2016-2017 College Football National Title Game - Clemson vs Bama part II - Who you going with?
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That Celebration Bowl ending was stupid..
How the hell does that happen. If you're playing at an HBCU your kickers probably suck, so why the fuck do you get so damn extra with your celebration, taking off your helmet and running around all crazy.
Now your kicker now has to take his extra point from NFL distance and it was blocked and you lose.
How the hell does that happen. If you're playing at an HBCU your kickers probably suck, so why the fuck do you get so damn extra with your celebration, taking off your helmet and running around all crazy.
Now your kicker now has to take his extra point from NFL distance and it was blocked and you lose.
Aw Yeah!
We bout to REALLY see what the Huskies made of
Washington about to handle Bama
Huskies draw first blood
It's Alabama-Clemson for the title again, but will rematch provide same fireworks?
Pat Forde
Yahoo Sports USDec 31, 2016, 9:32 PM
Campus Insiders
Clemson Defense Dominates Ohio State In Fiesta Bowl
Clemson shut out Ohio State 31-0 to advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship. The Tigers' defense held the Buckeyes to 215 total yards and added 3 takeaways, 3 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Clemson is also the first team to hold Ohio State scoreless since 1993.
GLENDALE, Ariz. – And the football gods said, let there be a rematch.
And the rest of us said, let it be as good as the first one.
Clemson and Alabama will meet in the College Football Playoff championship game for the second straight season after dominant semifinal victories Saturday. Free-wheeling Dabo Swinney vs. maniacally focused Nick Saban. Dynamic Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson vs. dominant Alabama defense.
And college football in 2017 begins looking an awful lot like 2016.
The Atlantic Coast Conferencechampion Tigers advanced by pummeling favored Ohio State 31-0 in the Fiesta Bowl. It was the Buckeyes’ first shutout since 1993, and the first time an Urban Meyer-coached team has ever been shut out.
That was a shocking result, at least in terms of margin of victory.
Deshaun Watson and the Tigers will meet Alabama for the title again on Jan. 9. (Getty)
The Southeastern Conference champion Crimson Tide moves on to Tampa for the Jan. 9 title game after putting a 24-7 choke hold on Washington in the Peach Bowl. After spotting the Huskies a 7-0 lead, Alabama clamped down and was not seriously threatened.
That was not a shocking result in any form or fashion.
These outcomes give us a matchup that could be the best sequel since “Godfather II.”
Alabama and Clemson staged an epic competition last year, with the Crimson Tide prevailing in a 45-40 shootout. This matchup seems unlikely to produce that many points, but it could be just as close, dramatic and hard-fought.
The teams have been on a rematch collision course since they started the season ranked 1-2 in virtually every major poll. Undefeated Alabama has stayed No. 1 all year, and one-loss Clemson never left the top five. They entered the playoff seeded 1-2.
Alabama, now on a 26-game winning streak, has been seriously challenged only once this year, beating Mississippi by five points in September after trailing by 21. Clemson appears to have the talent and experience at key positions to give the defending champions a full, 60-minute test.
It will give Watson one more shot at Alabama’s dominant defense. He lit up the Crimson Tide for 478 yards total offense last year, and the Heisman Trophy runner-up was brilliant against the Buckeyes on Saturday with 316 total yards and three touchdowns.
But this ‘Bama defense is even better than last year’s. The Tide leads the nation in scoring defense, total defense and rushing defense, and has surrendered 10 or fewer points nine times in 14 games.
Both teams rode dominant defensive line performances in the New Year’s Eve semifinals.
Clemson suffocated Ohio State’s previously potent rushing offense, allowing just 81 yards on the ground on 22 carries. The Buckeyes’ previous season low in rushing yards was 168 on 40 carries in their only other loss, at Penn State. The Tigers had to reload up front after losing a lot of talent to the NFL the past two seasons, but the young replacements have been sensational. They besieged veteran Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett all night, and the resulting shutout was a humiliating way for the Buckeyes’ season to end.
Alabama also shredded its opponent up front, allowing Washington just 44 rushing yards on 27 carries. The Tide’s fearsome pass rush also harassed Huskies quarterback Jake Browning into his season-low pass efficiency rating of 83.9. His season average coming into the game was 176.5.
“They kind of are what we thought they were,” Washington coach Chris Petersen said. “Really, really elite championship defense and, you know, good players across the board.”
Clemson won in spite of two first-half turnovers, continuing a season-long trend of being loose with the football (26 giveaways on the year to date). Alabama won in part by being plus-three in turnovers against a Washington team that had led the nation in turnover margin at plus-21.
Now the Crimson Tide will attempt to win its fifth national title in the past eight years, an unprecedented run. The Tigers are trying to win their first national title since 1981.
Let’s hope it lives up to its 2016 predecessor.
Pat Forde
Yahoo Sports USDec 31, 2016, 9:32 PM
Campus Insiders
Clemson Defense Dominates Ohio State In Fiesta Bowl
Clemson shut out Ohio State 31-0 to advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship. The Tigers' defense held the Buckeyes to 215 total yards and added 3 takeaways, 3 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Clemson is also the first team to hold Ohio State scoreless since 1993.
GLENDALE, Ariz. – And the football gods said, let there be a rematch.
And the rest of us said, let it be as good as the first one.
Clemson and Alabama will meet in the College Football Playoff championship game for the second straight season after dominant semifinal victories Saturday. Free-wheeling Dabo Swinney vs. maniacally focused Nick Saban. Dynamic Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson vs. dominant Alabama defense.
And college football in 2017 begins looking an awful lot like 2016.
