LSU vs. Clemson: 3 takeaways on 2020 National Championship Game – Which Tigers will prevail?
By John Buhler
The LSU Tigers will face the Clemson Tigers for the 2019 National Championship. Here are three quick takeaways from their national semifinal victories.
Advancing to the national championship are the No. 1 LSU Tigers and the No. 3 Clemson Tigers who look to win for the second year in a row.
LSU had no issues putting away the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners in the Peach Bowl. Outside of Norman, everybody expected the Bayou Bengals to boom the Sooners, but it was a laugher that was over by halftime. LSU’s dominating 63-28 victory over Oklahoma has the Tigers 1-0 in the College Football Playoff all time, while the Sooners fall to a dreadful 0-4.
As for Clemson, it took until the final minute for the Tigers to put away the Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl. It was a back-and-forth affair, but Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne and the reigning national champions found a way to keep their magical season alive. Ohio State’s comeback efforts fell short in the waning seconds after Justin Fields threw his second interception of the game, as the Buckeyes fell 29-23.
We will have two weeks to get ready for the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on Monday, Jan. 13. Here are a few quick takeaways for what fans can expect in the battle of the Tigers where LSU opened as three-point favorites, according to The Action Network.
It’s Joe Burrow‘s world and we’re just living in it
If you had any doubts about Joe Burrow’s ability to shred a college defense, they should no longer exist after the Peach Bowl. Burrow capped off an SEC Championship with a Heisman Trophy victory and then beat the Sooners to a pulp with his arm on Saturday evening. He completed 29-of-39 passes for 493 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions. He even ran one in himself.
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a season this prolific out of a single signal-caller. Burrow is playing the quarterback position at a level we never see out of college quarterbacks. This is why he’ll be the No. 1 overall pick by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft. He may not be able to save the Bengals, but he’s a quarterbacking god for the Bayou Bengals.
If you want to call him a one-year wonder, that’s on you. It’s not gimmicky, it’s a few lucky breaks, it’s quarterbacking at its purest: beating the opposition with precision passing from the pocket. You may love another college star in the game today, but let’s be real for one second: It’s Joe Burrow’s world and we’re just lucky enough to be living it. We can’t believe it’s almost over…
If you make a mental mistake, Clemson will make you pay for it
It was a game that went down to the wire, but the team that made fewer mental mistakes proved victorious. No, it wasn’t just the game-sealing interception of Justin Fields in the back of the end zone that sent Clemson to the national title. Ohio State shot itself in the foot all night long and Clemson took advantage of it almost every single time.
A targeting penalty on Shaun Wade stemming from a hit on Trevor Lawrence translated into a Clemson touchdown on the extended drive. A little while later, a roughing the punter penalty on Ohio State would extend another Clemson drive that resulted in a touchdown. Fields also threw two interceptions in this game, where he had thrown only one in the entire 13 games before.
What this game between the Buckeyes and the Tigers showed us is that Clemson is cool under pressure in the huge stage that is the College Football Playoff. Ohio State will probably be back very soon under head coach Ryan Day, but Clemson has the mental toughness to beat any elite team they come across, even if they don’t come across an elite team until December.
It’s going to be a party in New Orleans
We know three things heading into the national title bout between LSU and Clemson. One, it’ll be the fifth year in a row where only southeastern teams will be playing for the national championship. Two, the Tigers are going to be national champions in two weeks. And three, it’s going to be one heck of a party in New Orleans.
Sure, we’ve seen an in-state team play a national title at home before in the College Football Playoff era. The Georgia Bulldogs got to play in Atlanta for the 2017 National Championship. That was cool and all, but this is LSU playing in New Orleans. It’s going to be the biggest college football party this side of Jacksonville the sport has ever seen. Is New Orleans ready for this?
Of course, New Orleans is ready for this. There isn’t a better party city that is equipped to handle this level of college football spectacular. It’s the hometown favorites vs. the defending national champion underdogs. What could go wrong? Clemson might repeat, but if LSU does the damn thing, let’s just say Mardi Gras starts a few weeks early this year, as in right about now.
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