Alabama Football: 5 Bold predictions for National Championship vs. Clemson

5. Alabama-Clemson put on another classic National Championship

While last season’s Sugar Bowl was mostly a dud, turning into the classic Nick Saban boa-constrictor game where the Tide seized an early advantage and then just pounded the ball for sixty-minutes and erased all hope with swarming defense, the two times these two teams have met for the National Championship have been instant-classics.

In the 2015 version, Alabama knocked off Clemson in large part thanks to a gutsy and perfectly executed surprise onside-kick and Kenyan Drake‘s fourth quarter kickoff return for a touchdown after holding the Tigers to a field goal. A pair of long touchdowns by O.J. Howard paced the offense, but Deshaun Watson refused to go down without a fight. Alabama couldn’t catch their breath until an onside-kick went begging late in the game.

The next season, the Tide jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, but couldn’t put together enough offense in the second half, with a tired defense getting gashed in the fourth quarter. A back-and-forth affair, then-freshman Jalen Hurts ran in a touchdown to give Alabama a 28-24 lead with just over two minutes remaining. That proved plenty of time for Watson, as he led Clemson straight down the field, connecting with the ageless Hunter Renfrow for the game-winning touchdown with just one second left on the clock to deliver Dabo Swinney his first national championship.

I wouldn’t expect anything less than a third classic come Monday between these two sides. They have been far-and-away the two best teams in college football this season, with little separating the two.

They’re 1-2 in both S&P+ and the Sagarin rankings, with the Tide holding the narrowest of edges in both.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and Dabo Swinney has built Clemson in Alabama’s image, with the two teams looking like mirror images of each other, never more so than in 2018.

Both teams boast loaded offenses, led by future NFL quarterbacks. Both teams are deep at running back and receiver, with offense lines who open up big holes for the runners and allow little pressure to get to the quarterbacks.

Both defenses are led by stout defensive lines littered with future pros, steady, if sometimes inconsistent linebacker play, and young, but capable secondaries.

This is a true toss-up, with anyone thinking either team has a clear advantage over the other being biased or downright foolish. Play this game ten times, and the result is probably split right down the middle.

The winner will be the team that makes the least amount of mistakes. With Tagovailoa and Lawrence, two quarterbacks likely to be No. 1 overall draft picks in their respective drafts, we could be in for a game that is remembered for years and years to come.

This should be another classic, with no reason to doubt that the two meet in this same game again a year from now.