The Atlantic Coast Conferencechampion Tigers advanced by pummeling favored Ohio State 31-0 in the Fiesta Bowl. It was the Buckeyes’ first shutout since 1993, and the first time an Urban Meyer-coached team has ever been shut out.
That was a shocking result, at least in terms of margin of victory.
Deshaun Watson and the Tigers will meet Alabama for the title again on Jan. 9. (Getty)
The Southeastern Conference champion Crimson Tide moves on to Tampa for the Jan. 9 title game after putting a 24-7 choke hold on Washington in the Peach Bowl. After spotting the Huskies a 7-0 lead, Alabama clamped down and was not seriously threatened.
That was not a shocking result in any form or fashion.
These outcomes give us a matchup that could be the best sequel since “Godfather II.”
Alabama and Clemson staged an epic competition last year, with the Crimson Tide prevailing in a 45-40 shootout. This matchup seems unlikely to produce that many points, but it could be just as close, dramatic and hard-fought.
The teams have been on a rematch collision course since they started the season ranked 1-2 in virtually every major poll. Undefeated Alabama has stayed No. 1 all year, and one-loss Clemson never left the top five. They entered the playoff seeded 1-2.
Alabama, now on a 26-game winning streak, has been seriously challenged only once this year, beating Mississippi by five points in September after trailing by 21. Clemson appears to have the talent and experience at key positions to give the defending champions a full, 60-minute test.
It will give Watson one more shot at Alabama’s dominant defense. He lit up the Crimson Tide for 478 yards total offense last year, and the Heisman Trophy runner-up was brilliant against the Buckeyes on Saturday with 316 total yards and three touchdowns.
But this ‘Bama defense is even better than last year’s. The Tide leads the nation in scoring defense, total defense and rushing defense, and has surrendered 10 or fewer points nine times in 14 games.
Both teams rode dominant defensive line performances in the New Year’s Eve semifinals.
Clemson suffocated Ohio State’s previously potent rushing offense, allowing just 81 yards on the ground on 22 carries. The Buckeyes’ previous season low in rushing yards was 168 on 40 carries in their only other loss, at Penn State. The Tigers had to reload up front after losing a lot of talent to the NFL the past two seasons, but the young replacements have been sensational. They besieged veteran Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett all night, and the resulting shutout was a humiliating way for the Buckeyes’ season to end.
Alabama also shredded its opponent up front, allowing Washington just 44 rushing yards on 27 carries. The Tide’s fearsome pass rush also harassed Huskies quarterback Jake Browning into his season-low pass efficiency rating of 83.9. His season average coming into the game was 176.5.
“They kind of are what we thought they were,” Washington coach Chris Petersen said. “Really, really elite championship defense and, you know, good players across the board.”
Clemson won in spite of two first-half turnovers, continuing a season-long trend of being loose with the football (26 giveaways on the year to date). Alabama won in part by being plus-three in turnovers against a Washington team that had led the nation in turnover margin at plus-21.
Now the Crimson Tide will attempt to win its fifth national title in the past eight years, an unprecedented run. The Tigers are trying to win their first national title since 1981.
Let’s hope it lives up to its 2016 predecessor.
5 things Alabama needs to clean up in the national championship rematch against Clemson
Alabama is headed back to the College Football Playoff Championship Game after a 24-7 victory against Washington in the Peach Bowl.
It was a classic Crimson Tide effort in which defense and a punishing run game proved to be the winning formula.
Bo Scarbrough led the way on offense, gaining a career-high 180 yards – an Alabama bowl record – and 2 touchdowns on 19 carries. Ryan Anderson scored the Crimson Tide’s 11th defensive touchdown of the season with a 26-yard pick-six just before halftime.
What ultimately matters is that Alabama came away with the win, but there were several aspects of the game that leave something to be desired.
Clemson, which hammered Ohio State to set up a rematch with Alabama, already has the Tide’s attention.
But here are five things the Crimson Tide need to clean up if they hope to take down the Tigers again.
1. Pass protection: If it weren’t for Scarbrough’s effort, Alabama would have had a very difficult time sustaining much offense against Washington. Much of the Crimson Tide’s struggles can be traced to the offensive line.
Pass protection has not been a problem for Alabama this season, as it allows just over 1.5 sacks per game, but the offensive line struggled against the Huskies’ front four. Jalen Hurts was sacked three times Saturday, but he was forced out of the pocket constantly in the game. The Crimson Tide’s passing game suffered mightily, as they gained a paltry 57 yards through the air.
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Washington entered the Peach Bowl with 37 sacks on the season, which ranks 21st in the nation. It won’t get any easier, as Clemson had 46 sacks in the regular season.
2. Offensive penalties: Alabama has been relatively disciplined, but penalties were abundant in its win. The Crimson Tide had 11 penalties against Washington, their second-most this season, and seven came on offense.
Of those, four occurred on third down. This sloppiness is uncharacteristic of a Nick Saban-coached team, especially in a game of this magnitude. The third-down penalties contributed to Alabama’s offensive woes, which will be discussed in the next point, but must be corrected in the championship game.
3. Avoid third-and-long: The Crimson Tide’s average third-down distance was a whopping 10.4 yards. Alabama actually averaged a longer distance on third downs than it did on first downs against Washington. Throughout Saturday’s game, Alabama converted just 28.6 percent of its third-down attempts.
Some of that yardage can be attributed to penalties that pushed the offense back, but the Crimson Tide did not have much success on first and second down against the Huskies. Alabama particularly struggled when it attempted a pass on first down.
