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College Football Playoff National Championship: Five reasons Alabama will beat Clemson

By John Buhler

Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker (25) celebrates with teammates after making an interception against the Michigan State Spartans in the fourth quarter in the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker (25) celebrates with teammates after making an interception against the Michigan State Spartans in the fourth quarter in the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban before the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl against the Michigan State Spartans at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 31, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban before the 2015 CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl against the Michigan State Spartans at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Nick Saban

Nick Saban is without question one of the four greatest coaches in college football history. He belongs on college football’s Mount Rushmore with the likes of Bobby Bowden, Paul “Bear” Bryant, and Pop Warner.

Saban has already won four national championships as a head coach in Division I, leading the LSU Tigers to the 2003 National Championship. He left for the NFL’s Miami Dolphins in 2005, only to return to the SEC West to bring back to life the blue-blood that is Alabama Crimson Tide football. Saban won the 2009, 2011, and 2012 National Championships at Alabama over Texas, LSU, and Notre Dame.

The only other coach who’s active in Division I who can compare to Saban is Ohio State’s Urban Meyer, who beat Saban’s Tide in the inaugural College Football Playoff in the Sugar Bowl last season. Swinney may be a terrific coach for the Tigers, but Saban is a living legend in Tuscaloosa.

Saban is able to win at the highest level so regularly because he recruits the right players — guys that have discipline, are selfless, and do whatever it takes for the good of the team. His teams are almost always unified and rarely have an off-day on the gridiron.

Since 2008, to beat Alabama, an opponent must play their A-game while Alabama gives at best a B- effort. Saban and much of his football team were in the 2014 College Football Playoff. They know what to expect. His team will be ready come Monday for Clemson. Few teams are more prepared than a Saban-led football team.

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