Clemson vs. Alabama, Sugar Bowl 2018: Preview and prediction

Clemson’s keys to victory

The Clemson Tigers were expected to be good this season, but who could have figured that they would be one of the last four teams standing. Last season, the Tigers were led by one of the best quarterbacks in college football in Deshaun Watson, who was dominant for the Houston Texans during his rookie season in the NFL in 2017. Kelly Bryant is a fantastic talent, but he played very sparingly with Watson still in school, so it was anybody’s guess as to how good he would be in year one.

Well, Bryant was brilliant for the Tigers and was able to make up for the fact that the team lost guys like Wayne Gallman and Mike Williams due to the NFL. If the Tigers are to beat the Tide in the Sugar Bowl, Bryant needs to be the best player on the field when Clemson has the ball, and he is going to be facing the best defense he has played this season. Against Syracuse, in the Tigers’ only loss this season, Bryant missed most of the game due to injury, so he will be the most important player for the Tigers in this one.

Being able to move the ball against Alabama is not an easy task, but it is doable. Clemson has the playmakers to put up points against this Crimson Tide defense, but they have to be able to mix the run with the pass. Both of these teams have great defensive lines, and if the Tigers can get a push up front, they should be able to feature guys like Travis Etienne and Tavien Feaster. Those two players combined for over 1,400 yards on the ground, as they worked well to replace the production left by Gallman last season.

On defense, the game plan is easy, and that is get after Hurts and put the Tide in passing situations. The Tigers have arguably the best defensive front in all of college football, and there could be as many as three first rounders in the unit. If the Tide has to rely on Hurts to beat the Tigers through the air, this one could actually be pretty lopsided.