The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sizing up Crimson Tide, Tigers
Alabama dynasty aims to do it again as Clemson tries to finally break through
Nick Saban and Alabama are on the verge of leaving college football history behind. A victory tonight would give Alabama five national championships in eight seasons, a feat never completed at the highest level of the sport during the poll era.
The Tide (14-0) can become the first FBS program to finish 15-0, along with the first to win four championships in a span of six seasons.
Another title would give Saban six during the poll era that began in 1936, including a BCS crown at LSU in 2003, matching Paul “Bear” Bryant for the most of any major-college coach. With one more championship, there will be no more college football dynasties left to compare to Saban’s.
Dabo Swinney’s team stands in the way of an Alabama championship again. The Tigers (13-1) have not won a national title since 1981. As Swinney and his players have said over and over, it is the only box left for the program to check as it has taken a place among the elite in college football.
More things to know about Tide vs. Tigers II:
Tide turn with defense
Nick Saban goes through an exhausting checklist when discussing what it takes to have the nation’s best defense. The Alabama coach starts with some basics: being physical, playing with toughness, good tackling. He moves on to having a secondary that knows how to attack the ball. Then, his voice rising and getting on a roll, he rips off stopping the run, avoiding big plays, limiting third-down conversions and playing well in the red zone. Finally, he talks about forcing turnovers and getting pressure on the quarterback. Whew. “If you do those things, you become hard to score on, and that’s the number one goal when you play defense,” Saban said. “How many points did you give up?”
Not many. Top-ranked Alabama comes into the national championship game against Clemson having allowed fewer points (11.4 per game) and total yards (244.0) than any team in the country.
Defense is unquestionably the hallmark of what’s shaping up as the greatest dynasty in college football history. Going back to the 2008 season, when the Tide’s run of dominance really began, Alabama has led the nation in total defense three times and ranked lower than fifth only once (in 2014, when they dropped to 12th). When it comes to points, the category that matters, the Tide has been the nation’s stingiest team three times and never dipped below sixth.
Maybe that’s why Saban acted like it was no big deal to bring in a new offensive coordinator a week before the biggest game of the season. Hard to imagine any other coach feeling confident enough.
“Defense, man,” said former Alabama star Julio Jones, now an All-Pro receiver for the Atlanta Falcons. “He just puts the offense out there to kind of maintain the game.”
Clemson’s ‘Big Dex’ made early impact
Few at Clemson knew what to make of massive defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence when he stepped on campus last January. Defensive end Clelin Ferrell saw an undisciplined high schooler he nicknamed “X-Box 360” because of his starting weight. Linebacker Ben Boulware saw a “cuddly Teddy Bear,” an unassuming kid with a permanent smile.
Swinney saw a 6-foot-5, 340-pound, ready-to-go run stopper to plug into the Tigers defense. “He came out of the box, ready to go,” Swinney says.
Lawrence is a first-year wonder, an agile, slimmer, 340-pound force who has harassed quarterbacks and ball carriers throughout his first season. He gets to face the gold standard of college defensive lines when the Tigers take on Alabama.
Lawrence has started 10 games this season, including seven of the last eight as he’s become as much a focal point of Clemson’s defense as leading tackler Boulware and sacks leader Carlos Watkins. Lawrence, named the ACC defensive rookie of the year, is fourth on the team with 74 tackles and second behind Watkins with seven sacks.
Facts and figures
This would be Clemson’s first victory over a team ranked No. 1 and would give the Tigers five wins against ranked opponents this season, the most in school history . ... Alabama could become the third team to go start-to-finish in a season as No. 1 in the AP poll, joining Florida State (1999) and USC (2004). ... Clemson will be looking for its first victory ever against a No. 1-ranked team . .... Alabama has won 16 straight games against ranked teams, matching a record set by USC in the 2000s . ... Clemson has 69 victories over the past six seasons. Only Alabama has more with 76.