TAMPA, Fla. — Clemson and Alabama face off for a second straight year in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Last year’s 45-40 Alabama victory was considered one of the best championship games in the history of College Football.
About Alabama: The Crimson Tide owns the longest win streak in the country at 26 games, which dates back to a loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 19, 2015. The 26 games is the third longest streak in Alabama history, and the longest under head coach Dabo Swinney.
About Alabama’s offense: The Crimson Tide love to run the football and they do it as well as anyone. They average 246.7 yards per game on the ground. Damien Harris rushed for 1,013 yards, while quarterback Jalen Hurts is rushing for 891 yards and 12 touchdowns. Bo Scarbrough, the Peach Bowl MVP, has rushed for 719 yards and nine touchdowns. He ran for 180 yards in the Peach Bowl victory over Washington. Alabama has thrown for 214.2 yards per game, while Hurts has thrown for 189 yards a game.
About Alabama’s defense: The Tide leads the country in total defense (244), scoring defense (11.0) and rushing defense (62.0) yards a game. They also rank second in sacks with 50. Ryan Anderson’s 26-yard interception return for a touchdown vs. Washington on Dec. 31 was Alabama’s FBS-best 11th defensive touchdown this season. Ohio State has scored seven times on defense while Houston and Wyoming have scored five times defensively this season. Alabama has scored 11 touchdowns on 27 forced turnovers so far this season (six of 16 interceptions, five of 11 fumbles).
Records: Clemson 13-1, 7-1 ACC; Alabama 14-0, 8-0 ACC
Series record: Alabama leads the series 13-3
First meeting: Clemson won 35-0 in 1900
Last meeting: Alabama won 45-40 in the 2016 National Championship Game
Streak: Alabama has won 13 straight in the series
Stat worth noting: Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson is 31-3 as a starting quarterback, a .912 winning percentage, which is the best in Clemson history. His 31 wins are first among all active FBS quarterbacks.
Second stat worth noting: Each of the top three winningest coaches in Clemson history in terms of total victories are Alabama graduates. Frank Howard, Alabama class of 1931, leads the way with a 165-118-12 record from 1940-69. Danny Ford, Alabama class of 1970, is second with a 96-29-4 record. Current Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney is already third in total wins with an 88-28 mark. Overall, five Alabama graduates have been among the 25 Clemson head football coaches over the years. The others are Hootie Ingram, a 1955 Alabama graduate, who was 12-21 from 1970-72, and Charley Pell, a 1961 Alabama graduate, who was 18-4-1 in two seasons, 1977- 78.
Third stat worth noting: The Alabama defense has totaled 87 three-and-outs in 2016 (6.21 per game) to lead the nation in that category. The Tide has forced a three-and-out on 87 of 181 drives this season (48.1 percent). By the way, Clemson is second at 43 percent (80-186).