He has passed for 3,699 yards and 31 touchdowns and rushed for 1,032 yards and 12 TDs.
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During tonight’s Clemson vs. Alabama national championship game, thousands of students will form a virtual truce on social media to show solidarity for both teams’ wild mascots, the tiger and the elephant. Jim McElwain is a former Alabama offensive coordinator who just completed his first season with the Gators.
Now, Swinney has a chance to join Bryant, Bud Wilkinson, Frank Leahy and Jimmy Johnson as the only men to win national championships both as a player and as a coach at the Football Bowl Subdivision.
Like it did to so many opponents this year, this Crimson Tide front seven will dominate and wear down Clemson by game’s end, despite a terrific effort by Deshaun Watson.
“He’s answered every challenge when people have done a good job of minimizing the run game a little bit”, Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said.
Saban also has a BCS title from his time at LSU, giving him four overall. Usually the better, more dynamic quarterback will give you a substantial edge in college and Watson is better than Alabama’s Jake Coker by a lot. Swinney said he knows which Clemson underclassmen will be leaving early, even those who have not announced. Clemson kept Wayne Gallman fresh in the first half, using him sparingly while battling toe to toe with Oklahoma, then turning him loose in the second half. I really do think he is the worst victor of that award I have seen, certainly when I look at how great Christian McCaffrey was this season for Stanford.
To all those who think Nick Saban leads a joyless life, that all he cares about is winning football games, hed like to set the record straight. To have the opportunity to be a part of that, first as a player and later as an assistant coach, remains a source of pride for Swinney to this day.
He was on the Tide team that won a national championship in 1992, upsetting Miami in the Sugar Bowl.
Not Alabama. Not as long as Saban’s in charge.
“We don’t really pay attention to what other teams say”, Alabama center and team captain Ryan Kelly said. “Since I’ve been here, we would just roll guys in and guys would be able to make plays with no drop off”. That’s the thing that I’m most proud of with our program because only us and Alabama have had five 10-plus win seasons in a row.
Clemson comes into the contest one month removed from taking down fourth-ranked Oklahoma 37-17 in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Eve. I think Clemson’s defensive line and secondary will limit the big plays in Alabama’s passing game.
Alabama is a 6.5-point favorite over Clemson.
The national championship will be played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and television coverage will be available on ESPN.
“If you finished your season on December 6, you can make a decision”, Saban said.
Herman recalls what intrigued Saban the most during their time together: “If you go more up-tempo, how do you practice the spread way and the no-huddle way and yet stay physical and sound on defense?”
On a scale of 1 to 10, Lawson said the pain in his knee is around an 8.
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“He’s great at recruiting, and he’s great at putting a staff together”, Swinney said.
