saban is 44-5 SU in games with the Tide in which they are ranked No. 1 in the
polls. In addition, Saban is 88-15 SU and 59-39 ATS in games in which his teams
are undefeated, including 33-14 ATS against opponents his team defeated in a
most recent meeting.
Dabo
Swinney is 10-6 SUATS against undefeated opposition, including 6-1 ATS when the
Tigers are taking points. In addition,
Swinney is 3-0 ATS with rest when tackling SEC foes.
Still Perfect After All These Years
Alabama
is 13-0 all-time against Clemson since 1905.
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