11Alive Sports offers a whimsical primer for tonight's national championship game, pitting No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Clemson.
For those scoring at home, Monday's clash marks the fourth consecutive College Football Playoff meeting between the schools, with the Crimson Tide and Tigers vying for their third championship on the same field (during this stretch).
Alabama owns a 2-1 edge with the three recent meetings, with the programs splitting the pot in the title games ('Bama in 2016, Clemson in 2017).
WILL THIS CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT TAKE PLACE IN THE SOUTH?
Nope. The powers-that-be with Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. won the bidding rights for tonight's title game.
As such, the uber-passionate fan bases for Alabama and Clemson must travel more than 2,200 miles to reach northern California before kickoff; and that doesn't even include the pricey essentials of food, lodging and purchasing tickets.
WILL THERE BE A SELLOUT AT LEVI'S STADIUM?
Honestly, who knows?
According to a published report citing StubHub.com, the average ticket price for Alabama-Clemson currently stands at $509, making it the least expensive championship ticket since the College Football Playoff system launched in 2014 (two semifinals, one title game).
And from a nosebleed-seats or standing-only room perspective, interested parties might get into the building for around $130.
That's certainly doable ... and a monumental sea change from last year's title game in Atlanta, where Alabama and UGA fans routinely shelled out $1,900-plus for one ticket.
At the time of this writing, however, thousands of upper-deck tickets remain on the secondary (and tertiary) market at Levi's Stadium.
So, in that vein, we could see a big swath of vacant seats for the biggest night on the college calendar.
WHAT ARE THE NOTEWORTHY BETTING ODDS?
Point Spread: Alabama is a 5 1/2-point favorite over Clemson
Over/Under: The combined points currently sits at 58 ... which brings us to this:
Northern California just endured three or four days of depressing rain showers, but everything seems a 'go' for Monday night, with clear skies and eminently playable temperatures in the upper 50s at kickoff.
However, there are two things that threaten the 'over' number, aside from the NFL-caliber defenses with Alabama and Clemson (see above Tweet):
a) For last week's RedBox Bowl (Oregon 7, Michgan State 6 ... seriously), the Levi's Stadium crosswinds wreaked havoc with passing numbers and long field-goal attempts.
b) After that game, players and coaches complained about the stadium's slippery turf; and last Monday, it was warm and sunny for the afternoon kickoff.
VERDICT: We're tempted to take the 'over' here ... but let's stick with 58 or fewer points. Just a hunch.
ARE THERE ANY PROMINENT #TEAM11 ALUMS PLAYING TONIGHT?
Cartersville native Trevor Lawrence serves as the star local attraction.
Lawrence, the top-ranked pro-style passer from the Class of 2018 (source: Rivals.com), has been playing at a high level since commandeering the starting spot from Kelly Bryant in late September/early October.
Charting his last nine complete games, including the 30-3 rout of Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl (Playoff Semifinal #1), Lawrence has accounted for 2,357 yards passing, 21 touchdowns and a sparkling completion rate of 69.4 percent.
ALABAMA
Safety Xavier McKinney (Roswell High School)
Tight end Miller Forristall (Lawrence's teammate at Cartersville)
CLEMSON
Right tackle Tremayne Anchrum (McEachern)
O-tackle Chandler Reeves (ELCA)
IS ALABAMA QB TUA TAGOVAILOA 100-PERCENT HEALTHY?
Did you catch Tua's postgame interview on Saturday night (Orange Bowl), just moments after Alabama's 45-34 victory over Oklahoma?
The Heisman Trophy runner-up didn't sugarcoat the searing pain of his injured ankle, saying it has been a dicey proposition since last month's surgery.
That said, against the Sooners, Tagovailoa notched more touchdown passes (four) than incompletions (three) ... meaning Tua can still dominate the action at maybe 80- or 85-percent health.
But it only takes one big and awkward hit to change everything come Monday night; and Clemson certainly has the D-line horses to change the health narrative.
IS THERE ANY HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE AT PLAY?
PART I
Either Alabama or Clemson (both 14-0) will become the first team in more than 100 years to go 15-0 in a single college campaign.
The last school to pull off the feat: The Ivy League's Penn ... way back in 1897.
PART II
Nick Saban has captured five of the last nine national titles with Alabama; and if you count his BCS championship with LSU in 2003 ... that makes six in a 15-year span.
Is this the most personal national titles in college history?
Technically, Alabama icon Paul 'Bear' Bryant has also corralled six national championships (1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979), but the fourth title comes with a big caveat:
For reasons no one can explain, the national champions were determined before the bowl games in the mid-70s; and undefeated Notre Dame (ranked No. 2 at the time) subsequently upended Alabama in the 1973 Sugar Bowl (played on New Year's Eve).
(Insert Georgia football taking the Sugar Bowl lightly jokes here.)
Alabama's 1978 championship also warrants scrutiny, since the top-ranked Crimson Tide were thumped by No. 7 USC in nearby Birmingham early in the season ... but still prevailed for the national title, even though the one-loss Trojans posted an average victory margin of 14 points for their final eight outings.
CAN CLEMSON PLAY JUST OK ... AND STILL WIN?
It likely depends on two crucial areas:
Here are a pair of connective threads for the Tigers' benefit, when tracking Alabama's most recent five defeats (Ohio State in 2014, Ole Miss in 2015-16, Clemson in 2017, Auburn in 2017):
**The triumphant opponent prevailed with Time Of Possession three times (Auburn, Clemson, Ohio State).
**Of the five defeats listed above, Alabama went 0-4-1 with the turnover battle.
