Everything You Need To Know About The College Football Championship

hubbs1/10/2017 12:42 AM

The College Football Championship:
1 Alabama (-6.5) vs. 2 Clemson; O/U 50.5
January 9th 8:00 PM ESPN

The Rematch
Pats-Giants. Cavs-Warriors. McGregor-Diaz. Are we about to add Clemson-Bama to the list of our recent amazing rematches?

1 Alabama (14-0 10-4 ATS)
Key Players:

QB Jalen Hurts
We’ll start with Hurts because he’s one of the new pieces to this rematch. The dynamic two-way true freshman quarterback was limited mightily in the Crimson Tide’s semifinal game last week going 7-14 for 57 yards while rushing for another 50 and not accounting for a single touchdown. Washington was able to shutdown Hurts big time and you bet your ass Clemson is going to study every second of that game tape to try and produce a carbon copy of that performance. If you allow Hurts to run and get outside the pocket, where he is most lethal, then you have no chance of beating Alabama. Washington stopped Hurts and gave themselves a good chance to win, they just shot themselves in the foot, and they met Bo Scarbrough.

RB Bo Scarbrough
It seems in every single Alabama bowl game we get introduced to their next monster running back that looks like a linebacker. This year we meet Bo Scarbrough

I mean the only explanation that Scarbrough isn’t a starting linebacker is that he showed up to the wrong drill during one of his first practices and accidentally practiced with the offense. I mean the ball should literally burst into thin air when he carries the rock. Washington had a prime opportunity to get right back into the game on Saturday early in the 4th quarter. They trailed by 10, but had Alabama backed up on their own 3 yard line facing a 3rd and 9. If they could get a stop Washington would have had a huge return ready with stud Dante Pettis back to receive. Instead, Bo squashed those dreams.

And a few plays later he ended the game

Want to hear something funny? Bo Scarbrough was Alabama’s FOURTH leading rusher this year behind the quarterback Hurts.

LB Rueben Foster
The Dick Butkus Award winner is given to the nation’s best linebacker. That would be Rueben Foster. Foster almost committed to Washington three years ago because of their defensive line coach coach Tosh Lupoi. As it turned out, Lupoi left the Huskies for Alabama a year later and is now their outside linebackers coach. The senior linebacker is now up to 103 tackles, 12 for a loss, and four sacks on the year. He is all over the field and you will for sure be hearing his name called a ton in this game.

DB Minka Fitzpatrick
The sophomore defensive back is a pick six waiting to happen. Through just two seasons with Alabama, Fitzpatrick has five pick sixes which is already the most in Crimson Tide history. He has six interceptions this season to go with 62 tackles. He’s about as dangerous a ball hawk as they come.

DT Jonathon Allen
The potential number one overall pick in this year’s upcoming draft, Jonathon Allen is a scary man. He was everywhere against the Huskies

I could’ve posted ten of these videos from just that game alone. Just make sure you watch #93 in this game.

2 Clemson (13-1 7-7 ATS)

Key Players:

QB Deshaun Watson

Watson is the absolute key to this football game. Can he do what he did last year in the championship? If your memory is a bit foggy I’ll remind you: 30/47 passing, 405 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT, 20 carries, 73 yards (478 total yards, 4 touchdowns & 1 interception). Look at some of the throws he made in that game

Is Bama’s defense better than last year? No fucking doubt about it, but Watson won’t be intimidated by anything Saban throws at him. He put on arguably the best performance against Saban in the championship game and it doesn’t get more pressure-packed than that. If Clemson’s defense can give Watson a similar performance to what Washington’s defense did on Saturday then we may be looking at a new champion. Watson MUST be smart with the football and not turn it over like he has all season. You would think beating Ohio State 31-0 would mean Watson balled out. Not exactly, as Watson still threw two picks to only one touchdown. He did utilize his legs well by scoring two touchdowns on the ground. Against this defense, he has to be at his absolute best.

RB Wayne Gallman
If the talented running back is able to balance out the offense that would pay dividends for Clemson’s attack. Last year he was bottled up in the championship game averaging just 3.2 yards per carry, but did manage to find the end zone. He did produce in the passing game grabbing three balls for 61 yards. Gallman is super talented, but it’ll be tough sledding against this Bama front seven that allowed two yards per carry (nation’s best) all year.

WR Mike Williams
Think about this. Watson threw for over 400 yards and four touchdowns in maybe the greatest game against Nick Saban ever, and he didn’t have his best receiver because of a broken neck. That receiver, Mike Williams, is arguably the top receiver in the country and you can guarantee he’s been chomping at the bit hoping he could put his stamp on the Alabama defense.

DT Carlos Watkins
The redshirt senior is the old vet on the Tigers’ defensive line and he’s a handful to contain. On the year Watkins has 44 tackles, 12.5 tackles for a loss, 10.5 sacks, and a blocked field goal. The 6’3″ 300 lb monster could be a game breaker in this one.

LB Ben Boulware
Boulware is the Tigers top dog on defense. He is everywhere the ball is, which shows in his 110 tackles (9.5 for a loss). He made some headlines this week during his press conference which my boss Kmarko wrote about here while battling a lethal case of the flu.

