College Football Championship Preview

Its time. After 14 regular season games and a national semifinal battle, we are down to two teams left standing. This is the way it should be for a game of this magnitude. Last year, the National Championship was decided when #3 took on #4. Now its a true battle of the top two teams in the country. Nothing else matters in college football, it all comes down to tonight. One game, forty eight minutes of football ti truly decide who is the best team in the land in 2015. These two programs are separated by over 300 miles, but tonight they converge on University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Winner will be known as the 2016 National Champion in College Football.

The #1 ranked Clemson Tigers will be taking on the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide, winner will be the best team in college football for this year. Alabama comes into this game at 13-1 on the year, the only loss coming against Old Miss way back on September 19th. Alabama got here by totally whitewashing Michigan State 38-0 in the Cotton Bowl. During postseason play, the Crimson Tide are 35–24–3, and now are 1-1 under the new College Football Playoff Format. In total the team has claimed 15 national championships (1925, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1941, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1992, 2009, 2011, 2012). Those last three have come under the guidance of current coach Nick Saban. As for the top seeded Clemson Tigers, they come in unbeaten at 14-0. In order to play in tonight's national championship game, they beat Oklahoma 37-17 in the Orange Bowl. When it comes to bowl games, Clemson is 20–18 all time and 1-0 in the new College Football Playoff format. Clemson has one National Championship (1981) to its credit. Alabama leads Clemson 12-3 in the all-time series between these two teams. The last matchup between the Tigers and Crimson Tide took place in 2008, as Nick Saban’s team won 34-10 in a neutral site game in Atlanta to open the season.

Lets take a look at how these two teams stack up, shall we. First, we have the two offenses. Deshaun Watson is going to be expected to do a lot for Clemson in this football game. Watson threw for 3,699 yards and 31 scores this year and added 1,032 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. Look at what happened last time out against Oklahoma. He rushed for 145 yards (second on the team that day behind the 150 yards Wayne Gallman rushed for ). Watson also threw for 187 yards and a touchdown (although he did get picked off once). Watson helped pwoer that offense to pile up 550 yards total against Oklahoma. Beyond the obvious of Watson and running back Wayne Gallman, there might not be a more valuable player for the Clemson Tigers on offense than receiver Artavis Scott. Leading the team in receptions and yards by a wide margin, the sophomore is clearly Watson’s top target, and that isn’t likely to change in the title game. So if Alabama wants to stand a chance in this football game, they have to find a way to shut down those three guys.

From an Alabama point of view, the stud is Heisman Trophy running back Derrick Henry. Henry finished the year with 2,061 rushing yards, leading the country and helping him walk away with the highest individual honor in College Football. Henry was kept in check in the Michigan State game, 20 carries for 75 yards. He did however score twice, which was a big impact. When Henry couldn't get it really going on the ground, Quarterback Jake Coker was relied on more as the game went on and boy did he produce. He threw for a career best 286 yards last time out, and managed to hit Calvin Ridely twice. If he can repeat his Cotton Bowl performance against Clemson, it could be hard for the Tigers to keep up.

A defensive battle could take place on this field tonight. Alabama shut out Michigan State on New Years Eve. That's an impressive stat to think about. The last two games against Florida and Michigan State, Alabama allowed a net total of 44 yards on 47 carries. They have been able to shut down a run game, something that might potentially hurt Clemson, who used the rush attack with great effectiveness last time out. With the Clemson defense, they shut out Oklahoma in the 2nd half of the football game and held them to 121 total yards in that football game. Its really going to come down to a battle of attrition and who's going to want it more and make the bigger play at the right time.

If Clemson wants to win their first national title since 1981, they need to win the battle at the line of scrimmage, press the tempo, allow quarterback Deshaun Watson to make plays with his legs. Clemson needs to force the Crimson Tide to win by going to the air and not grinding it out with running back Derrick Henry. Also, Clemson can’t afford to lose the turnover battle or consistently take field goals instead of touchdowns once it reaches the red zone. Alabama’s gameplan for Monday night is simple. Win the battle at the line of scrimmage, contain Watson and get Henry on track to open up downfield shots for Coker and Ridley. Will Clemson claim its first title since 1981? Or will the Crimson Tide add another title to the trophy case in Tuscaloosa?

Picks:
Solly: Clemson Tigers!
Steve: Alabama Crimson Tide!
Danny: Clemson Tigers!