Las Vegas may not think much of top-ranked Clemson’s chances against No. 2 Alabama after giving the Tigers an opening line of six points in the National Championship Game on Jan. 11, and most of the national media seem to agree.
But don’t put the Crimson Tide among those skeptics. Alabama head coach Nick Saban told ESPN’s College Game Day crew that Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has done an excellent job building the program and getting the Tigers to this point.
“For them to be 14-0, they have won some big games,” Saban said.
The Tigers are the only team in the country to beat five teams with at least 10 wins this year – App State, Notre Dame, Florida State, North Carolina and Oklahoma.
“They have an outstanding quarterback and they have some really good skill guys on offense,” Saban said. “They have great balance and their defense plays extremely well.”
Clemson ranks 16th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 38.4 points per game, while it also ranks 16th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 20.0 points per game. Led by quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Tigers rank 11th in total offense at 512.0 yards per game, while the defense ranks sixth nationally at 301.6 yards.
Individually, Watson has thrown for 3,699 yards and 31 touchdowns, while completing 68.2 percent of his passes. He has also rushed for 1,032 yards and scored 12 more touchdowns. He is just the third player in the history of college football to throw for 3,500 yards and run for 1,000 in the same season.
Against No. 4 Oklahoma in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Thursday, Watson totaled 332 yards and produced two touchdowns, including 145 yards on the ground.
Running back Wayne Gallman leads the team and ranks second in the ACC with 1,482 yards and 12 touchdowns. Gallman’s rushing numbers are new single-season record for a Clemson running back.
He ran for 150 yards in the Tigers’ 37-17 victory over Oklahoma.
On the defensive side, defensive end Shaq Lawson leads the nation with 23.5 tackles for loss and has 10.5 sacks. Clemson as a team has 43 sacks, which ranks fourth nationally and leads the nation with 117 tackles for loss.
The Tigers held the Sooners to 378 total yards in the Orange Bowl, 165 yards below their season-average coming in.
“This is just a really good all-around football team that can beat you in a lot of ways,” Saban said. “It is going to be a challenging game for us, and I’m certainly hopeful that our players will respond the way they need to respond to play an outstanding game.”
It will be challenging for Clemson, too. The Crimson Tide lead the country in scoring defense (13.4), rushing defense (70.8) and are ranked second in total defense (256.8). They also lead the country in sacks with 50.
Alabama is coming off a 38-0 shutout of No. 3 Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl.
Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry has rushed for 2,061 yards and has 25 touchdowns. He is averaging 147.2 yards per game on the ground and 5.8 yards per carry.
The National Championship Game will kickoff at 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 11 from The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
Alabama leads the all-time series against Clemson 12-3 with the last meeting coming in 2008 at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic in Atlanta. The Crimson Tide won that game by a score of 34-10.
Clemson has lost 12 straight games to Alabama and has not beaten the Crimson Tide since 1905. This year’s National Championship Game will be just the second meeting between the two schools since 1975.