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Alabama vs. Clemson: College Football Playoff National Championship Final Thoughts
Alabama or Clemson? Who’s going to win the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship? Thoughts and musings about what’s about to go down.
January 11, 2016
Clemson or Alabama? Who’s going to win the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship? Thoughts and musings about what’s about to go down.
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– I’ve spent most of my season yelling that Alabama is the best team in college football, and Clemson isn’t.
– I hope I’m wrong.
– It’s a positive for college football – and sports, and life – when there’s a curveball thrown here and there. Of course Alabama is going to win by a bajillion because it’s better at playing college football than Clemson, but what if that doesn’t happen? What if Clemson has this figured out and the Alabama defense really can’t stop a mobile quarterback. What if Christian McCaffrey really is the best player in college football and we whiffed on giving Derrick Henry the Heisman?
– From the ACC guys working here, to NFL scouts, to people in the business who really know what they’re doing, the consensus thought is that Deshaun Watson is the best quarterback coming back next year both for the college ranks and in terms of a pro prospect.
– I don’t see it. He’s not all that big, he’s not a precision pocket passer to anyone who’s not open, and he has to rely too much on his mobility. That’s fine if you’re the size of Cam Newton or the killer-accurate thrower like Aaron Rodgers, but that’s not Watson.
– For Clemson to win, Watson has to be Cam Newton and Aaron Rodgers all wrapped up into one.
– And Alabama has to royally mess this up with turnovers.
– At some point, Kirby Smart being the Georgia head football coach has to somehow play a role in all of this. Georgia is rocking on the recruiting trail, and that doesn’t happen is Smart isn’t doing some things other than focusing on Deshaun Watson and Wayne Gallman.
– Gut feeling: Derrick Henry is going to explode. Maybe explode is the wrong word. Henry is going to rumble for a huge day.
– But I thought the Oklahoma running game was going to make a huge difference in the Orange Bowl, too.
– At the very least, I’m hoping Alabama has to deal with a little bit of adversity. It’ll suck if it’s 13-0 Crimson Tide at the end of the first quarter.
– Clemson came out against Oklahoma rip-roaring with a ton of emotion and plenty of fire. Every play was chippy, and every other moment the Tigers were jumping around fired up. That’s not necessary against Alabama. The Orange Bowl was sort of nasty from both sides the entire time throughout the process, but this hasn’t been like that. There’s some bluster here and there, and Dabo is Dabo, but from both sides, it seems like the narrative is different. It’s about execution, not emotion.
– With that said, the rhetoric will be all about motivation after this is all over. Either Clemson will rip into the underdog factor, or Alabama will launch into how it wasn’t supposed to be able to beat a team with a mobile quarterback.
– I have yet to talk to or hear anyone who’s picking Clemson to win, unless they’re trying to be quirky. I have yet to talk to or hear anyone without a gambling interest who wants Alabama to win.
– I wrote this a few weeks ago and it still holds – I’m not sure why there’s so much angst and hatred against Alabama. I get that this isn’t a loveable team, and it’s hard to root for Nick Saban, but maybe it’s because it’s hard to get excited about Goliath. Maybe everyone is bored with the corporate, vanilla personality of the program and it’s hard to get into just how brilliant this run has been.
– If you’re going to make the argument that Nick Saban is the greatest college football head coach of all-time if Alabama wins this game, then you must also admit that he’s probably the greatest college football head coach of all-time if Alabama loses. One game doesn’t make that difference.
– Of course it’s a different era, and things are harder, and the world is more competitive now, but no. If you really break down the consistent greatness under Bear Bryant for SO long, and you factor in what he did at Maryland, Kentucky and Texas A&M, then no. Saban is a phenomenal head coach, but no.
– Imagine having the success Saban has had, and then almost double it.
– Here’s the weirdest part about the Saban-Bryant comparison. Watch old video of Alabama football, and Bryant just seemed so OLD. He was 69 when he died. Saban is about to turn 65 this year and looks like he’s ready to do that Bullfrog thing the Fiesta Bowl was advertising.
– Clemson might be the 2016 preseason No. 1 no matter what happens.
– Clemson is a lot looser than Oregon was at last year’s national championship. The 2014 Ducks were all cool before facing Florida State in the Rose Bowl, and then tightened up and seemed like the pressure was there once they got to Dallas. Anyone who says they can tell something from the teams after the press conferences and media events this week is full of beans.
– Not changing the pick even a little based on anything this week.
– It’ll be close at halftime. Clemson might even be winning.
– Alabama 37, Clemson 17.
– And I’m not sure how Clemson is going to score the 17.
