The rubber match of the Alabama-Clemson rivalry is here. On Monday, January 1, 2018 at 8:45 p.m. eastern, the Sugar Bowl will pit the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Clemson Tigers against each other in the college football playoff for the third year in a row. Similar to the NBA’s Cleveland vs. Golden State rivalry, Alabama vs. Clemson is the marquee rivalry in recent years.

The Sugar Bowl will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LA.

The game will air on ESPN (as the entire college football playoff will).

Currently, Alabama is a 3-point favorite over Clemson according to Vegasinsider.

Previous Alabama-Clemson Matchups

In the national championship game to conclude the 2015 college football season, Alabama defeated Clemson by a score of 45-40. This incredible game culminated with Alabama executing a ferocious 4th quarter comeback in which it scored 24 points in the 4th quarter. Alabama’s Jake Coker went head-to-head with legendary Clemson talent Deshaun Watson. Both quarterbacks threw for over 300 yards. Alabama’s Derrick Henry scored three touchdowns. The difference, however, was Alabama tight end OJ Howard who caught 5 balls for over 200 yards and two touchdowns.

The next year, Alabama and Clemson met yet again to battle for the national championship to conclude the 2016 season. This time, Clemson would get its revenge, and Clemson would dethrone Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide. Deshaun Watson was masterful with 420 yards passing and three touchdowns. Similar to Alabama in the yaer before, Clemson was unstoppable in the 4th quarter, scoring 21 points in the final fifteen minutes.

Alabama-Clemson Game Time

The Other Semifinal

Of course, Alabama-Clemson is just one of the two College Football Playoff semifinal games. The other game, occurring out west at the Rose Bowl, is between Georgia and Oklahoma. Freshman Jake Fromm will lead Georgia against Heisman winner Baker Mayfield and the Oklahoma Sooners. Georgia is currently a slight favorite in the game.

If Georgia and Alabama both win, college football will see its first all-SEC national championship game since the Alabama-LSU game that concluded the 2011 college football season.

Alabama-Clemson TV Information

ESPN holds the broadcast rights for the College Football Playoff. For the semifinal games on Jan. 1, ESPN is once again executing its “MegaCast” broadcast plan which allows viewers to watch these marquee games through a number of different channels each with unique characteristics.

Here are the options for ESPN “MegaCast” on Jan. 1:

  • The Rose Bowl will be broadcast on ESPN at 5:00 p.m. and include Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldo.
  • At 8:45 p.m., the Sugar Bowl will be broadcast on ESPN and include Joe Tessitore, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge.
  • The Coaches’ Film Room will air on ESPNNEWS and include CFB coaches such as Larry Fedora, Dino Babers, Matt Luke, Gary Patterson, Bret Bielema and more.
  • Finebaum Film Room will air on the SEC Network and include Paul Finebaum with a number of analysts and guests during the games.
  • The Command Center Telecast will air on ESPN2 and include a split-screen with multiple camera views displayed simultaneously. It also will include regular statistics and charts to pair with the footage of the game itself.

For a unique wrinkle, ESPN has announced that they will have the first-ever first-down-marker cam at the Alabama-Clemson game which will provide yet another unique camera angle for the action on the field.

Can you watch Alabama-Clemson online?

With the increasingly fragmented media landscape, more and more people are watching college football online. There are several ways you can do this.

First, if you’re used to watching cable and ESPN offerings through a skinny bundle services such as Sling or YouTube TV, you can watch ESPN there. Services such as YouTube TV provide a leaner cable bundle available through an internet hookup for a price typically lower than most traditional cable offerings. If you have an Apple TV or a Chromecast device, you can “cast” the game from your mobile device to your TV, and your guests won’t even know that the game is streaming via the internet (of course, make sure your internet and wifi connections are strong).

Watch ESPN and the ESPN App also let you watch the playoff games. An existing traditional cable account is often required to access these offerings.

Alabama-Clemson will be a memorable game. Enjoy the Sugar Bowl and the rest of the college football bowl season.