If you had told me before the championship game that Clemson would punt nine times against Alabama, I would have told you that the Crimson Tide were probably going to win. In the 2016 season, teams that punted at least nine times in a game went 19-79 (.193) and lost by an average of 20.5 points per game. Alabama had forced five of its opponents to punt at least nine times in a game this season, and they won all five of those games (including the College Football Playoff semifinal over Washington) by an average margin of victory of 35.
FEI 2016 Final Ratings
