NEW ORLEANS — The first big day of national championship weekend takes place this morning, as Clemson and LSU players and coaches participate in Media Day at the Xavier University of Louisiana Convocation Center in New Orleans.
The Tigers (14-0) and LSU (14-0) meet in the College Football Playoff National Championship Monday at the Superdome starting at 8 p.m. (ET).
The players and coaches from Clemson and LSU will meet with the media for one hour each this morning starting at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Here are five storylines to watch for from media day.
Trevor Lawrence vs. Joe Burrow
Though these two players do not play against each other on the field Monday night, everyone wants to know who the better quarterback will be and how the other views the other. Trevor Lawrence has been on fire the last seven weeks, completing better than 77 percent of his passes while throwing 23 touchdown passes and no interceptions. He is 25-0 as a starter. Burrow, the Heisman Trophy winner, has thrown for more than 5,200 yards this season, while completing 78 percent of his passes. He has 55 touchdown passes to six interceptions.
Clemson’s wide receivers
A lot of people will want to know how healthy Justyn Ross and Tee Higgins are. The two Clemson receivers were banged up in the Fiesta Bowl win against Ohio State. Though both came back and played in the game, Higgins suffered some kind of injury early in the game after taking a shot as he tried to make a catch near the boundary, while Ross dinged up his shoulder and left the game following a couple of other hits from the hard hitting Buckeyes’ defense. Both answered similar questions at Clemson’s media day last week, but there are a lot of national media members who were not there.
Who will be more entertaining?
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is always a media favorite at these events because of his upbeat and charming personality. However, this year he will have some competition in LSU head coach Ed Orgeron. The native son of Louisiana has taken his Bayou Bengals to the national championship game in New Orleans where he is beloved by all the LSU fans. Like Swinney, Orgeron has an upbeat and charming personality, as well, and the media loves the way he talks.
Brent Venables
Normally, Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables is not bothered at these events too much. However, this year will be a whole lot different story. Everyone is curious about how he will try to slow down Burrow and the LSU offense. No one has been able to do that this season, with the exception of Auburn, who held LSU to 23 points. The SEC’s Tigers lead the nation in scoring offense, total offense and red zone touchdown percentage. They are second in the country in passing yards per game. LSU has scored 36 points in each of its other 13 games and is coming off a 63-point performance against Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl.
Isaiah Simmons
The Clemson linebacker is the most versatile defender in the country. He can play just about anywhere on defense. A lot of the media will flock to him and want to get a first-hand account on his thoughts about Burrow and the LSU receivers. They will want to know if Clemson is capable of stopping such a high-powered offense such as this. Will any of the media members be able to pull something out of him as they keep hounding him about how great Burrow is and how no one believes Clemson can do anything to stop him and LSU’s offense.
Clemson is going back to the national championship game after once again winning the Fiesta Bowl over Ohio State. Get your official national championship and Fiesta Bowl champs gear right here!
