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Clemson Football: 5 Reasons Tigers beat Tide in College Football Playoff

By Justin Heisey

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers celebrates after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the College Football Playoff Semifinal Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. Clemson defeated Notre Dame 30-3. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers celebrates after defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the College Football Playoff Semifinal Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Arlington, Texas. Clemson defeated Notre Dame 30-3. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Todd Bennett/GettyImages)
(Photo by Todd Bennett/GettyImages) /

4. Alabama’s Weakness to Explosive Plays

Alabama lost a significant amount on defense but years of recruiting classes have made the transition that much easier. Players like Patrick Surtain Jr., Dylan Moses, and Shyheim Carter have all made roles for themselves in the defense this season and have led the Tide to the No. 1 defense in success rate and a top-15 total defense. Alabama’s defense isn’t bad, but they give up a fair amount of big plays.

Alabama is ranked No. 72 in isolated points per play according to Football Outsiders S&P rankings. Isolated PPP looks at only the per-play value of a team’s successful plays and its goal is to separate the explosiveness from efficiency.

Alabama has looked as lockdown as their defenses of the past but at times they give up huge plays. For example, The Citadel’s Dante Smith broke out for 45 yards and a score, Louisiana’s Elijah Mitchell busted a 40 yard run to set up a score, Keller Chryst had his moments, Jordan Ta’amu hit DK Metcalf for a 75-yard score, Jake Fromm thew touchdown passes of 20+ yards to Isaac Nauta and Riley Ridley, and most of the scoring plays Oklahoma had in the second half were chunk plays.

Clemson’s offense is ranked eighth in Isolated PPP on the offensive side of the ball and have a running back that averages over eight yards per carry. Clemson’s offense is an explosive play waiting to happen and Alabama’s defense struggles against teams that thrive on these types of plays.

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