There are a lot of ways to go about looking at Monday’s game between Alabama and Clemson. It’s good that we’ve seen this game before and recently, so a large portion of the cast remains the same.

That being said the changes both teams have made in the past year should give us a slightly different game with slightly different challenges.

Quarterback vs. Defense: Clemson – Deshaun Watson (4-star, 2014); Alabama – Jalen Hurts (4-star, 2016)

What to expect: Watson’s experience against Alabama from last year’s championship game should give him an edge. He threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 73 yards on 20 carries. Watson can extend plays with his legs, which is about the only way to neutralize Alabama’s pass rush. The flip side is that Alabama’s defense has seen Watson once and I’m sure they can recognize the mistakes they made and the coaching staff will add some wrinkles to the scheme.

Clemson’s defense held Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett to minus-2 yards rushing and 127 yards passing with two interceptions (12.9 QBR), so the Tigers can defend against an elite mobile quarterback.

Where Hurts has it a little better than Barrett is that he is complemented by elite running backs whereas Barrett was asked to go at it alone from time to time. On the downside, it appears like Hurts has run out of gas a little down the stretch. He gave Alabama nothing in the passing game last week (7-of-14, 57 yards, 13.8 QBR) and I expect the game plan will be to use Hurts as more of a running threat than a passing threat Monday.

As for which quarterback is better, it’s not really close. Watson is a two-time Heisman finalist with a ton of big-game experience who has the attributes necessary to beat Alabama (physical talent, mobility, toughness, moxie). Hurts is a nice, developing player surrounded by great players. His job Monday will be not to lose the game.

Clemson running game (Wayne Gallman, 4-star, 2013) vs. Alabama front seven (Jonathan Allen, 5-star, 2013; Da’Ron Payne, 5-star, 2015; Dalvin Tomlinson, 4-star, 2012; Tim Williams, 4-star, 2013; Ryan Anderson, 4-star, 2012; Rashaan Evans, 5-star, 2014; Rueben Foster, 5-star, 2013):

What to expect: Gallman and Watson handled nearly 70 percent of the carries for the Tigers this season and Alabama’s defense handled 100 percent of the running backs that thought they could get something established on the ground.

Gallman, like Watson, played in the game last year and knows what to expect. His rushing yards, 45 on 14 carries, were nothing special but he did catch three passes for 61 yards.

Clemson probably doesn’t expect a ton of success on the ground outside of a Watson scramble or two, so if Gallman can get positive yards on first downs and in short-yardage situations, that will be enough.

Alabama will do what it does best — take the run option away completely and force Clemson to be one-dimensional. Foster, Anderson and Evans will try to stop Clemson’s wide-open attack by bringing the pain and force the Tigers into a bit more of a power game.

This matchup clearly favors Alabama and it could really rear its head if Clemson gets into a lot of short-yardage situations and can’t rely on Gallman to pick up a yard or two.

Alabama running game (Damien Harris, 5-star, 2015; Bo Scarbrough, 5-star, 2014; Joshua Jacobs, 3-star, 2016) vs. Clemson front seven (Christian Wilkins, 5-star, 2015; Carlos Watkins, 4-star, 2012; Dexter Lawrence, 5-star, 2016; Clelin Ferrell, 4-star, 2015; Dorian O’Daniel, 4-star, 2013; Kendall Joseph, 3-star, 2014; Ben Boulware, 4-star, 2013):

What to expect: Scarbrough looks to be ready to be unleashed on the world Monday. The 5-star recruit has 271 yards and four touchdowns on just 30 carries in the past two games. That’s nine yards every time he touches the ball. Harris has slowed down in the second half of the season but he is a 1,000-yard rusher averaging 7.3 yards per carry, so the productivity can come from a couple of places. Clemson’s front four is as good as anyone’s but the Tigers can be run on. Florida State’s Dalvin Cook had 169 yards and four touchdowns against the Tigers. N.C. State’s Matthew Dayes and Pitt’s James Conner also had 100-yard games. Scarbrough and Harris will likely combine for 35-40 carries Monday, and Clemson will have to keep them from getting Alabama into favorable down and distance situations. Alabama wants to shorten the game and keep Watson off the field, so they are looking to create third-and-short situations and overpower Clemson early in hopes of getting big plays on the ground in the second half.