Hurts completed just two of his six pass attempts on first down, and he was sacked three times on his other drop backs. Throughout the game, there were only three times where a pass play on first down was not followed by a punt three downs later. By contrast, the Crimson Tide averaged 6.7 yards per carry on first down. That might be something Lane Kiffin wants to take a long look at.
Clemson was No. 6 nationally, allowing opponents to convert on just 29.53 percent of their third-down opportunities.
4. Find a way to get Hurts more involved:Hurts provides a unique element to Alabama’s offense, but he was largely ineffective against Washington. The freshman quarterback threw for 57 yards and added another 50 on the ground, which is not what we’ve come to expect this season.
The Huskies did a good job pressuring Hurts, but there didn’t appear to be a concerted effort to use him to his full potential. His biggest play was a 38-yard run at the beginning of the second half, but that was about all he could do.
Washington deserves plenty of credit for keeping Hurts off balance, but he’s an important part of this offense and Alabama needs to find ways to get him going.
Clemson’s front four is fast and physical.
5. Get off to a fast start on offense: In Alabama’s past two games, it has scored a combined 30 points in the first half. That number drops to just 10 combined points in the first quarter of the Crimson Tide’s last two games. Fortunately, defense and special teams have been able to pick up the slack, but Alabama might not be able to survive another slow start.
The Crimson Tide’s suffocating defense only gets stronger as the game goes along, so it would be a tremendous advantage to jump out to a quick 14-0 lead and let that defense do the rest. Alabama is more than capable of doing so.
Alabama is headed back to the College Football Playoff Championship Game after a 24-7 victory against Washington in the Peach Bowl.
It was a classic Crimson Tide effort in which defense and a punishing run game proved to be the winning formula.
Bo Scarbrough led the way on offense, gaining a career-high 180 yards – an Alabama bowl record – and 2 touchdowns on 19 carries. Ryan Anderson scored the Crimson Tide’s 11th defensive touchdown of the season with a 26-yard pick-six just before halftime.
What ultimately matters is that Alabama came away with the win, but there were several aspects of the game that leave something to be desired.
Clemson, which hammered Ohio State to set up a rematch with Alabama, already has the Tide’s attention.
But here are five things the Crimson Tide need to clean up if they hope to take down the Tigers again.
1. Pass protection: If it weren’t for Scarbrough’s effort, Alabama would have had a very difficult time sustaining much offense against Washington. Much of the Crimson Tide’s struggles can be traced to the offensive line.
Pass protection has not been a problem for Alabama this season, as it allows just over 1.5 sacks per game, but the offensive line struggled against the Huskies’ front four. Jalen Hurts was sacked three times Saturday, but he was forced out of the pocket constantly in the game. The Crimson Tide’s passing game suffered mightily, as they gained a paltry 57 yards through the air.
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Washington entered the Peach Bowl with 37 sacks on the season, which ranks 21st in the nation. It won’t get any easier, as Clemson had 46 sacks in the regular season.
2. Offensive penalties: Alabama has been relatively disciplined, but penalties were abundant in its win. The Crimson Tide had 11 penalties against Washington, their second-most this season, and seven came on offense.
Of those, four occurred on third down. This sloppiness is uncharacteristic of a Nick Saban-coached team, especially in a game of this magnitude. The third-down penalties contributed to Alabama’s offensive woes, which will be discussed in the next point, but must be corrected in the championship game.
3. Avoid third-and-long: The Crimson Tide’s average third-down distance was a whopping 10.4 yards. Alabama actually averaged a longer distance on third downs than it did on first downs against Washington. Throughout Saturday’s game, Alabama converted just 28.6 percent of its third-down attempts.
Some of that yardage can be attributed to penalties that pushed the offense back, but the Crimson Tide did not have much success on first and second down against the Huskies. Alabama particularly struggled when it attempted a pass on first down.
Hurts completed just two of his six pass attempts on first down, and he was sacked three times on his other drop backs. Throughout the game, there were only three times where a pass play on first down was not followed by a punt three downs later. By contrast, the Crimson Tide averaged 6.7 yards per carry on first down. That might be something Lane Kiffin wants to take a long look at.
Clemson was No. 6 nationally, allowing opponents to convert on just 29.53 percent of their third-down opportunities.
4. Find a way to get Hurts more involved:Hurts provides a unique element to Alabama’s offense, but he was largely ineffective against Washington. The freshman quarterback threw for 57 yards and added another 50 on the ground, which is not what we’ve come to expect this season.
The Huskies did a good job pressuring Hurts, but there didn’t appear to be a concerted effort to use him to his full potential. His biggest play was a 38-yard run at the beginning of the second half, but that was about all he could do.
Washington deserves plenty of credit for keeping Hurts off balance, but he’s an important part of this offense and Alabama needs to find ways to get him going.
Clemson’s front four is fast and physical.
5. Get off to a fast start on offense: In Alabama’s past two games, it has scored a combined 30 points in the first half. That number drops to just 10 combined points in the first quarter of the Crimson Tide’s last two games. Fortunately, defense and special teams have been able to pick up the slack, but Alabama might not be able to survive another slow start.
The Crimson Tide’s suffocating defense only gets stronger as the game goes along, so it would be a tremendous advantage to jump out to a quick 14-0 lead and let that defense do the rest. Alabama is more than capable of doing so.
A Clemson-Alabama rematch is the game college football needs
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- It isn't just that No. 1 Alabama versus No. 2 Clemson will give us the first national title rematch in the BCS/playoff era. It isn't just that we have a sequel to the dynamic Deshaun Watson again squaring off with Nick Saban, perhaps the greatest coach in college football history, and his Olympian defense.
