Tigers, Alabama meet once again for national title
Tigers, Alabama meet once again for national title
El pasado Domingo 08
Even before fall camp opened across the country in August, it seemed to be a practically forgone conclusion how the college football season would draw to a conclusion.
Even before fall camp opened across the country in August, it seemed to be a practically forgone conclusion how the college football season would draw to a conclusion.
CLEMSON — Even before fall camp opened across the country in August, it seemed to be a practically forgone conclusion how the college football season would draw to a conclusion.
Clemson players, including Trayvon Mullen (1) and Travis Etienne (9) hoist the Cotton Bowl trophy after defeating Notre Dame on Saturday in Arlington, Texas. The Tigers next face Alabama for the national title on Monday. (Dawson Powers | For The Journal)
By esprott
Simply put, most everyone knew it would eventually come down to Clemson and Alabama for all the proverbial marbles.
On a collision course for the last five months, it will indeed be the Tigers and Crimson Tide facing one another in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game for the third time in four years when they square off next Monday (8 p.m., ESPN) at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., with the Pacific Ocean just a stone’s throw away.
“You know, I think that this is clearly the two best teams in Alabama and Clemson, and it’s going to be an exciting game,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said during a Monday teleconference. “I mean, this is the way it should be, and we know we’ve got a huge challenge.
“This is several years in a row we’ve had to play, or got the opportunity to play, Clemson, which is one of the great programs in the country right now,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban added. “We’re certainly looking forward to the challenge.”
In what will be the first championship game featuring undefeated teams in the history of the playoff format, the top-ranked Tide (14-0) and the second-ranked Tigers (14-0) will meet in the playoff for the fourth time in as many years, with a pair of gems among those meetings thus far.
Fresh off a 30-3 annihilation of third-ranked Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, the Tigers will be looking to exact a measure of revenge against Alabama, which ended Clemson’s 2017 campaign with a 24-6 win in the Sugar Bowl before going on to win its fifth national championship in the last nine years.
And while there wasn’t much drama to speak of that night in the Superdome, the teams’ previous two meetings were battles for the ages.
The Crimson Tide defeated the Deshaun Watson-led Tigers in the national title game by a final score of 45-40 to conclude the 2015 season in Glendale, Ariz., and Clemson got its revenge the following season, topping Alabama 35-31 in Tampa, Fla., for its second-ever national championship.
Given the rivalry the teams have come to develop in recent years, it’s no surprise both squads expect another fiercely competitive game, even if last year’s semifinal game in New Orleans was by far the least compelling of the teams’ three playoff meetings to date.
“I think when you look at this game, I think both teams are kind of mirror images of each other to be honest with you — really good defenses, dynamic quarterbacks, very talented running backs, explosive skills and just kind of built in the trenches,” Swinney said. “We’re so similar.
“It’s going to come down to just execution and mentally being sharp and making those two or three plays that you just don’t know when they’re coming. So you just have to truly play every play like it’s the play.
“It’s going to be a tough challenge,” added Clemson defensive end Austin Bryant, who was named the defensive MVP of the Sugar Bowl after totaling two sacks and three tackles for loss. “But we’ve got a little time to put a plan together and prepare, go back to the drawing board and hopefully produce a different result than we did last time.”
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Swinney: No update on Lawrence
Swinney said during the teleconference Monday he had no update on the status of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, who — along with offensive lineman Zach Giella and tight end Braden Galloway — was suspended for the Cotton Bowl after testing positive for trace amounts of ostarine.
Swinney has steadfastly stood behind the three, saying he believed none of them knowingly ingested the performance-enhancing substance, and Clemson officials have been working to figure out exactly how the drug got into the players’ systems.
“Obviously, we don’t have a lot of time for this game,” Swinney said. “I’m hopeful that maybe something positive will come out, but I don’t know anything at all.
“And then beyond this game … there will be an appeal process that our players for sure will want to battle, because there’s consequences for next year.”
Lawrence, widely expected to be a first-round NFL draft pick, will almost certainly turn professional following the season. Galloway, a former Seneca High School standout, and Giella, meanwhile, face the prospect of losing a year of eligibility should their names not be cleared.
