Alabama Opens As Touchdown Favorite Over Clemson

Interesting take from the London bookmakers here:

BookMaker Sportsbook

"We saw a pair of one-sided games in the semifinals. The Clemson win was more impressive, although not terribly surprising. Alabama beat a vastly inferior squad as the Spartans were the lowest rated team among the four in our eyes. We didn’t want to open on the key number so we could let the action dictate which direction we went. The expected shift is Alabama, and we’ve already moved some juice after opening at -6.5 (-110). The namesake, the pedigree, most is going to be Alabama money."

Rare to see such honesty from the books -- Alabama's name and Alabama money will move the line (it's presently -7 at Bovada, for instance.) Still, if you look at the unadjusted numbers, the raw data indicate an exceptionally tight game.

We'll have more on the line on this one when Saxon breaks down the numbers later in the week. For now, that line isn't moving very much, which would indicate inaction, a lot of action on the Tigers, or a few sharps with a boat load of cash keeping the spread within one score.