It's that both teams, for a second consecutive season, delivered such emphatic whippings in their respective semifinal games that we reasonably suspect we're headed for another classic, one that might even eclipse the 45-40 heavyweight fight the Crimson Tide won last postseason.
Ben Boulware, Clemson's boisterous linebacker. "We want our revenge. We want our redemption."
The matchup is also enriched by difference. It's the flagging SEC, which has become Alabama and everyone else, against the surging ACC, which is 8-3 this bowl season, with wins over two of the top teams in the Big Ten.
It's a team that hasn't won a national title since 1981 against one that is aiming for its fifth championship in eight seasons.
It's the chatty, avuncular Dabo Swinney versus Saban, Mr. "Ass-Chewing," who is shooting for his sixth national title.
Alabama, by the way, leads the series 13-2, having won 13 in a row.
"Alabama has been the standard," said Swinney, who was raised in Pelham, Alabama, and was once a receivers and assistant coach at Alabama. "There's really no argument to that. Sooner or later, if you're going to be the best, you've got to beat 'em."
The Tigers almost did that last season. They outgained Alabama 550 yards to 473. Clemson's point total tripled the Alabama defense's season average. The Tigers' yards more than doubled the Tide's season average. Watson piled up 478 total yards, the most ever produced in a national championship game. He passed for 405 yards and four touchdowns with 73 yards rushing.
Come Jan. 9, Watson, a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, will be the best quarterback the Tide have faced this season.
After last season's game, Swinney told reporters, "There is no doubt that we will be back. It won't be 34 years before we're going to be back, I promise you that."
When asked what's different with this season's team, Swinney cited three things: leadership, depth and experience. What's different about Alabama? The defense that Watson will again be eyeballing is even bigger, badder and nastier than the 2015 unit.
The quirk for Alabama: It will send out true freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts against a Clemson defense that brutalized the Buckeyes and veteran QB J.T. Barrett. Hurts looked like the Tide's only weakness against Washington, as he struggled to create any sort of passing game. The quirk for Clemson is that despite winning the turnover battle 3-2 against the Buckeyes, it is still only plus-one in turnover margin on the season. The past 21 national champions were at least plus-three in turnover margin.
Clemson has opened as a touchdown underdog.
"I definitely think the narrative has changed with our program, but it seems like we're always the underdog when we get in these big-type games," Swinney said.
Maybe, but every team is an underdog to Alabama these days. Still, last season, Clemson "put some ripples into the pond," according to Tigers senior offensive lineman Eric Mac Lain.
Now the question is whether Alabama's dynastic hold over college football will expand or whether a usurper to the throne has arrived.
As Swinney has been known to volunteer: "Bring your own guts."
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- It isn't just that No. 1 Alabama versus No. 2 Clemson will give us the first national title rematch in the BCS/playoff era. It isn't just that we have a sequel to the dynamic Deshaun Watson again squaring off with Nick Saban, perhaps the greatest coach in college football history, and his Olympian defense.
It's that both teams, for a second consecutive season, delivered such emphatic whippings in their respective semifinal games that we reasonably suspect we're headed for another classic, one that might even eclipse the 45-40 heavyweight fight the Crimson Tide won last postseason.
Ben Boulware, Clemson's boisterous linebacker. "We want our revenge. We want our redemption."
The matchup is also enriched by difference. It's the flagging SEC, which has become Alabama and everyone else, against the surging ACC, which is 8-3 this bowl season, with wins over two of the top teams in the Big Ten.
It's a team that hasn't won a national title since 1981 against one that is aiming for its fifth championship in eight seasons.
It's the chatty, avuncular Dabo Swinney versus Saban, Mr. "Ass-Chewing," who is shooting for his sixth national title.
Alabama, by the way, leads the series 13-2, having won 13 in a row.
"Alabama has been the standard," said Swinney, who was raised in Pelham, Alabama, and was once a receivers and assistant coach at Alabama. "There's really no argument to that. Sooner or later, if you're going to be the best, you've got to beat 'em."
The Tigers almost did that last season. They outgained Alabama 550 yards to 473. Clemson's point total tripled the Alabama defense's season average. The Tigers' yards more than doubled the Tide's season average. Watson piled up 478 total yards, the most ever produced in a national championship game. He passed for 405 yards and four touchdowns with 73 yards rushing.
Come Jan. 9, Watson, a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, will be the best quarterback the Tide have faced this season.
After last season's game, Swinney told reporters, "There is no doubt that we will be back. It won't be 34 years before we're going to be back, I promise you that."
When asked what's different with this season's team, Swinney cited three things: leadership, depth and experience. What's different about Alabama? The defense that Watson will again be eyeballing is even bigger, badder and nastier than the 2015 unit.
The quirk for Alabama: It will send out true freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts against a Clemson defense that brutalized the Buckeyes and veteran QB J.T. Barrett. Hurts looked like the Tide's only weakness against Washington, as he struggled to create any sort of passing game. The quirk for Clemson is that despite winning the turnover battle 3-2 against the Buckeyes, it is still only plus-one in turnover margin on the season. The past 21 national champions were at least plus-three in turnover margin.
Clemson has opened as a touchdown underdog.
"I definitely think the narrative has changed with our program, but it seems like we're always the underdog when we get in these big-type games," Swinney said.
Maybe, but every team is an underdog to Alabama these days. Still, last season, Clemson "put some ripples into the pond," according to Tigers senior offensive lineman Eric Mac Lain.
Now the question is whether Alabama's dynastic hold over college football will expand or whether a usurper to the throne has arrived.
As Swinney has been known to volunteer: "Bring your own guts."
Clemson-Alabama is the game we all wanted
This was always where we were going to end up, wasn't it?
