Well, well, what a difference a week (and a year) make. Just over a week ago, nobody picked against the defending national champions. Alabama was a heavy favorite to beat Washington in their College Football Playoff semifinal, which it did handily. Last season, not many gave Clemson a chance to beat Alabama in the national final.

This year’s outlook is quite different. Call it a difficulty in beating a team twice for the title, or simply that these aren’t the same two teams that played a year ago. But whatever the reason, the media is changing allegiance and going with the underdog — well, slightly, slightly leaning toward it, anyway.

Here are a few predictions from around the country as the media predicts the outcome of tonight’s National Championship Game.

Sports Illustrated

Seven writers from Sports Illustrated expressed their opinions on tonight’s title game. Surprisingly, all but two (Andy Staples and Colin Becht) picked the Tigers to dethrone the Tide. Pete Thamel, Lindsay Schnell, Brian Hamilton, Joan Niesen and Gabriel Baumgaertner formed the consensus for Clemson.

Prediction: Clemson

CBS Sports

Seven writers at CBS Sports made their picks, and with the slightest of margins went with Alabama (4-3). However, against the spread (Alabama -6.5) they flipped to Clemson, 5-2. So, the consensus there is that Alabama should win a close game, somewhat like it did last season.

Prediction: Alabama

FOX Sports

FOX Sports didn’t leave it up to pundits to make its prediction. Using the WhatIfSports.com simulator, the game was played out 501 times with Alabama winning 58.1 percent of the time.

Prediction: Alabama 34, Clemson 27

Bleacher Report

Featured columnist Tyler Conway lays out the pros and cons for both teams before coming to the conclusion that the championship game will come down to a field goal.

Prediction: Clemson 27, Alabama 24

College Football News

Pete Fiutak takes a crack at picking this one as well. His head-to-head matchups lead him to a strong conclusion on which team prevails. And according to Fiutak, it isn’t going to be as close as most believe.

Prediction: Alabama 26, Clemson 17

Athlon Sports

A group of 11 writers weighed in on the big game. It was very close, as close as it could get. Six writers went one way, while five went the other. J.P. Scott predicted Clemson to win 31-20. The others were inclined to believe a much closer game would develop. But before we get to that, here’s the stat of the day: Alabama leads the all-time series 13-3. The Tigers haven’t beaten the Tide since 1905. Whoa!

Prediction: Clemson

Campus Insiders

Four contributors were nearly unanimous in their picks for the national championship game. Only one contrarian in the bunch, Dave Miller, picked Alabama.

Prediction: Clemson