The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide is a win away from making it back to the National Championship Game for the first time since 2018. The Crimson Tide will deal with No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who are eyeing to rock the nation with an upset win down in their second playoff appearance in three seasons. Check out our preview of this game below.
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Betting Preview for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Alabama Crimson Tide College Football Playoff Semifinal Game on January 1, 2021
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
When: Friday, January 1, 2021, 4:00 PM ET
Line: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+20) vs Alabama Crimson Tide (-20) – view all 2020 NCAAF lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+20)
Record: 10-1 Overall / 9-0 Conference
Notre Dame will have to match Alabama’s offense. That’s a tall order, but the Fighting Irish will rely on quarterback Ian Book to deliver for them at the Rose Bowl. Book is the winningest signal-caller in the history of the Fighting Irish’s football program, with a 30-4 record. Among all quarterbacks in the major conferences, Book is the only one who managed to throw at least 240 pass attempts yet has no more than two interceptions this season. Notre Dame’s rushing attack will be key for the Fighting Irish as well. It’s got elite talent in the backfield alongside Book in freshman running back Kyren Williams, who has recorded six games with at least 100 rushing yards. Williams will be running behind an offensive line that’s experienced and spearheaded by star left tackle Liam Eichenberg. The Fighting Irish finished the regular season with an average of 217.6 rushing yards per game.
Notre Dame is 5-5 against the spread in its last 10 games overall.
Betting on the Alabama Crimson Tide (-20)
Record: 11-0 Overall / 10-0 Conference
Alabama is so good it has two players making it two finalists for the Heisman Trophy. Those two are quarterback Mac Jones and wide receiver DeVonta Smith. Jones has been terrific under center for the Crimson Tide., He finished the regular season third national with 339.9 passing yards per game to go with 32 touchdowns and just five interceptions. Of course, it helped him a lot that he’s got the nation’s top wide receiver in terms of yards to throw at downfield in Smith, who had 1,511 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns in 11 games. Jones and Smith are going to be a handful for Notre Dame. But even if the Fighting Irish turn their focus on stopping Alabama’s passing attack, it will still have to deal with the Crimson Tide’s rushing attack that features running back Najee Harris, who led the nation with 24 rushing touchdowns. In other words, Alabama’s offense looked un-killable.
Alabama, which averaged 49.7 points per game, is 8-2 against the spread in its last 10 games overall.
Writer’s Prediction
Alabama wins, 42-20.
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