Next Monday night, college football's biggest stage will be occupied by Alabama and Clemson, the same two teams in that same game a year ago. The grandstands at the College Football Playoff National Championship will be filled with the same crimson- and orange-clad fans, only this time around they will probably have driven into town, not flown, and will thus have saved more money for seafood and beer.
But while some title-bout rematches might incite coast-to-coast groaning and eye rolls, this one does not. When the Tide and Tigers wrapped up their thrill-a-second 45-40 shootout on Jan. 11, 2016, most walked away wishing there had been another quarter left to play. The immediate conversation was: "How great would a Round 2 be, right?!" And when the preseason polls were revealed seven months later it was no surprise when that same pair sat atop those standings.
Lamar Jackson, and then two weeks later, surviving a bizarre how-not-to-kick-field goals clinic against old rival NC State. Everyone remembers the stunning loss, also at home, to Pitt. But time has clouded the memories of early scares at Auburn and at home vs. Troy(!) and barely hanging on against ACC stalwarts Florida State and Virginia Tech.
"I know that number beside our name has changed a little during the year," defensive anchor Ben Boulware said of Clemson's national ranking, which bobbed up and down between second and fifth during the season. "But we kept our eyes on the goal to be in that top four and then that top two when it mattered most."
There were plenty of other teams that managed to cram themselves into the gap between Clemson and the top spot when it did widen. Michigan, Washington, Ohio State, Florida State and Louisville all managed to skip ahead of the Tigers at some point. Meanwhile the likes of Houston, Wisconsin and even Texas A&M and Nebraska took turns nipping at Clemson's hind paws.
Now they are all gone and Clemson is right back where it started, with a shot to knock off the nation's top team. "[Alabama] is the best of the best," Tigers QB Deshaun Watson said late Saturday night. "You've got to earn that title."
Bama has earned it and then some. While Clemson yo-yoed in the top five, the team that was ranked first did not. The Crimson Tide were No. 1 heading into the 2016 season and have been there ever since. But buried beneath all of the talk about invincibility and "best team ever," Alabama has also had some unwanted side trips on its trek to Tampa.
The Tide did start the season with a true freshman quarterback. They also fielded the nation's 116th-most experienced roster (there are 128 teams) and the youngest depth chart in the SEC. And while they certainly didn't have to endure the Whack-A-Mole schedule scares that hampered Clemson, back in Week 3 they did trail Ole Miss 24-3 late in the first half and had to hold off a furious rally from the Rebels to win 48-43.
"All of the wire-to-wire talk about being ranked No. 1, that glosses over a lot of what you have to do to maintain success throughout a season," head coach Nick Saban said following the Tide's 24-7 bullying of Washington in the first playoff semifinal. "Between injuries and immaturity and being told how great you are all of the time, there's nothing about this job that is ever on any kind of cruise control."
No, cruise control is something that works only when the road is straight and there's no slower traffic to force you to stand on the brakes, no idiot weaving through that traffic to cause you to veer out of your lane, and no cones, barrels or road signs warning you of unavoidable detours up ahead.
Cones, barrels and road signs that are always colored orange and white.
"Every season is its own story. No two seasons and no two teams are ever alike," Saban continued. "And even if the teams are the same, no rematch between those teams is ever alike either."
Actually, Coach, we're all kind of hoping that this one is.
This was always where we were going to end up, wasn't it?
Next Monday night, college football's biggest stage will be occupied by Alabama and Clemson, the same two teams in that same game a year ago. The grandstands at the College Football Playoff National Championship will be filled with the same crimson- and orange-clad fans, only this time around they will probably have driven into town, not flown, and will thus have saved more money for seafood and beer.
But while some title-bout rematches might incite coast-to-coast groaning and eye rolls, this one does not. When the Tide and Tigers wrapped up their thrill-a-second 45-40 shootout on Jan. 11, 2016, most walked away wishing there had been another quarter left to play. The immediate conversation was: "How great would a Round 2 be, right?!" And when the preseason polls were revealed seven months later it was no surprise when that same pair sat atop those standings.
Lamar Jackson, and then two weeks later, surviving a bizarre how-not-to-kick-field goals clinic against old rival NC State. Everyone remembers the stunning loss, also at home, to Pitt. But time has clouded the memories of early scares at Auburn and at home vs. Troy(!) and barely hanging on against ACC stalwarts Florida State and Virginia Tech.
"I know that number beside our name has changed a little during the year," defensive anchor Ben Boulware said of Clemson's national ranking, which bobbed up and down between second and fifth during the season. "But we kept our eyes on the goal to be in that top four and then that top two when it mattered most."
There were plenty of other teams that managed to cram themselves into the gap between Clemson and the top spot when it did widen. Michigan, Washington, Ohio State, Florida State and Louisville all managed to skip ahead of the Tigers at some point. Meanwhile the likes of Houston, Wisconsin and even Texas A&M and Nebraska took turns nipping at Clemson's hind paws.
Now they are all gone and Clemson is right back where it started, with a shot to knock off the nation's top team. "[Alabama] is the best of the best," Tigers QB Deshaun Watson said late Saturday night. "You've got to earn that title."
Bama has earned it and then some. While Clemson yo-yoed in the top five, the team that was ranked first did not. The Crimson Tide were No. 1 heading into the 2016 season and have been there ever since. But buried beneath all of the talk about invincibility and "best team ever," Alabama has also had some unwanted side trips on its trek to Tampa.
The Tide did start the season with a true freshman quarterback. They also fielded the nation's 116th-most experienced roster (there are 128 teams) and the youngest depth chart in the SEC. And while they certainly didn't have to endure the Whack-A-Mole schedule scares that hampered Clemson, back in Week 3 they did trail Ole Miss 24-3 late in the first half and had to hold off a furious rally from the Rebels to win 48-43.
