Alabama Football: Four keys to National Championship
By Ronald Evans
Alabama Football: Skipping past CFB Playoff semi-finals to the four keys for the Crimson Tide to beat Clemson.
Casting aside sound advice against taking anything for granted, Alabama Football will play Clemson for the 2020 National Championship. There could, of course, be an upset, even two in the semi-finals but the Crimson Tide are a 2-3 touchdown better team than Notre Dame and Clemson probably double-digits better than the Buckeyes.
One indication of how confident Clemson is has been Dabo’s mouth. The Buckeyes already had a revenge factor from past losses. Recently and on multiple occasions, Dabo has given them blackboard material. It is unlikely his bold confidence is misplaced.
There are not reasons to doubt, the 2021 National Championship game will be a rematch of the 2019, 2017 and 2016 Crimson Tide vs. Tigers contests. Many college football fans will moan about the matchup. Some will claim it will be tiresome seeing the two teams again. Our opinion is if the two best teams in college football don’t interest you, re-watch your team’s last National Championship victory. LSU and Ohio State fans might find some solace. Complaining fans of many other schools will not have much to watch.
Comparing the Crimson Tide and Clemson
The top two college football programs in the nation are loaded with player talent. Though difficult to measure, assuming rosters of comparable talent makes sense. Based on this data, the Crimson Tide has a small edge in strength of schedule. Even with Nick Saban, it is a stretch to suggest the Alabama football staff is so much better than Clemson’s, it assures a Tide victory.
Analyzing opposing offensive and defensive schemes is worthwhile but requires presumptions of game plans. Statistical comparisons of teams are never precise. There are too many variables. That is even more true in the unusual 2020 season.
An alternative is considering team strengths and weaknesses and how they might impact key components of the contest. Three, key game components and an unknown fourth situation could decide the Championship. The fourth is the impact on the rosters from COVID. No one can predict what, if any, impact COVID will have on the game.