College Football Playoff 2019: 16-team bracket simulation

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 07: Head coach Ed Orgeron of the LSU Tigers talks with Joe Burrow #9 in the second half against the Georgia Bulldogs during the SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 07, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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CHARLOTTE, NC – DECEMBER 07: Clemson Tigers wide receiver Justyn Ross (8) and Clemson Tigers wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) celebrate a touchdown during the ACC Championship game between the Clemson Tigers and the Virginia Cavaliers on December 7, 2019 at the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. (Photo by John McCreary/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. Clemson vs. 14. Michigan

You could make the argument that no team finished the season in a more impressive fashion than the Clemson Tigers. Granted, they were playing in the ACC in a down year for the conference. But after Dabo Swinney’s team got a major scare from North Carolina, they turned on the afterburners and dominated inferior competition in the manner that you would expect a great team to do so.

Over their final eight games of the season, Clemson score at least 38 points in every game and won by at least 31 points in every matchup, including putting an exclamation point on the year with a 62-17 victory over Virginia in the ACC Championship Game. Trevor Lawrence shed early-season struggles to finish like a superstar while Isaiah Simmons and the defense also managed to shore things up in a major way.

What Clemson showed over the final eight weeks of the season would be bad news for the Michigan Wolverines. While Jim Harbaugh’s team showed positive signs prior to facing off with Ohio State, Michigan clearly is who they have been since the head coach took over. They are a good team that is far from great and a group that can’t keep up if you get them in a shootout.

The weapons that the Tigers have on both sides of the ball simply create a matchup nightmare for the Wolverines. Travis Etienne, Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross are unequaled by anyone on Michigan’s defense and Shea Patterson doesn’t have the horsepower to keep up with the damage that Clemson could do, particularly against the likes of Simmons, Xavier Thomas and the like.

This game would be another to make those in Ann Arbor question the longevity of Harbaugh.

Winner: Clemson Tigers