"All of the wire-to-wire talk about being ranked No. 1, that glosses over a lot of what you have to do to maintain success throughout a season," head coach Nick Saban said following the Tide's 24-7 bullying of Washington in the first playoff semifinal. "Between injuries and immaturity and being told how great you are all of the time, there's nothing about this job that is ever on any kind of cruise control."
No, cruise control is something that works only when the road is straight and there's no slower traffic to force you to stand on the brakes, no idiot weaving through that traffic to cause you to veer out of your lane, and no cones, barrels or road signs warning you of unavoidable detours up ahead.
Cones, barrels and road signs that are always colored orange and white.
"Every season is its own story. No two seasons and no two teams are ever alike," Saban continued. "And even if the teams are the same, no rematch between those teams is ever alike either."
Actually, Coach, we're all kind of hoping that this one is.
Jalen Hurts keeps winning, must improve for Alabama to beat Clemson
ATLANTA -- Lane Kiffin stood on the far side of the field in the Georgia Dome on Saturday night, far removed from the makeshift stage near Alabama's end zone and the celebration among players and coaches there.
No. 1-ranked Alabama had just throttled No. 4 Washington to advance to the College Football Playoff National ChampionshipGame, winning 24-7 in Atlanta, yet the Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator wasn’t necessarily overcome with joy.
"We just couldn’t get a rhythm going sometimes," Kiffin told a handful of reporters as coach Nick Saban took the stage to accept the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl trophy.
Sure, sophomore running back Bo Scarbrough was dominant, rushing for a bowl record 180 yards. But for the most part, Alabama’s offense was a one-man show.
Jalen Hurts, the true freshman quarterback who took the SEC by storm and won the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year honors with 34 combined regular-season touchdowns, had arguably his worst passing game of the season with a career-low 57 yards and no touchdowns on 7 of 14 attempts.
In doing so, he helped prove the theory opposing coaches and players had been espousing on how to best attack Alabama for the past month: make Hurts throw the football.
You better believe No. 2 Clemson, which beat Ohio State 31-0 and picked off veteran quarterback J.T. Barrett twice, was paying attention.
Maybe it was the long layoff that got to Hurts against Washington.
Or maybe it was the magnitude of the moment.
"I don’t know if he was really pressing," Kiffin said. "You know, I think he would be the first to tell you that he didn’t play great today. But, again, like I said all week, this is a big stage and he’s still a true freshman and this is a really good defense that gives people problems."
In the locker room after the game, Hurts didn’t appear to be bothered at all by his performance. Then again, when has he been rattled by anything this season? He bounced back nicely when he fumbled his first career snap in the season-opener against USC, and he handled LSU's Death Valley with the poise of a senior.
Late in the second half against Washington, he said he went to his teammates on the sideline and told them, "Y’all need to believe in me and I’ll believe in ya’ll. Believe in each other. Trust each other."
He avoided throwing an interception and wound up rushing for 50 yards on 19 carries.
"I rarely get frustrated," Hurts explained. "I just take it as it comes and play ball."
Which is good news for the coaching staff as it begins the next week-plus of preparation for Clemson. The Tigers’ front seven will challenge Hurts with a prolific pass-rush that includes linebacker Ben Boulware and defensive linemen Carlos Watkins, Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence.
Kiffin, who said that the game plan against Washington was to be conservative throwing the football, is likely to continue to play it safe with his young quarterback.
If anything, he said he wanted Hurts' lesson from Saturday's game to be, "Just make the easy plays."
"We’re not asking him to win by himself and throw the ball 50 times or something like that," he said. "There are just a few easy plays that he has to make for us to win the next one."
Said Saban: "We have to do a better job at creating balance on offense and being able to throw the ball a little more effectively. And that’s something that we’ll continue to work on."
Hurts thought he’d wind up going to work that very night, ringing in the New Year by watching film with his family, including his father who was his high school football coach.
It all came down to execution against Washington, he said.
And Though he’s sure to take some heat for his passing performance, don’t expect that to bother him.
With 14 games under his belt, you’d expect him to be tired of hearing how he’s so young, and even that rolls off his back.
"It doesn’t affect me what they say," he said. "I hold myself to a high standard. I’ll never put a limit on my game. I know what I’m capable of, personally."
His message over the past month hasn’t changed.
"I said after the SEC Championship, 'We’re not done,'" he said. "Same here. We still have to finish."
ATLANTA -- Lane Kiffin stood on the far side of the field in the Georgia Dome on Saturday night, far removed from the makeshift stage near Alabama's end zone and the celebration among players and coaches there.
No. 1-ranked Alabama had just throttled No. 4 Washington to advance to the College Football Playoff National ChampionshipGame, winning 24-7 in Atlanta, yet the Crimson Tide's offensive coordinator wasn’t necessarily overcome with joy.
"We just couldn’t get a rhythm going sometimes," Kiffin told a handful of reporters as coach Nick Saban took the stage to accept the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl trophy.
Sure, sophomore running back Bo Scarbrough was dominant, rushing for a bowl record 180 yards. But for the most part, Alabama’s offense was a one-man show.
Jalen Hurts, the true freshman quarterback who took the SEC by storm and won the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year honors with 34 combined regular-season touchdowns, had arguably his worst passing game of the season with a career-low 57 yards and no touchdowns on 7 of 14 attempts.
In doing so, he helped prove the theory opposing coaches and players had been espousing on how to best attack Alabama for the past month: make Hurts throw the football.
