What’s the opposite of burying the lede? That’s what I”m doing here.
I dug way into the numbers for tonight’s game, went deep. 3rd Down %, Opponent Passer Rating, Big Play %, Turnover margin…the list goes on and on and on.
And what the numbers tell me is, these teams are both freaking good. The belong here. Granted, 10 days ago, I wouldn’t have said that about Ohio St, but hey, their Semi-final beatdown backed up the numbers.
Cliffnotes version, here are the few things that stand out as advantages….

Not a whole lot to go on there. These teams are both great. Bama is better by the numbers, and better by resume, but it’s not worth 8.5 points. Take Ohio St and the points.
First half over 38.5 looks good too.
Basically, enjoy a likely classic, and remeber how good it was as you’re watching terrible Divisional Round games next weekend.