Dabo Swinney Is Bringing God to the College Football Playoff

Without them, the Tigers are still very good.

The Tigers didn’t play a ideal Orange Bowl game – not even close – but they got the win and will be playing for their second National Title on January 11.

The play would eventually lead to a five-yard TD run by Clemson QB Deshaun Watson to give the No. 1 Tigers a 10-7 lead over No. 4 Oklahoma with 12:45 left in the second quarter.

Big-picture cultural and political questions aside, that’s probably the bottom line when it comes to Swinney’s status as a quintessential Southern man of faith: so long Clemson keeps winning, he’ll have plenty of support, irrespective of his seeming quest to bring Jesus into virtually every part of the school’s football program. He went out with a knee injury in the opening minutes and watched the rest of the game from the bench. He had five touchdowns and averaged 17.1 yards per reception.

Clemson officially has the attention of the world, and the team’s leaders were still clicking following the final game whistle. “Jay McCullough and Lakip and Deon don’t have anything to do with (star defensive end) Shaq Lawson and how he plays his game, doesn’t have anything to do with the rest of those guys”. “And we didn’t whine about it, we didn’t stress about it, everybody just had a good time with it”. It landed in the arms of defensive lineman Christian Wilkins, who had beaten two unexpecting defenders, for a 31-yard-catch and the first down.

Watson’s biggest completion did put the game out of reach.

His defensive mates did just fine without him.

For Oklahoma, it was a disappointing end to a comeback season.

The Orange Bowl certainly was special for Gallman, who led all rushers with 150 yards on 26 carries and scored two touchdowns.

This season was a huge upgrade, but it ended with the same result: a dismal loss to Clemson at bowl time. The Sooners mount a strong pass rush and have playmakers in the secondary, but they allowed 38, 34 and 29 points in victories and ranked only 46th in run defense, giving up 149 yards a game.

“No stage is too big for him and I think that stems from his underdog mentality that you always have to prove yourself”, co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott said. Dabo Swinney revealed the long-term ramifications for the three suspended players during his press conference Wednesday morning.

The coach insisted that it wouldn’t be a distraction.