Ad Disclosure
The 2015 college football season has come down to one game: Monday night’s national championship matchup between Alabama and Clemson.
Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban is seeking his fifth national title and his fourth with Alabama. A Clemson victory would cap a 15-0 season and secure the Tigers’ first national championship since 1981.
Here’s hoping that Monday night’s tilt is a bit closer than Alabama’s and Clemson’s semifinal victories, which were won by an average of 29 points.
Here is what a few national media outlets are saying about the biggest college football game of the season:
- The last Clemson-Alabama game launched a dynasty and led to change, according to the Associated Press, which recounts the Crimson Tide’s 34-10 victory over the Tigers in 2008, which was the season before Saban won his first national title with Alabama. That loss, part of a 3-3 start for head coach Tommy Bowden that led to his being fired, allowed Dabo Swinney to get his break as interim coach. And the Alabama alum rolled with that opportunity ever since, leading Clemson to six straight seasons with at least 10 wins after they went 19-15 in his first 34 games as head coach of the Tigers.
- Clemson will need explosive offense to destroy the Death Star defense of Alabama. So writes the Washington Post, which says that Clemson’s “offensive explosiveness” is just 57th in the nation. We’re not sure how the Tigers can rank so low in this metric, but their offensive explosiveness was on full display in their 37-17 victory over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, especially in the second half, when they scored 21 unanswered points.
- Dabo Swinney overcame pain and poverty to be on the cusp of history, Mark Schlabach writes in a story for ESPN.com, which is good, but reminding us that the Clemson coach’s real name is William Christopher Swinney and including childhood photos of Dabo and his family are even better.
- Clemson is Alabama’s most talented championship opponent, so says former NFL general manager Phil Savage, who scouts talent as the Senior Bowl’s executive director, is Alabama’s radio analyst and recently shared his opinion with CBS Sports. We respectfully disagree with Savage. If and unless Clemson proves us wrong, we still believe LSU has been Alabama’s most difficult championship game opponent of the Saban era.
- Clemson sees Alabama as the gold standard on the way to a golden finish, reports Paul Myerberg of USA Today. To achieve that golden finish, the Tigers will have to succeed against the best front seven in the country and one of the best all time. We’ll finally find out Monday night if Clemson — a 7-point underdog — really has been the No. 1 team in the nation this season.
Stan Chrapowicki is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Alabama and Auburn.
