The National Championship is finally here, and it will match up the two best teams in the country, as No. 1 Clemson and No. 2 Alabama meet in Glendale, Arizona. Alabama is the favorite among our analysts, despite being the lower seed.
2015 College Football Playoff National Championship odds and picks: Most think Alabama over Clemson
Can undefeated Clemson upset the Crimson Tide?
Ten of SB Nation’s analysts made picks on our bowl calendar, and six of them chose the Crimson Tide, while four chose Clemson. The OddsShark computer and six CBS Sports analysts also like Alabama.
| Matt Brown | Bill Connelly | Wescott Eberts | Bud Elliott | Steven Godfrey | OddsShark |
| Clemson | Alabama | Clemson | Alabama | Clemson | Alabama |
| Jason Kirk | Rodger Sherman | Pete Volk | Luke Zimmermann | Spencer Hall | CBS Sports |
| Alabama | Alabama | Alabama | Alabama | Clemson | 6 pick Alabama |
The S&P+ ratings have Alabama and Clemson No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, with Football Study Hall giving Alabama a 58 percent chance of winning, with a projected score of 26.7-23.4.
Here’s why SB Nation analyst Pete Volk took Alabama:
Alabama’s simply too talented for me to pick against. I think the Tide are the best team in the country, and as good as Clemson is I don’t think it can keep up. The Tigers keeping it close wouldn’t surprise me, but I expect another blowout to cap off a postseason full of them.
Alabama is also the favorite in Vegas. The Crimson Tide opened as 5.5-point favorites but are now up to seven-point favorites, according to OddsShark.
Clemson faces an uphill battle against an absurdly talented Alabama defense, and the Tigers will need to get some unexpected explosive plays to win. On the other side of the ball, can the Crimson Tide match up against an aggressive Clemson defense? It could come down to the play of quarterback Jake Coker, complementing Heisman Trophy-winning running back Derrick Henry.
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