You better believe No. 2 Clemson, which beat Ohio State 31-0 and picked off veteran quarterback J.T. Barrett twice, was paying attention.
Maybe it was the long layoff that got to Hurts against Washington.
Or maybe it was the magnitude of the moment.
"I don’t know if he was really pressing," Kiffin said. "You know, I think he would be the first to tell you that he didn’t play great today. But, again, like I said all week, this is a big stage and he’s still a true freshman and this is a really good defense that gives people problems."
In the locker room after the game, Hurts didn’t appear to be bothered at all by his performance. Then again, when has he been rattled by anything this season? He bounced back nicely when he fumbled his first career snap in the season-opener against USC, and he handled LSU's Death Valley with the poise of a senior.
Late in the second half against Washington, he said he went to his teammates on the sideline and told them, "Y’all need to believe in me and I’ll believe in ya’ll. Believe in each other. Trust each other."
He avoided throwing an interception and wound up rushing for 50 yards on 19 carries.
"I rarely get frustrated," Hurts explained. "I just take it as it comes and play ball."
Which is good news for the coaching staff as it begins the next week-plus of preparation for Clemson. The Tigers’ front seven will challenge Hurts with a prolific pass-rush that includes linebacker Ben Boulware and defensive linemen Carlos Watkins, Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence.
Kiffin, who said that the game plan against Washington was to be conservative throwing the football, is likely to continue to play it safe with his young quarterback.
If anything, he said he wanted Hurts' lesson from Saturday's game to be, "Just make the easy plays."
"We’re not asking him to win by himself and throw the ball 50 times or something like that," he said. "There are just a few easy plays that he has to make for us to win the next one."
Said Saban: "We have to do a better job at creating balance on offense and being able to throw the ball a little more effectively. And that’s something that we’ll continue to work on."
Hurts thought he’d wind up going to work that very night, ringing in the New Year by watching film with his family, including his father who was his high school football coach.
It all came down to execution against Washington, he said.
And Though he’s sure to take some heat for his passing performance, don’t expect that to bother him.
With 14 games under his belt, you’d expect him to be tired of hearing how he’s so young, and even that rolls off his back.
"It doesn’t affect me what they say," he said. "I hold myself to a high standard. I’ll never put a limit on my game. I know what I’m capable of, personally."
His message over the past month hasn’t changed.
"I said after the SEC Championship, 'We’re not done,'" he said. "Same here. We still have to finish."
Nick Saban: ‘Distractions’ during prep for Washington led to Kiffin’s departure
Lane Kiffin will not remain on staff at Alabama through the national championship against Clemson, and Nick Saban said it’s because the offensive coordinator had trouble with the distractions of his new job at Florida Atlantic.
Steve Sarkisian will immediately take over as the Crimson Tide’s new offensive coordinator for the national title game.
The news broke just before Nick Saban was scheduled to appear on ESPN on Monday. He said he and Kiffin came to a “mutual agreement” after meetings Sunday and Monday.
“Well we recognize that this is a very difficult circumstance in terms of the sort of distractions you have,” Saban said. “I’ve been through it myself when I was with the Cleveland Browns, taking the Michigan State job. I think it’s a really tough management. We just thought it was in the best interest of our players, our program, and for Lane, to assume his responsibilities as the head coach at Florida Atlantic.”
ESPN’s Rece Davis asked Saban what led to the decision. Saban pointed to “the way we went about the last game” against Washington in the Peach Bowl.
“Whether it was the preparation, the practice, being able to focus on what we needed to do for our team relative to the distractions that occur when you’re trying to hire a staff and recruit (at) another place. All these types of things,” Saban said. “And you know, hey, Lane did the best he could. It’s a difficult circumstance. We certainly wish him well.”
The Crimson Tide plays Clemson next Monday, Jan. 9, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Alabama-Clemson is the first 1 vs. 2 title game to ever get a rematch
2
It’s partially college football’s own fault.
by Richard Johnson Jan 1, 2017, 8:00am EST
Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports
Alabama and Clemson are set to square off in the National Championship, and they’re set to do itagain.
Last year’s classic saw the Tide take down the Tigers in Arizona, 45-40. This season, we’ll do it all again in Tampa, and the rematch is something that’s never been done before, not in the BCS era, the pre-BCS systems of the 1990s, or the older bowl system.
Before 1993, No. 1 facing off against No. 2 in a bowl game was downright rare, much less having the same top teams meet two years in a row. The top two teams in the land had only met eight times in bowl gamesbefore the sport initiated the first in a series of changes that led us to the present day.
Per ESPN’s Rece Davis, only twice in the history of the sport had the same two top-five teams ever met in consecutive bowl games.
Florida State and Oklahoma did it in 1980 and ‘81.
And Colorado and Notre Dame’s back-to-back helped lead us to the Playoff we enjoy today.
The Buffaloes and the Fighting Irish met in consecutive Orange Bowls after the 1990 and 1991 seasons. The Buffaloes entered both games as the No. 1 team in the country but came away with part of a title from only the 1990 season’s clash. It was a (not the)national championship game both times for Colorado, but not for the Fighting Irish, because the Irish didn’t rank quite highly enough and that’s how things worked back then. Notre Dame won in the first of those Orange Bowls but would not be the national champion that year. Miami would take home the consensus 1989 title after beating No. 7 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
Colorado’s ‘90 title wasn’t a slam dunk. There were myriad polls and postulations to derive national champions, but the big kahunas should sound familiar, because they’re still the major human polls. The AP and the Coaches Poll (run by rival service United Press International until 1990 and by USA Today and others through the present day) were the standard then and are the noncommittee standard now. The Buffaloes won the AP championship in ‘90, but Georgia Tech was the champion in the Coaches Poll.
