Monday’s showdown between Alabama and Clemson in the College Football Playoff championship game will be the continuation of a rivalry that started three years ago…
Monday’s showdown between Alabama and Clemson in the College Football Playoff championship game will be the continuation of a rivalry that started three years ago.
Their fourth playoff meeting in consecutive years comes after they split two previous matchups in the title game in the 2015 and 2016 season. Alabama won last year’s semifinal.
This will be the third title in four years if the Tide prevail and second in three seasons for the Tigers should they win. If history holds, this should be another memorable and close matchup between the teams. The previous two title games were decided by less than a touchdown.
Our staff picks for the championship game:
Jace Evans
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence was brilliant in Clemson’s Cotton Bowl win over Notre Dame. He was so good, in fact, it’s easy to forget that he is a true freshman. But that point is an important one: No true freshman quarterback has beaten Nick Saban’s team since 2007, his first year in Tuscaloosa. Another thing working against Clemson is the absence of Dexter Lawrence. While the defense hardly missed a beat against Notre Dame without him, this is the type of game where a player of his caliber could really swing things.
There’s also a sense that Alabama can hit another gear than what it showed in a somewhat sloppy win in the Orange Bowl. That Alabama was perceived to be slightly off its game while still scoring on seven of 10 drives against Oklahoma speaks to the standard the Crimson Tide has set for itself.
