The Clemson Tigers have finally lived up to their perennial hype in 2015, and after their 37-17 playoff win against the Oklahoma Sooners they are one win away from capturing an undefeated season and the second national championship in school history.
All that stands in their way is the Alabama Crimson Tide, who have made a living playing for national titles over the last decade and also happen to have the nation’s best football player roaming their sidelines in Heisman-winning running back Derrick Henry.
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Clemson certainly has the offensive firepower to challenge Alabama. They have a very balanced but high-powered offense that is led at the quarterback position by the sophomore sensation Deshaun Watson, and under his leadership the Tigers offense is 23rd in the land in both passing (288.5 yards per game) and rushing (222.2 yards per game) and score 38.5 points per contest (good for 15th in the nation).
Although this Alabama defense has been on an absolutely marvelous run and have very few weaknesses, one thing that plague them early on this year and in years prior is their inability to handle up-tempo spread attacks, which is what Clemson runs. That being said, the matchup still figures to be tough for Clemson, because this is still one of the nation’s top defenses.
As for the Tide’s offense, it is undeniably apparent that while they have speed on the outside at receiver, this season has been The Derrick Henry Show; he has rushed for over 2,000 yards and a school record 25 touchdowns.
If Clemson wants to pull off the upset for the national title, Watson and the offense’s performance will not necessarily be the key to winning this game as it has been throughout Clemson’s season.
Stopping Henry is the key, and it is up to the defense, and particularly that Clemson defensive line and the All-American defensive end Shaq Lawson to do it.
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Standing at 6 feet, 3 inches tall and weighing a whopping 275 pounds, Lawson is a ridiculous athlete and is one of the best pass-rushers in the nation with 10.5 sacks. He is the unquestioned top dog along the front four for Clemson, but the great thing about this defense is they are not totally reliant on him; he is not alone.
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What makes any defense great is depth; the ability to go deep into your roster and have players on the field rather than relying solely on the starting eleven. This front for the Clemson Tigers is as deep of a defensive front as any in the country.
Lawson is the ring leader, but he is also surrounded by players like Kevin Dodd and Carlos Watkins who are veterans and big time talents themselves, but the amount of younger guys the Tigers have like Christian Wilkins and Austin Bryant, who play meaningful snaps and have Class-A athleticism and playmaking ability, is unparallel.
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To get an idea of just how good this defensive line is, they put on a clinic against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl by holding an rushing attack that was averaging over 200 yards a game to a measly 67 yards on 33 carries, and they harassed Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield all night long, sacking him five times and putting their season sack total at 43.
Four of those five came without Lawson, who left the game in the first quarter after injuring his knee (Although he said he is going to play in the national title) and watched his replacement Bryant have himself a fantastic showing and exciting Tigers fans about what next year and beyond could hold.
All stats aside, this group is facing a different animal in Henry. The senior tailback is a physical beast who wears defenses down, and this year he seems to be running with much more anger, almost as if he is carrying the burden of being part of the stunning loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes a season ago and is determined to make sure his team never feels the hurt they felt that night.
Dalvin Cook of the Florida State Seminoles might be the closest thing to Henry that Clemson has seen this season, but generally, they have not faced as imposing a back as Henry. So why should anyone have confidence in them?
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The same thing happened a year ago with Ohio State on their run to the title. They were a team that had the right mix of leadership and talent but they also possessed a strong sense of belief. This is something that their charismatic head coach Dabo Sweeney has instilled in them from the very first day of spring training.
This team believes. They believe in themselves, and more importantly, they believe in one another that they can do this. With the amount of raw talent and great leadership that they have on their defense, it could be a long night for Henry and that Alabama offense.
If Clemson’s defense can do what Ohio State’s did a year ago and slow Henry down enough to force the quarterback to try and beat them, then they should be in great shape to go on and be crowned as national champions this year.
What a game it promises to be.
