Alabama vs. Clemson 2.0 in Tampa, FL by Jared McCabe

Fans of College Football can’t wait for Monday night when Clemson and Alabama play in the National Championship again, but this time at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. Coming into the year everyone wanted to see a rematch of these two teams because of Alabama’s high octane offense and Clemson’s physical defense. Coming into this game, earlier in the week, head coach Nick Saban announced to the media that he let go of his offense –of -coordinator Lane Kiffin to let him go to Florida Atlantic where he will become the head coach. Replacing Kiffin will be Steve Sarkisian. It was a huge surprise a the time and Nick Saban thought it was time to let Kiffin go. I think it will be an early advantage for Clemson because the whole offense will need to adjust to a new coordinator on a short week of preparation, but Nick Saban will have his team ready to play.

Key Factors for each team:

(1)Alabama: Nick Saban dismissed offense- of- coordinator Lane Kiffin so now Steve Sarkisian will be calling the plays for Alabama. It will be interesting to see how Alabama’s offense will do because Jalan Hurts will be hearing plays from a different voice. Alabama will look to get the running game going and see if they can rack up yards early. If they can get the running game going, it will open up the passing game. On the other side of the ball, Jonathon Allen and Ruben Foster will be leading Alabama’s defense. Alabama wants their DBs to play physical on the outside against Clemson’s wide outs. If they can put pressure on Watson, they could cause a couple of interceptions and have Clemson in an early hole. If they can do that, Alabama could run away with it early, and win back-to-back championships.

(2)Clemson: This is basically the same team from last year’s team and I think they’re even stronger from last year. Heisman finalist DeShaun Watson who’s coming off a great game against Ohio St leads them. He has all his weapons back, especially wide receiver Mike Williams. He never played in last year’s championship due to injury, so having his big presence on the outside should create havoc against Alabama’s DBs. Ben Boulware should be a player to watch on Clemson’s defense because he can stuff the run, rush the passer, and drop into coverage. If he can have a big night, he could graduate a champion. Dabo Swinney and the Tigers coming into this year had this marked on their calendars since mini camp, and they are ready to be the underdogs again, and hopefully dethrone the Crimson Tide, and win a National Title.

National Championship News and Notes: