College Football Playoff Championship Preview: Alabama vs Clemson

Alabama and Clemson meet again in a rematch of last year’s instant classic College Football Playoff Championship.

The 2016 college football season reaches its conclusion Monday night as the Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers meet again in a rematch of last year’s title game.  Like last year’s game, this one has the makings of another classic battle.

Game: College Football Playoff Championship

Teams:  No. 1 Alabama (14-0, 8-0 SEC) vs No. 2 Clemson (13-1, 7-1 ACC)

Time: January 9- 8:30 PM EST

Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL

TV: ESPN

Both teams arrive in Tampa after dominant performances in their respective semi-final playoff games.  Alabama’s defense dominated Washington in the Peach Bowl after the Huskies scored first.  The Crimson Tide controlled the rest of the way and won 24-7.

In the Fiesta Bowl, Clemson shut out Urban Meyer for the first time in his career, crushing Ohio State 31-0.

The Tide are aiming for back-to-back titles and their fifth in eight seasons, which is an unbelievable feat.  The Tigers are trying to bring home their first national title since 1981.

Clemson has a big advantage on offense, with DeShaun Watson and a very deep set of wide receivers.  Turnovers for Watson have been his Achilles’ heel so he will need to play mistake free football to keep the Tigers in it.

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Alabama’s offense is not too shabby either.  They like to control the tempo of the game with their rushing attack.  Running back Bo Scarbrough had a monster game against the Huskies and will look to do the same in this one.  Freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts is playing beyond his years and will make the Tigers pay if they decide to load the box to stop the rush.

One note for the Crimson Tide offense is that offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin agreed to leave for his new head coaching gig at Florida Atlantic.  Kind of an odd move right before the title game, but Nick Saban has promoted Steve Sarkisian to the position and has stated he knows the offense well and will be ready.

The defense of Alabama’s looks like an unstoppable force.  Adding another in the Peach Bowl, they have 11 defensive scores on the season.  This side of the ball is just loaded with skill and talent.  The matchup to keep an eye on will be how the Tiger’s offensive line holds up against the Tide’s front seven.  Washington’s offensive line was no match for the Tide, led by defensive end Jonathan Allen.

Clemson is looking for revenge for last year’s loss to the Tide and sometimes that can fuel a team.

But Alabama is not going to be phased but the big stage.  They have been here before and Saban will have his team ready as he usually does.

It’s hard to pick against Alabama as they just keep winning and this is one of Saban’s best teams.  However this could be Clemson’s year to win it all.  Either way, it should be a great game between the clear two best teams in the country.