What To Watch For So You Sound Smart In Front Of Your Friends:

1. Steve Sarkisian Takes Over For Lane Kiffin
So how much did Saban really hate Kiffin? The answer is A LOT.

How badly did Kiffin want to get out of Alabama? A LOT. Think about this, Lane Kiffin took a pay-cut to go coach Florida Atlantic University and leave behind one of the best gigs in the country as Alabama’s offensive coordinator. Saban was so fed up with Kiffin after the Washington game after a horribly called game that he decided he was better off without him. It was clear Kiffin’s head was already in Florida, or he was trying to sabotage Saban for treating him like a child during his tenure at Bama. I like to believe in the latter. So now Old Saint Nick turns to a former drunk, who to start 2016 probably was getting ready to be on Fox Sports 1 as an analyst. I wish I was kidding, but that’s the current status of Alabama’s offensive play calling. All week you’ve heard how a quarterback’s relationship with his offensive coordinator is pivotal. Well, I hope Jalen Hurts has a good fake ID as he probably spent some time at a dive bar with Sark gearing up for Monday night.

2. Headlines You’d Never Thought You Would Read: Will There Be Any Butt Fingering By Clemson?
Butt Stuff 2K17. Get ready for this to be talked about early and often.

Outrageous Fun!

3. Can Deshaun Watson Dominate Nick Saban Again?
Does he have another 400 yard four touchdown performance left in him? Well, it will certainly help that wide receivers Mike Williams and Deon Cain will be suiting up this time. If Watson torches the Bama defense for a second time you’ll quickly hear Josh Allen and Mitch Trubisky’s names replaced with Deshaun Watson as the first quarterback off the board in the NFL Draft. Good luck trying to beat the best defense in college football history.

4. Will Alabama’s Defense Score ANOTHER touchdown?
At this point it’s fucking stupid how Alabama’s defense is such a vital component to their offense. And I don’t say that meaning they put the offense in great field position. No, they literally have scored ELEVEN touchdowns on defense. Washington was absolutely in the game a week ago until Ryan Anderson picked off Browning and returned it to the house for a devastating touchdown to end the half. Washington was a minute away from going into halftime being down three points. One minute away from an inspiring Coach Taylor-like halftime speech to instill belief in every Husky in that locker room. Nope, instead Ryan Anderson ripped their guts out and put Alabama up 10 and swung all the momentum. The biggest knock on Watson is he’ll try to look downfield too much and be too risky. If he wants to beat this historic defense, he cannot afford to give any points away. Just don’t throw a pick six, sounds pretty simple right? Not against the Crimson Tide.

5. Does Bo Scarbrough Get Suspended For PEDs?
I mean that’s the only explanation for how big, fast and scary this man is. The fact that Bo and I are both considered men in this world just doesn’t make sense (been a man since I was 13 years old according to my religion thank you very much). He has to be a cyborg sent from the future. There’s one sure-fire way Sarkisian can look good in his debut as the OC and it’s giving Bo the ball as much as humanly possible.

Alabama Wins If…
They keep Jalen Hurts in manageable downs, allowing him to use his legs to beat the Tiger defense. Don’t ask him to do too much because that’s where Alabama could get into a danger zone. Establish the run early with Scarbrough and Harris, setting up for the deep ball play-action later in the game. Play their usual brick wall defense and force Watson into long third downs because turnovers will surely come with that. Hurts does have the talent to carry this team offensively, but you just never know with a true freshman on a stage like this with a brand new OC. Ground and pound while playing shutdown defense.

Clemson Wins If…
They win the turnover battle. If Clemson can limit their mistakes, and force Jalen Hurts to make a few of his own this game will tilt in the Tigers’ favor. Having Mike Williams and Deon Cain in this contest is a big time boost to an already potent Clemson team that hung 40 on Alabama last year. Can they get the running game going with Gallman? Unlikely, considering Bama boasts the number one rush defense in the country. But if Watson can buy a few first down scrambles like Browning did last week, that will pay dividends. In the end, turnovers are the ultimate key. You simply cannot beat Alabama by giving away points and possessions.

Prediction:

Clemson is the ultimate sexy pick. They just beat Ohio State and Urban Meyer 31-0 in incredible fashion. They have the experience of being in this exact spot last year, and played very well as I mentioned early. Clemson also adds Mike Williams and Deon Cain to the mix this year which should be a big boost to their offensive attack. So that should point all signs to the Tigers and the 6.5 points, I’m going the other way and so should you. Deshaun Watson threw SEVENTEEN interceptions this year. That ties him for second most in the country, only trailing Purdue’s David Blough who somehow threw 21. Not only does Watson have this propensity (SAT word for tendency) for giveaways, but he is going up against arguably the best college football defense of ALL FUCKING TIME. This defense is way better than what they were last year and pretty much the entire group of starters are future first round picks in the draft. Watson will not have the game of his life against Alabama back to back years, it’s just not going to happen. As long as Hurts doesn’t have a true Freshman scared shitless-type game then Bama wins this game by at least ten points and more importantly covers.

Alabama 31 (-6.5)
Clemson 17