[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
Rise and Grind. First row of sod down, an entire field to go.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The top-ranked Alabama football team returned to the practice field on Tuesday night, working a 75-minute session in shorts and helmets at the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields.
It was the first time the Tide has seen the field since defeating Washington in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 31 to secure the school's fifth national championship game appearance in the last eight seasons. This marks the first of six practices prior to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game against Clemson at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., on Monday, Jan. 9. The final game of the college football season will kick off at 7:17 CT and air on ESPN with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Samantha Ponder and Tom Rinaldi calling the game.
The Atlantic Coast Conference champion Clemson Tigers enter the College Football Playoff National Championship Game with a 13-1 overall record and a 7-1 mark in conference play. The Tigers defeated No. 3 Ohio State, 31-0, in the College Football Playoff National Semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 to advance to this week's national championship game. Clemson is led by ninth-year head coach Dabo Swinney. A 1993 Alabama graduate, Swinney has a career record of 88-28 with the Tigers.
Alabama and Clemson will meet for the 17th time in the history of the two programs, with the Crimson Tide owning a 13-3 all-time advantage in the series. While the Tigers won the initial three meetings, the Tide have won the last 13 contests, outscoring Clemson 435-94 over that span. The most recent meeting between the two teams occurred in last season's College Football Playoff National Championship Game when Alabama rallied for a 45-40 win to capture the program's 16th national championship. Tight end <dfn>O.J. Howard</dfn> earned offensive MVP honors in the victory after catching five passes for a career-high 208 yards and two touchdowns.
It was the first time the Tide has seen the field since defeating Washington in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 31 to secure the school's fifth national championship game appearance in the last eight seasons. This marks the first of six practices prior to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game against Clemson at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., on Monday, Jan. 9. The final game of the college football season will kick off at 7:17 CT and air on ESPN with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Samantha Ponder and Tom Rinaldi calling the game.
The Atlantic Coast Conference champion Clemson Tigers enter the College Football Playoff National Championship Game with a 13-1 overall record and a 7-1 mark in conference play. The Tigers defeated No. 3 Ohio State, 31-0, in the College Football Playoff National Semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 to advance to this week's national championship game. Clemson is led by ninth-year head coach Dabo Swinney. A 1993 Alabama graduate, Swinney has a career record of 88-28 with the Tigers.
Alabama and Clemson will meet for the 17th time in the history of the two programs, with the Crimson Tide owning a 13-3 all-time advantage in the series. While the Tigers won the initial three meetings, the Tide have won the last 13 contests, outscoring Clemson 435-94 over that span. The most recent meeting between the two teams occurred in last season's College Football Playoff National Championship Game when Alabama rallied for a 45-40 win to capture the program's 16th national championship. Tight end <dfn>O.J. Howard</dfn> earned offensive MVP honors in the victory after catching five passes for a career-high 208 yards and two touchdowns.
[h=3]ATS Trends[/h]
<tbody>
</tbody>
<tbody>
</tbody>
[h=3]OU Trends[/h]
<tbody>
</tbody>
<tbody>
</tbody>
| Clemson |
|
<tbody>
</tbody>
| Alabama |
|
<tbody>
</tbody>
[h=3]OU Trends[/h]
| Clemson |
|
<tbody>
</tbody>
| Alabama |
|
<tbody>
</tbody>
| Monday, Jan 09, 2017 - NCAA Football Game | ||||||||||||||
| 08:30 PM | Clemson | +6½ | +100 | +220 | Ov | 51 | -110 | |||||||
| Alabama | -6½ | -120 | -260 | Un | 51 | -110 |
<tbody>
</tbody>
Cool story from Dabo Swinney: He said he left his press conference after the South Carolina loss in 2010 and found his wife in tears. She told him the AD was waiting in his office. Dabo assumed he was about to be fired. He walked into his office to find Terry Don Phillips sitting on his couch in the dark. Phillips said "I'm more confident in you now than the day I hired you," stood up, hugged Dabo and left. Six years later, Clemson is in the national title game for a second straight season.
All is quiet (and cold) here in Tuscaloosa but the Crimson Tide will be hitting the practice field today in preparation for Clemson.
