Nick Saban’s Alabama football team will be meeting Dabo’s bunch from Clemson for the third time in four seasons for the national title, so let’s see how this one might go!
The Alabama football team is going to be fine, you guys. Please don’t fret about this one. The world didn’t end in 2017 when Hunter Renfrow caught the game-winning touchdown and if it’s on the wrong side of the game this year, just view it as ammunition for Nick Saban to go after another one in 2019.
Now, with all of that out of the way, this one’s going to be a nail biter and I’m totally freaked out by it.
The one really great thing about playing Clemson every season since 2015, though, is that Saban and his ever-changing staff have insight into a program whose staff turnover, at least at the coordinator position, has remained static. Tigers’ defensive coordinator Brent Venables has held his current position since 2011 and co-offensive coordinators Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott have been in theirs since 2015.
With varying degrees of success against both units, Saban has three seasons worth of material from which to draw. While the chess pieces have changed (save for Renfrow, of course, who I’m convinced is a 3-time All-Pro for the Chargers), the game philosophy hasn’t.
Elliott and Scott have a precocious quarterback in freshman Trevor Lawrence (playing like a junior) with whom to work and Venables has the best defensive front in the country (with or without Dexter Lawrence). With so many valuable members of the team contributing, including running back Travis Etienne, who has over 1,500 yards on the ground and 22 touchdowns, it’s understandable why there are some who believe Clemson will win.
Nevertheless, I remain unmoved. Clemson’s offensive front is elite, but so was Oklahoma’s and we were chasing Kyler Murray out of the pocket for much of the game. And unlike Murray, Lawrence is a much bigger target for our underrated d-line to catch. Quinnen can fight off double teams all day long and Buggs, Raekwon, Anfernee and (maybe) Christian can make life very difficult for Lawrence.
If this defense, that was absolutely carved up by the Sooners can shut down, even moderately, Etienne and the Clemson running game, then it becomes about forcing a freshman to make freshman mistakes. I think Saban and Alabama football DC Tosh Lupoi will draw up a plan that can do that.
Conversely, Mike Locksley’s last game with the Tide could be a thing of beauty. While it’s not going up against an Oklahoma defense, even Venables’ squad has been susceptible to big plays on the outside throughout the season. As long as the line can keep Tua upright, then stretching out a weaker-than-usual Clemson secondary will keep things in Alabama’s favor.
This could very well be a punch-for-punch kind of game. Despite this Alabama football defense not being as good as years past, it will aid in making one or two game-changing plays. I’m not as confident about this one as the Sooner game, but this Tide team has shown up all season long and to think they don’t in the last one is abhorrent to me.
It won’t be easy, but Saban surpasses the Bear on Monday.
Jonathan Waldrop Prediction: Alabama 34 – Clemson 31