#1 Clemson vs. #2 Alabama

We are just a few hours from finding out who the best team in the country is. At 8:30 PM, the undefeated Clemson Tigers will be fighting to earn their first national championship since 1981 while the Crimson Tide will be trying to steal their third of the decade.

Although Deshaun Watson didn’t win the Heisman, I’m sure he would be perfectly happy settling for a National Championship ring. However, Watson will need to “bring his own guts” as head Coach Dabo Swinney would say. Watson will be leading the Tiger offense against the best defense in the county in terms of defensive efficiency and rush yards allowed. The Clemson standout will likely spread the ball around to his talented receivers like he has all season.

Wayne Gallman has finally started receiving some of the spotlight after his past two games with at least 150 yards on the ground. Gallman gives a great complement to the Clemson pass game. It will be interesting to see what Clemson puts together to confuse the Alabama defense.

Although Alabama clearly has the best rush defense in the country, Clemson’s defense is nothing to laugh at. The Tigers rank 18^th in terms of rushing yards allowed with just 124.4 per game. Not to mention their recent performance in the semi-final game in which they held the deadly Oklahoma rushing attack to a mere 67 yards and one touchdown. There is no doubt the Clemson defense will be eating the same pregame meal in an attempt to carry some of that luck with them because the Tigers will need every bit of their last performance and a little more to stop the runaway truck in the Alabama backfield.

You know who he is. Derrick Henry is undoubtedly the best player in this game and, consequently, I have a good feeling that Henry will be seeing the rock more than 45 times. As he should, the junior has rushed for over 2,000 yards this year with another 25 touchdowns on the ground. However, the Crimson Tide cannot lean on him all game, they will need a solid performance from their senior quarterback.

Playing quarterback for the Crimson Tide has not been a very daunting task this year due to the talent surrounding him. There is only one way to stop Henry, and Michigan State showed us by stacking the box almost every play. This strategy proved to slow Henry down, holding him to 75 yards. However, this left Alabama quarterback Jake Coker with multiple one-on-one matchups, which he successfully exploited last week. Coker had the best game of his season with 286 yards and two touchdowns through the air. He also has freshman sensation Calvin Ridley at his side. Ridley is slowing gaining respect from defenses and is demanding safety help overtop. This makes the Alabama attack almost unstoppable, either bring up a safety to stop Henry or get burnt deep with Ridley.

Prediction: Alabama by 10

After trouncing a very solid Michigan State team, I am a believer. Alabama is unstoppable.  A solid run game opens up everything. Alabama is the best in the nation at running the ball and stopping the run. It is that simple. I cannot see Alabama losing unless Deshaun Watson has the game of his life through the air.