2016 National Championship Game - #1 Clemson vs. #2 Alabama.....Highlights
Get-in price for Alabama-Clemson title game ticket soars past $1,000.
One would think a rematch of a national title game would mean a cheaper ticket. Think again.
The price to get in the door Monday for the game in Tampa between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Clemson Tigers reached and surpassed $1,000 on Wednesday afternoon on resale sites.
A good lower-level seat could cost $1,000 more, with the Clemson side averaging a 20 to 40 percent increase over the Alabama side of the stadium, depending on the location.
As of 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the average sold price of a ticket to this year's game on StubHub was $978, easily doubling the average price paid for last year's College Football Playoff title game between the two teams ($425).
While there is certainly some fatigue from the Alabama side, as the team is playing in its fifth title game in seven years, it is made up for because demand on the Clemson side has not waned.
Jesse Lawrence, CEO of Ticket IQ, a ticket search engine and aggregator, said that the distance from the universities to the title site, Tampa's Raymond James Stadium, is a big factor.
"For the first time in a while, both schools can drive to the game," Lawrence said.
The average distance between the universities in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Clemson, South Carolina, and the game site this year, is 579 miles. The distances for the previous four title games have averaged more than 1,000 miles.
The most expensive title games were in 2011, when prices rose to $5,000 a ticket after brokers sold the game short and in 2012 when Alabama played LSU in New Orleans (StubHub average was $1,528 that year).
"Even though the game is a repeat from last year, I think the market is seeing a lot of demand from Clemson," said Scott Jernigan, senior vice president at PrimeSport, which is the official travel provider for both teams and is selling both travel and high-end ticket packages.
Stats from StubHub confirm that Clemson fans are buying more. StubHub spokesman Glenn Lehrman said 27 percent of sales so far are coming from people with South Carolina addresses versus only 12 percent from Alabama.
What remains to be seen is how the influx of tickets that are being given to season-ticket holders of both schools within the next 24 hours will affect the market. One thing is for sure: Nothing is going to make this game cheap.
One would think a rematch of a national title game would mean a cheaper ticket. Think again.
The price to get in the door Monday for the game in Tampa between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Clemson Tigers reached and surpassed $1,000 on Wednesday afternoon on resale sites.
A good lower-level seat could cost $1,000 more, with the Clemson side averaging a 20 to 40 percent increase over the Alabama side of the stadium, depending on the location.
As of 3 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the average sold price of a ticket to this year's game on StubHub was $978, easily doubling the average price paid for last year's College Football Playoff title game between the two teams ($425).
While there is certainly some fatigue from the Alabama side, as the team is playing in its fifth title game in seven years, it is made up for because demand on the Clemson side has not waned.
Jesse Lawrence, CEO of Ticket IQ, a ticket search engine and aggregator, said that the distance from the universities to the title site, Tampa's Raymond James Stadium, is a big factor.
"For the first time in a while, both schools can drive to the game," Lawrence said.
The average distance between the universities in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Clemson, South Carolina, and the game site this year, is 579 miles. The distances for the previous four title games have averaged more than 1,000 miles.
The most expensive title games were in 2011, when prices rose to $5,000 a ticket after brokers sold the game short and in 2012 when Alabama played LSU in New Orleans (StubHub average was $1,528 that year).
"Even though the game is a repeat from last year, I think the market is seeing a lot of demand from Clemson," said Scott Jernigan, senior vice president at PrimeSport, which is the official travel provider for both teams and is selling both travel and high-end ticket packages.
Stats from StubHub confirm that Clemson fans are buying more. StubHub spokesman Glenn Lehrman said 27 percent of sales so far are coming from people with South Carolina addresses versus only 12 percent from Alabama.
What remains to be seen is how the influx of tickets that are being given to season-ticket holders of both schools within the next 24 hours will affect the market. One thing is for sure: Nothing is going to make this game cheap.
The Gasparilla ship.
New concession item at College Football Playoff title game in Tampa...Tiger Paw - Golden Carolina pork, pickled green tomato relish & 'Clemson blue cheese' slaw ($10)
Additional seating is starting to arrive! This will add approximately 6,000 seats.
