The Alabama Crimson Tide (14-0) and Clemson Tigers (14-0) are set to face off for the fourth consecutive year in the College Football Playoff. Although the first two renditions between the powerhouse programs left the college football world wanting more, the 2018 semifinal matchup really set the stage for Monday night’s championship contest in Santa Clara at Levi’s Stadium.
With current NFL quarterback Deshaun Watson at the helm, the Tigers averaged a cool 37.5 points per game in the two finales. In 2016, Watson and company fell short in a 45-40 contest, However, the Tigers bounced back to win 35-31 in 2017 to claim their first national title since 1981. Although the first two games were epic shootouts, the Crimson Tide defense stifled the opposing offense during a 24-6 win last year. Moreover, a pair of turnovers led directly to the final 14 points of the game. As a result, the Crimson Tide turned a 4-point lead late in the third quarter to an 18-point victory.
More importantly, the dismal offensive display helped lead to what we are going to see Monday night. Quarterback Jalen Hurts only threw for 120 yards in victory. By the time Hurts was done struggling for the third straight game, head coach Nick Saban decided to insert Tua Tagovailoa in the second half of their national championship comeback victory against the Georgia Bulldogs. It was a foregone conclusion Tagovailoa would earn the starting spot coming into the 2018 season. Keep in mind, Hurts had already led the Crimson Tide to the national title game during his first two seasons in Tuscaloosa. Yet, it would have taken a miracle for Hurts to win the starting quarterback job.
Meanwhile, the Tigers were entering the season with a slightly different dilemma on their hands. Despite not playing well in his one and only playoff game, senior Kelly Bryant came into the season as the starting quarterback. Even with the No. 1 QB recruit coming to Clemson, Bryant earned the starting job for the first month. However, Bryant lost the starting position to Trevor Lawrence prior to the fifth game against the Syracuse Orange.
It’s fair to wonder if the Tigers would even be undefeated without Bryant in the lineup. Remember, he led the Tigers to a big road victory over the Texas A&M Aggies in Week 2 of the college football season. A couple of weeks later, Bryant was beginning his search for a new program to lead in his final season. In a flash, Bryant and Lawrence went from sharing time to a solo act for the true freshman. Yes, this is the same true freshman that was a high school sophomore when Watson first fell short of the Tigers’ ultimate goal. As a highly touted recruit, Lawrence has seen the Tigers have their fair-share of success over the years. Now, he will get a different view of the vaunted Crimson Tide.
Lawrence enters the game with 27 touchdown passes and 4 interceptions. He is 67 passing yards short of 3,000. And if Clemson expects to win their second national title over the Crimson Tide, Lawrence needs to come out of the gate strong. That means Lawrence can’t be afraid to take the deep shots down field, especially if he has time to throw. Last season, Bryant was never able to loosen up the Alabama defense. However, they were in the game until those aforementioned turnovers. Due to the Crimson Tide’s explosive offense, turnovers won’t be needed to score on Monday night.
Tagovailoa accounted for 46 touchdowns, including 41 touchdown passes. He only threw four interceptions during his stellar first season as a starting quarterback. Unlike Lawrence, Tagovailoa didn’t have much experience entering the national championship game in 2018. In fact, he only attempted 53 passes with 30 minutes of football left in the season. Therefore, discounting Lawrence’s experience can be a little overblown coming into the championship game. Lawrence has the poise and ability to take the Crimson Tide to the limit. Yet, it's his explosiveness in the passing game that will set the tone. Lawrence is averaging 12.2 yards per completion this season.
Moreover, Tagovailoa has only attempted 32 more passes than Lawrence in his college career. Although, a lot of that is due to Alabama’s dominant nature this season. One example of how dominant Tagovailoa and the passing game has been is his 16.3 yards per completion. In other words, the Crimson Tide have a more explosive passing game with Tua in the lineup.
An interesting tidbit that shouldn't go unnoticed- both teams come into the College Football Playoff championship game with undefeated records. Usually, one or both teams enter the game with a single loss. However, this is the season, where both teams have an unblemished record. It just so happens that both quarterbacks could be in the same exact position next year.
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