Sweet 16: Hypothetical 16-team College Football Playoff
By Brad Weiss
Different format, same result, as the Clemson Tigers win our National Championship Game in our 16-team College Football Playoff. Starting quarterback Deshaun Watson outplayed the young gun for USC, Sam Darnold, leading the Tigers to their first national championship since 1981. In a game that was fast-paced throughout, the Tigers were able to make one more big play than the Trojans, who will now look towards next year as one of the favorites to go all the way.
USC rise from a lost season, to a berth in the National Championship Game, was impressive, and along the way, they may have found the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Darnold has completely turned around the USC program, and it looked early that he would lead the Trojans back to the top of college football landscape. He showed some freshman mistakes late in the game, including an interception during the Trojans’ final drive, which sealed the championship for the Tigers.
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With the season in the rear view mirror, these two programs go into next year in completely different situations. USC is going to be set at quarterback, while Clemson has to now look for a replacement for the best signal-caller in school history. In what was certainly a historic season for both schools, the Tigers are the final team standing, and Watson will leave school as a legend in Death Valley.