The Washington team in 1991 might’ve been the best team of the decade. It’s at least in that conversation ...
... but that Washington team had to deal with a split title, too. It won the title by the Coaches Poll that year, but Miami won it by the AP.
It was the stated aim to get Nos. 1 and 2 into a bowl consistently. But the Coalition and its successor, the Bowl Alliance (which came along in 1996), both had a problem: The Rose Bowl wouldn’t play ball.
The conference commissioners were choosing from among the Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Gator and Cotton Bowls. The three winners will rotate the hoped-for annual face-off between the nation's No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams. The games will most likely be played Dec. 31, Jan. 1 and Jan. 2, with the latter being the one between the higher-ranked teams. Rose Bowl Could Ruin Plan
The catch in the plan could come from the Big Ten and Pacific-10 Conferences, which are contractually bound to the Rose Bowl. If there is a top-ranked or second-ranked team in either conference, it could derail the coalition's intention.
In January of 1995, 1997, and 1998, either No. 1 or No. 2 came from the Pac-10 or the Big Ten and played in Pasadena due to contractual obligation, robbing us of the chance to see a consensus national title game. We got a matchup of the top two in the other years, but we never got a rematch.
When the BCS started in 1998, the “Granddaddy of Them All” agreed to break from its traditional matchup and give the people what they wanted, even if the top teams happened to be Big Ten or Pac-10 schools.
Since then, we’ve had multiple back-to-back entrants in one title game slot but never in both of the title game slots.
Through 2007, one entrant in the BCS National Championship game was a repeat, but we never got the same pair.
Then, for the 2014 season, the sport’s powers that be gave us the Playoff.
And that, in a nutshell, is how we end up with what we have today: Bama and Clemson rematching for all the marbles, as the undisputed top two teams in the land. The Tigers have been looking forward to it.
2
It’s partially college football’s own fault.
by Richard Johnson Jan 1, 2017, 8:00am EST
Alabama and Clemson are set to square off in the National Championship, and they’re set to do itagain.
Last year’s classic saw the Tide take down the Tigers in Arizona, 45-40. This season, we’ll do it all again in Tampa, and the rematch is something that’s never been done before, not in the BCS era, the pre-BCS systems of the 1990s, or the older bowl system.
Before 1993, No. 1 facing off against No. 2 in a bowl game was downright rare, much less having the same top teams meet two years in a row. The top two teams in the land had only met eight times in bowl gamesbefore the sport initiated the first in a series of changes that led us to the present day.
Per ESPN’s Rece Davis, only twice in the history of the sport had the same two top-five teams ever met in consecutive bowl games.
Florida State and Oklahoma did it in 1980 and ‘81.
And Colorado and Notre Dame’s back-to-back helped lead us to the Playoff we enjoy today.
The Buffaloes and the Fighting Irish met in consecutive Orange Bowls after the 1990 and 1991 seasons. The Buffaloes entered both games as the No. 1 team in the country but came away with part of a title from only the 1990 season’s clash. It was a (not the)national championship game both times for Colorado, but not for the Fighting Irish, because the Irish didn’t rank quite highly enough and that’s how things worked back then. Notre Dame won in the first of those Orange Bowls but would not be the national champion that year. Miami would take home the consensus 1989 title after beating No. 7 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.
Colorado’s ‘90 title wasn’t a slam dunk. There were myriad polls and postulations to derive national champions, but the big kahunas should sound familiar, because they’re still the major human polls. The AP and the Coaches Poll (run by rival service United Press International until 1990 and by USA Today and others through the present day) were the standard then and are the noncommittee standard now. The Buffaloes won the AP championship in ‘90, but Georgia Tech was the champion in the Coaches Poll.
The Washington team in 1991 might’ve been the best team of the decade. It’s at least in that conversation ...
... but that Washington team had to deal with a split title, too. It won the title by the Coaches Poll that year, but Miami won it by the AP.
It was the stated aim to get Nos. 1 and 2 into a bowl consistently. But the Coalition and its successor, the Bowl Alliance (which came along in 1996), both had a problem: The Rose Bowl wouldn’t play ball.
The conference commissioners were choosing from among the Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Gator and Cotton Bowls. The three winners will rotate the hoped-for annual face-off between the nation's No. 1- and No. 2-ranked teams. The games will most likely be played Dec. 31, Jan. 1 and Jan. 2, with the latter being the one between the higher-ranked teams. Rose Bowl Could Ruin Plan
The catch in the plan could come from the Big Ten and Pacific-10 Conferences, which are contractually bound to the Rose Bowl. If there is a top-ranked or second-ranked team in either conference, it could derail the coalition's intention.
In January of 1995, 1997, and 1998, either No. 1 or No. 2 came from the Pac-10 or the Big Ten and played in Pasadena due to contractual obligation, robbing us of the chance to see a consensus national title game. We got a matchup of the top two in the other years, but we never got a rematch.
When the BCS started in 1998, the “Granddaddy of Them All” agreed to break from its traditional matchup and give the people what they wanted, even if the top teams happened to be Big Ten or Pac-10 schools.
Since then, we’ve had multiple back-to-back entrants in one title game slot but never in both of the title game slots.
Through 2007, one entrant in the BCS National Championship game was a repeat, but we never got the same pair.
Then, for the 2014 season, the sport’s powers that be gave us the Playoff.
And that, in a nutshell, is how we end up with what we have today: Bama and Clemson rematching for all the marbles, as the undisputed top two teams in the land. The Tigers have been looking forward to it.
