The Clemson Tigers meet the Alabama Crimson Tide again in the National Championship Game, and these are the keys for the for the former to pick up the win.
For the fourth-straight College Football Playoff, the Clemson Tigers will match up against the Alabama Crimson Tide. And for the third time in the last four years, these two college football powerhouses will be squaring off in the National Championship Game. Of course, the Tigers and Tide have split in their title game appearances, but Bama holds the 2-1 advantage overall in their series of meetings.
At the end of 60 minutes (and perhaps even overtime if there’s a repeat of last year), one of these two teams will taste defeat for the first time this season. Both the Tigers and Crimson Tide enter this game with identical 14-0 records, a battle of perfect teams at Levi’s Stadium for the title.
Of course, coming into this game, Clemson faces perhaps the tallest task possible in college football this season. Through 14 games to this point, only one team has pushed Alabama even close to the brink of defeat — the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game. The Tigers will not only be looking to change that, but will be looking to do what the Bulldogs couldn’t: Come out on the winning side.
Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers haven’t exactly been pushed that often themselves this season, most recently dismantling Notre Dame in their College Football Playoff semifinal matchup. Then again, they’ve not yet faced a team the caliber of the Crimson Tide.
Even still, looking at what we know about Alabama and what we know about their challengers in the title game, there is a recipe for Swinney’s team to come out on top. These are the Clemson keys to victory in the National Championship Game.
5. Establish run game with Travis Etienne
He’s not gone completely under the radar, but you could make the argument that Clemson sophomore running back Travis Etienne is the most underrated part of their roster. With Trevor Lawrence getting many of the offensive headlines and the defense creating headlines of their own, Etienne sometimes get overshadowed. However, he’s a critical cog in what they do offensively, in addition to being a dynamic threat himself as a runner.
On 190 rushing attempts this season, Etienne has averaged 8.3 yards per carry and found the end zone 22 times. He’s a physical runner with solid strength and size, but also has shiftiness in short areas to make would-be tacklers miss and then the speed to break away in the open field. That all, of course, is always going to be key to him making big plays for the Tigers offense.
In the National Championship Game, the Tigers have to find a way to get Etienne going. Part of that will undoubtedly involve taking some shots down the field in the passing game to not allow Alabama to sell out against the run (more on that later). However, it’s also going to be about misdirection and putting the Crimson Tide linebackers in tough spots where they must be disciplined.
Put simply, it’s not easy to run on this Alabama team, especially considering that Clemson’s offensive line is good, but not great. Having said that, it’s possible for the Tigers to game plan and scheme in a way that they can get Etienne plenty of work and allow him to make plays. Doing so is absolutely critical to their success as they will surely need to chew up clock and control the game.