16. Clemson Tigers – 2018
Lost to Alabama in Semifinal (Sugar Bowl), 24-6
When you look back at the Clemson Tigers of the 2017-18 season, you could argue that the reason that they won the National Championship behind the arm of Trevor Lawrence the following season is because of their Sugar Bowl matchup against the Alabama Crimson Tide. After meeting in the title game the two previous years in classically close matchups, it wasn’t close with Kelly Bryant running the offense.
Though we had seen flashes of it before the Sugar Bowl, it was clear that Bryant wasn’t able to run the Clemson offense to any kind of degree of success. What’s worse, he tried to do it by himself and it went horribly. Bryant finished the game going 18-of-36 for just 124 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Moreover, he had just 19 yards on 19 carries.
Bryant’s shortcomings on offense ultimately led to their being a quarterback competition to start the 2018-19 college football season, which saw Lawrence win. That obviously turned out well for them, but Bryant being the starter in the 2017-18 season ultimately knocks them down in these rankings because, even with a strong defense, they couldn’t do anything when they had the ball.
The reason they come in at 16th is because of their defense, though. The Tide managed just 24 points overall and only 17 of them were the result of the offense. Jalen Hurts was really pedestrian in the matchup and the Alabama run game was mediocre at best. But because of Clemson’s lack of offensive success, that didn’t matter.