Tim Tebow discusses 2018 College Football Playoff

With the College Football Playoff almost here, ESPN’s Tim Tebow took some time to discuss both national semifinal games happening on New Year’s Day.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The holiday season has been fantastic, but things are only about to heat up in the college football landscape. While many of the earlier bowl games have been thrilling, the two everybody is looking forward to the most are the two national semifinal games in the College Football Playoff.

To help us breakdown these two exciting New Year’s Day matchups, Two-time national champion, Heisman Trophy winning quarterback for the Florida Gators and college football analyst for the SEC Network Tim Tebow took a few minutes of his time to speak with us.

Tebow is in New Orleans doing great work on behalf of the Allstate Good Works Team, leading up to the Sugar Bowl between the No. 1 Clemson Tigers and the No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide.

FanSided: Tim, what can you tell me about the work you’re doing for the Allstate Good Works Team in New Orleans ahead of the Sugar Bowl?

Tim Tebow: Well, being part of the Good Works Team is something I’ve been a part of since my senior year of college when I was part of the team. For the last few years, getting the chance to be a Good Works ambassador and being to just love on so many kids and to support all these kids. In a day and age where we make it all about championships, trophies and winning, sometimes you forget about the bigger picture.

And that’s why I’m so proud of this team. It’s because everybody on this team is focused on the bigger picture and changing lives in their communities. That’s why it’s so fun today. We’re all coming together to refurbish the APEX Center here in New Orleans. It’s a place where thousands of kids will use it ever year.

For them to know that they are worth us investing in, speaking with, caring about and going out of our way to build something so that they can be encouraged every day. It’s a pretty special time. Like me, you were just talking about how it’s an awesome time for college football, but it’s an even better time for changing lives.

FS: Absolutely. So we’ve got the third straight meeting in the College Football Playoff between Alabama and Clemson. This time Clemson will have a different starter at quarterback. How is Kelly Bryant different from Deshaun Watson and how would this impact Alabama’s defensive game plan?

TT: Well, I think he’s very different actually. He’s more of a downhill runner. I think he’s got a little more power to him as a runner. I think he throws a pretty good fade. There are several routes he throws pretty good, but the offense doesn’t have as complex of a passing game as it did with Deshaun for a couple of reasons.

One, Deshaun had so many games under his belt. He was there so long that Clemson could put in a more complex passing offense. This is Kelly’s first opportunity as a starter and I think he’ll get more and more. But going up against ‘Bama, that’ll be a big change because they could got from a two-tight to a five-wide and have so much versatility with Deshaun.

I don’t think you’ll see the same versatile in this game. And I think that’s why a really big matchup in this game will be the quarterbacking run game of Kelly Bryant between Ronnie Harrison and Minkah Fitzpatrick, the two safeties for Alabama and who can really win that matchup.

FS: Alabama made the playoff for the fourth year in a row, this time as an at-large No. 4 seed. Do the Crimson Tide have to beat No. 1 Clemson to justify their belonging in the playoff? Or did they beat out Ohio State convincingly in your eyes for that last spot already?

TT: No, I don’t think they have to beat Clemson to prove that they are worth it. The Committee made the right decision. I think that if you go by that philosophy you’re saying that you have to beat the No. 1 team in the country to prove that they are the No. 4 team in the country. That doesn’t necessarily make sense. So they don’t have to win to prove that they are good enough. I think they did that with 11 very impressive wins this season.

FS: Besides having Kelly Bryant run the ball effectively for Clemson, is there any other deciding factor you think will help decide who wins the Sugar Bowl this year?

TT: I think Clemson has to have some receivers step up and win in man-to-man coverage. You look at the last two years and you see Hunter Renfrow, specifically two years ago, really to be able to win in the slot. Last year, Jordan Leggett, Mike Williams, Hunter sometimes as well, being able to win the one-on-one matchups.

I mean, how many times was it a closely contested ball? Jordan Leggett comes up with it, Mike Williams comes up with it, Hunter Renfrow comes up with it, Deon Cain. It’s going to be a big factor this year I think. Ray-Ray McCloud I think will need to be a big factor.

They’re not going to be wide open. No one is versus Alabama. So you need to come up with big catches, contested catches, third down catches. And that was a reason Clemson had so much success last year. Not necessarily being able to run the ball, but in close third-down and red zone plays, they’ve come up with huge catches.

FS: Now, let’s turn our attention to the other national semifinal game in the Rose Bowl between No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 3 Georgia. This is the first time these two teams will have ever met. However, all the attention this week has been on Heisman winner Baker Mayfield’s health. How will that impact the game for the Sooners?

TT: I don’t think it’s going to really impact it too much. He did show up at the press conference the other day. He didn’t look great, but he looked fine to me. He’s such a competitor, but I’m sure they are giving him every supplement, every IV, every possible way they could get fluids into him to get him okay. I think he’ll be over the hump and ready to go by Monday night.

Plus, I’ve known a lot of guys that have played pretty sick and a few times myself. And I think the competitor that he is, he is not going to let flu-like symptoms stop him from playing and competing at a high level.

FS: Jake Fromm has gotten progressively better with each start quarterbacking Georgia. Does he have what it takes to keep pace with Mayfield? Or will Georgia have to win this game with its running backs and defense?

TT: I don’t think he has to, you know. If you’re a Georgia fan or a Georgia coach, I don’t think you’re asking him to keep with Baker. You’re asking him to do his job. It’s a totally different system and a totally different philosophy. He just has to focus on doing his job every play. Not trying to match Baker Mayfield, crazy play for crazy play, right. That’s Baker’s M.O.

But Jake does a great job of taking what the defense gives him, giving it to three great running backs. On third down, if he’s asked to throw a corner route, put it on the money. If he’s asked to throw stick routes, if he’s asked to toss it to Nick Chubb, just do your job and focus in on the system that’s going to get it done and that you don’t gotta do too much.

And sometimes when you’re a quarterback and you’re facing another great one, you think “Oh, man. I gotta be a world-changer.” When all you really gotta do is do your job. And I think that’s something he’s been coached in and engrained in him. If he just focuses on the task at hand, one play at a time, then that’ll be the key for him.

FS: What would you say is the deciding factor for who wins the Rose Bowl this year?

TT: I think it’s plays. The number of plays Oklahoma has on offense and the number of plays Georgia has on defense. I think that if that gets to a really high number, I think that’s a bad sign for Georgia. Similar to how Clemson had 99 plays against Alabama in the national championship. For the first 80, I think they had 14 points. After that, they started to roll.

Georgia can be great on defense for a while, but if they have too many plays and the game gets too long, you know, great players start to slow down. Then all of the sudden, the window you had to put it in with six inches is now two feet. Georgia can’t let that happen and that’s where the offense has to come into play. Shortening the game, controlling the ball and the defense has to get off the field after third down. If this goes over 80 plays, I think Oklahoma wins.

FS: Odds are we may have seen the last of guys like Saquon Barkley, Sam Darnold and Lamar Jackson in a college uniform. Anything of note stand out to you in their bowl games that could impact their decisions to turn pro?

TT: Well, I think that if they have the opportunity to go and change their families’ lives by being a top-five pick, it’s really hard to say no. Obviously as someone who loves my university and my time in college, it would be awesome to see them come back to play their senior years.

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For Lamar Jackson, to win two Heisman Trophies. For Sam Darnold, to lead USC back to the promised land, something he had hoped to do this year. And with all the success Saquon has had. But if they’ve got a chance to be a top-five pick, that’s a really tough decision. It’s something they not really have to look at for themselves, but their ability to effect so many other people as well. So I think it’s a really tough decision.