Tide, Tigers will add chapter to rivalry
NEW ORLEANS — The three-peat will be complete.
Then again, there might be a few more chapters in college football’s most intriguing new rivalry.
For the third consecutive year, Clemson will meet Alabama in the College Football Playoff, only this time it will be in the Sugar Bowl semifinal rather than the national championship game.
They’ll be hard-pressed to match the drama and excitement of the last two meetings: Alabama's 45-40 victory that featured 40 points in the final 10 1-2 minutes , followed by Clemson's 35-31 triumph on a touchdown pass with one second remaining .
“We haven't competed against each other a lot,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Sunday on the eve of the New Year's night game. “But all of a sudden you've got this three-game series that has just happened at the highest level. And this is kind of a rubber match. But, to be honest with you, this is probably not going to be the last one. There will probably be more of these down the road.”
Atlantic Coast Conference champion Clemson (12-1) is the top seed in the playoff, bouncing back from a shocking 27-24 loss to Syracuse in mid-October . Alabama (11-1) didn't even get a chance to play for the Southeastern Conference title, losing to Auburn in the regular-season finale after being ranked No. 1 all season by The Associated Press. Despite the setback, the selection committee went with the Tide as the No. 4 seed over Big Ten champ Ohio State.
That set up Clemson-Alabama, Part III.
“This is kind of like a rivalry now,” Tide linebacker Rashaan Evans said. “This is something I will definitely remember for the rest of my life, just to be able to be a part of this whole big thing. I'll have faced these guys three times, watched so much film of us winning and losing. Now we have another chance.”
Some things to watch for when Clemson takes on Alabama in the Sugar Bowl:
Clemson receiver Hunter Renfrow has been a real thorn in Alabama’s side. The former walk-on caught four touchdown passes in the two previous meetings, including last season’s 2-yard game winner. The burden of shutting down Renfrow could fall largely on Alabama’s star defensive back, Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Fitzpatrick is looking forward to the challenge. “He's not going to out-physical you or outrun you,” the Alabama player said. “He gets the ball out in space, makes people miss, and he's a real shifty guy, smaller guy, so it's hard to tackle him in space.”
Alabama has endured a rash of injuries at the linebacker position , which really seemed to affect the Tide’s stellar defense late in the season. With more than a month off since the loss to Auburn, the situation looks a little better but is still a point of concern for coach Nick Saban.
Most notably, Dylan Moses and Shaun Dion Hamilton won’t be able to play Clemson, dealing a blow to the Tide’s signal-calling inside linebacker position. .