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Semifinal picks: 1-1 Season: 99-40
College Football Playoff championship
No. 1 Clemson (14-0) vs. No. 2 Alabama (13-1) in Glendale, Ariz., 8:30 p.m. ESPN
I'm going for my 100th correct pick this year and Alabama is going for a 16th claimed national title. Same stakes, right? For information on what I mean by claimed national titles, check out Alabama football's Wikipedia page. As you probably know, college football championships have been debated for some time and aren't awarded by the NCAA on the FBS level, so schools have sometimes differing opinions on who wins national titles each year. It has gotten easier in the BCS and CFP (College Football Playoff) eras, since postseason polls usually agree more on who is No. 1 at the conclusion of the season. Anyway, I digress.
Clemson comes in as the only undefeated team in the country and is trying to become the first 15-0 team in
college football history. The Tigers' once-proud program has been resurrected the past several years under a wide receivers coach turned interim head coach turned full-time head coach, Dabo Swinney, who happens to be from Alabama and played wideout there for the Tide from 1989-92. Swinney has been viewed as sort of a country bumpkin and was an unlikely head coach early in his career when he took over at the end of the 2008 season, but he has certainly helped elevate Clemson's program and he will have gotten it to the mountaintop tonight if he can knock off Nick Saban, who has often been thought of as the opposite and is regarded as a sort of a college football genius.
Recently, Alabama QB Jacob Coker -- a transfer from Florida State -- has come into his own and has given an added dimension to the Crimson Tide offense, which normally features Heisman-winning RB Derrick Henry. In the semifinals vs. Michigan State, Coker was 25 of 30 for 286 yards and two touchdowns against a tough defense. Clemson is expected to have All-American defensive end Shaq Lawson available tonight, he of an incredible 10.5 sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss. He sprained his MCL in the Oklahoma win and has been questionable since. No doubt, if he can be effective, Clemson gets a boost. The Tigers have to match the Tide's defense with an equally Herculean effort from its unit.
Often a game between top ACC and SEC teams comes down to this: Can the ACC offense actually score
on the SEC defense? In this case, I think the answer is yes, but it won't be enough. Alabama was run over by Ohio State last year in the semifinals, but the Tide has been better on defense this year, and I think we are looking at a close game that Alabama wins with defense.
QB Deshaun Watson is a superb talent for Clemson and is just a sophomore, but I just don't think the Tigers have seen a defense this year like the Tide's. Clemson has nice victories over Notre Dame, Florida State, North Carolina and Oklahoma, but Alabama is in another realm. Alabama would be undefeated had it not been for a five-turnover debacle vs. Ole Miss at home. And Alabama came back and still almost won in the 43-37 Rebels victory. With the exception of the Tennessee win, the Tide won every game by double digits and thoroughly dominated the Spartans in a 38-0 drubbing on New Year's Eve. Meanwhile, Clemson only beat Notre Dame by two (though it was leading by more earlier in the game), Louisville by three, Syracuse by 10 (the Orange went 4-8), and South Carolina by five (the Gamecocks went 3-9). Clemson also allowed N.C. State to score 41 points. The Wolfpack built a bowl season on a weak schedule and wasn't fooling anyone. Point being, Alabama has been the more dominant team all year. Clemson has had close calls and I think that catches up with the Tigers tonight. I was impressed with what Clemson did to Oklahoma in the second half of that game, but I'm picking the Crimson Tide to again be kings of college football.
Alabama 27, Clemson 23
Semifinal picks: 1-1 Season: 99-40
College Football Playoff championship
No. 1 Clemson (14-0) vs. No. 2 Alabama (13-1) in Glendale, Ariz., 8:30 p.m. ESPN
I'm going for my 100th correct pick this year and Alabama is going for a 16th claimed national title. Same stakes, right? For information on what I mean by claimed national titles, check out Alabama football's Wikipedia page. As you probably know, college football championships have been debated for some time and aren't awarded by the NCAA on the FBS level, so schools have sometimes differing opinions on who wins national titles each year. It has gotten easier in the BCS and CFP (College Football Playoff) eras, since postseason polls usually agree more on who is No. 1 at the conclusion of the season. Anyway, I digress.
Clemson comes in as the only undefeated team in the country and is trying to become the first 15-0 team in
Recently, Alabama QB Jacob Coker -- a transfer from Florida State -- has come into his own and has given an added dimension to the Crimson Tide offense, which normally features Heisman-winning RB Derrick Henry. In the semifinals vs. Michigan State, Coker was 25 of 30 for 286 yards and two touchdowns against a tough defense. Clemson is expected to have All-American defensive end Shaq Lawson available tonight, he of an incredible 10.5 sacks and 22.5 tackles for loss. He sprained his MCL in the Oklahoma win and has been questionable since. No doubt, if he can be effective, Clemson gets a boost. The Tigers have to match the Tide's defense with an equally Herculean effort from its unit.
Often a game between top ACC and SEC teams comes down to this: Can the ACC offense actually score
QB Deshaun Watson is a superb talent for Clemson and is just a sophomore, but I just don't think the Tigers have seen a defense this year like the Tide's. Clemson has nice victories over Notre Dame, Florida State, North Carolina and Oklahoma, but Alabama is in another realm. Alabama would be undefeated had it not been for a five-turnover debacle vs. Ole Miss at home. And Alabama came back and still almost won in the 43-37 Rebels victory. With the exception of the Tennessee win, the Tide won every game by double digits and thoroughly dominated the Spartans in a 38-0 drubbing on New Year's Eve. Meanwhile, Clemson only beat Notre Dame by two (though it was leading by more earlier in the game), Louisville by three, Syracuse by 10 (the Orange went 4-8), and South Carolina by five (the Gamecocks went 3-9). Clemson also allowed N.C. State to score 41 points. The Wolfpack built a bowl season on a weak schedule and wasn't fooling anyone. Point being, Alabama has been the more dominant team all year. Clemson has had close calls and I think that catches up with the Tigers tonight. I was impressed with what Clemson did to Oklahoma in the second half of that game, but I'm picking the Crimson Tide to again be kings of college football.
Alabama 27, Clemson 23
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