Clemson passing game (Mike Williams, 4-star, 2013; Artavis Scott, 4-star, 2014; Deon Cain 4-star, 2015; Jordan Leggett, 3-star, 2013; Ray-Ray McCloud, 4-star, 2015; Hunter Renfrow, NR, 2015) vs. Alabama secondary (Marlon Humphrey, 5-star, 2014; Minkah Fitzpatrick, 5-star, 2015; Ronnie Harrison, 4-star, 2015; Anthony Averett, 4-star, 2013; Tony Brown, 5-star, 2014):

What to expect: The Tigers had a lot of success in the passing game last year without Williams (broken neck) or Cain (suspension). With Williams back and established at one of the best wide receivers in the nation and Cain averaging over 19 yards a catch, this is a much more dangerous group than last year. Simply put this is the best wide receivers group a Nick Saban-coached secondary has ever faced. Williams would be enough of problem for any secondary but the experienced depth takes this unit to another level. Scott and Renfrow will make their plays in the short game while Williams will try to get downfield. Leggett is a matchup nightmare with his ability to get open in the middle of the field. Without Eddie Jackson, the Tide’s secondary isn’t as strong — the pass plays were there for Florida and Washington but the quarterbacks couldn’t pull the trigger. Watson won’t have that problem. Where Alabama will counter is its ability to generate takeaways. Watson has thrown 17 interceptions this season. Defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt will have faith in his defensive backs to play a lot of man coverage, which means Watson will get to take some shots down field.

Alabama passing game (Calvin Ridley, 5-star, 2015; O.J. Howard, 5-star, 2013; ArDaruis Stewart, 4-star, 2013) vs. Clemson secondary (Ryan Carter, 2-star, 2013; Cordrea Tankersley, 3-star, 2013; Jadar Johnson, 3-star, 2013; Van Smith, 4-star, 2015):

What to expect: When Ridley played against teams from the state of Kentucky he was a monster (20 catches, 303 yards, 3 TDs in two games). However, against everyone else he was pedestrian (47 catches, 430 yards, 4 TDs in 12 games).

He was a non-factor against Clemson last year (six catches, 14 yards) and a non-factor against Washington last week (one catch, 6 yards).

Wide receivers can get open against this Clemson secondary, but Ridley has to be there when Hurts calls his number. Stewart, not Ridley, has been Hurts’ target of choice and he’s been a little more reliable down the stretch although he was held without a catch against Washington.

Howard was the difference maker in last year’s game. He had five catches for 208 yards and two touchdowns and was named the game’s MVP. Last year Clemson was willing to let Howard beat them to keep others (Ridley, Derrick Henry) from beating them. This year I don’t believe they are going to give Hurts so many clean looks at his tight end. But that doesn’t mean that Howard can’t make big plays and find the end zone at least one time.

Clemson offensive line (Mitch Hyatt, 5-star, 2015; Taylor Hearn, 3-star, 2014; Jay Guillermo, 3-star, 2012; Tyrone Crowder, 4-star, 2013; Sean Pollard, 4-star, 2016) vs. Alabama front four (Jonathan Allen, 5-star, 2013; Da’Ron Payne, 5-star, 2015; Dalvin Tomlinson, 4-star, 2012; Tim Williams, 4-star, 2013):

What to expect: The strength of Clemson’s line is the experience that Guillermo, Crowder and Hyatt provide. They will probably need to give Pollard, a true freshman, some help at left tackle.

Alabama is the top-rated defense in the nation in yards and points allowed and it starts with their domination up front.

Clemson’s offensive line probably won’t get the push it did to gain 540 yards on offense like last year but they won’t need as much offense to pull out a win this year. Alabama has to get to Watson with the four-man rush and well-disguised blitzes. This has not been a problem for the Tide all season, but they haven’t faced anything close to what Watson can do.

Alabama offensive line (Cam Robinson, 5-star, 2014; Ross Pierschbacher, 4-star, 2014; Bradley Bozeman, 3-star, 2013; Korren Kirven, 4-star, 2012; Jonah Williams, 5-star, 2016) vs. Clemson front four (Christian Wilkins, 5-star, 2015; Carlos Watkins, 4-star, 2012; Dexter Lawrence, 5-star, 2016; Clelin Ferrell, 4-star, 2015):

What to expect: We know about Robinson already and Pierschbacher takes a back seat to very few guards in the nation. Williams is a future first-round pick. The battle will be inside with the veterans, Bozeman and Kirven, trying to slow down Dexter Lawrence, one of the top freshman interior defensive linemen in the nation.

Clemson’s front four is very strong on the pass rush, but they will be much more focused on the run Monday.

This means there will be a lot of helmet-on-helmet battles in the trenches. The Tide want to go straight at Clemson and show they can get what they want between the tackles. This might be the most intriguing matchup of the game. It’s strength-on-strength in some ways, so it may come down to a battle of wills, as cliché as that sounds.

Special teams: I don’t trust college kickers, so let’s get that out of the way right now. Adam Griffith is good from 40 yards in for Alabama but 3-of-7 on anything longer. Greg Huegel’s numbers from distance are much better (5-of-7, long of 47), but Clemson has only attempted 19 field goals this season.

Last year special teams were a major factor, maybe the deciding factor. Alabama scored on a kick return and successfully converted an onside kick that led to another touchdown. That plus-14 on special teams was the difference in a 45-40 game.

I don’t expect Alabama to go with a surprise onside kick again and if they do I would expect Clemson to be ready this time. If Dabo Swinney learned his lesson about having proper personnel on special teams, the Tigers won’t be exposed like they were last year.