Dabo Swinney Not Concerned About Alabama’s Extra Practice Time

As it prepares to play a game in 2016, the 2015 Clemson football team has already surpassed the 1981 team – the only previous Clemson football team to win a national championship – by two games as the winningest in school history, given that the 1981 team only had to play 11 regular-season games, no conference championship game and one bowl game. He was a senior in 1992 when Alabama won its lone national championship in that erratic quarter century between the Bear Bryant era and the current Nick Saban era.

That has helped fuel Alabama’s offense, which averages 204.4 yards, 2.1 touchdowns and 10.9 first downs per game on the ground.

Now, he’s going against the greatest coach of this generation. Its final – and perhaps biggest – will come in the national championship game against Alabama’s dominating defense.

The media invaded Clemson Tuesday to check out the Tigers’ practice. If Clemson’s offensive line can force Alabama to send extra rushers at the quarterback and commit to some run blitzes, the Tigers have a chance to create some openings at the second level in both the passing game and running game. Every other ACC defense (except Clemson) got absolutely torched by their bowl opponent. The only teams to play for the title since 2002 have been Ohio State, Oregon, Florida State, Auburn, Alabama, LSU, Notre Dame, Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Texas and USC; a truly elite dozen programs.

“I’ve been at Clemson 13 years and I’ve been trying to get back to a National Championship as a coach now for 20-plus years now”. “It was just a matter of when”.

It’s one thing to be Orange Bowl champs, after all, but another test was ahead for Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T, and the likely foe was big, bad Alabama. But here, we just, we just gotta’ pull for family. He does a great job at his job, but he has to make sure other guys are doing their jobs, so that’s why I call him the heart of the offense.

Although the Crimson Tide has a loss on its record, Alabama is listed as a seven-point favorite over the No. 1-seeded Tigers by Las Vegas sportsbooks, according to VegasInsider.com. They’ve held the top two spots since. The walk-ons scored more than Oklahoma altogether during the Orange Bowl.

Deshaun Watson will have to make plays with his legs.

The Clemson football team is one win away from doing something no college football team has ever done before. Wayne Gallman rushed for 150 yards and a pair of TDs. We need to maximize the time we have here on this side of heaven and be the best we can be.

Defensive end Shaq Lawson missed most of the Tigers’ semifinal victory with a knee injury.

The Tigers didn’t just beat the Sooners. “I want to play so bad”, Lawson said.

Lawson leads the Tigers (14-0) with 101/2 sacks and is tops in the country with 231/2 tackles for loss.

“You always try to create a standard of excellence and define exactly what the expectation is for the players you have on a particular team and each team is a little bit different”, Saban said. “They’re No. 1 in a lot of categories, but I don’t think they’ve really been tested running the ball”, said Mac Lain. “I’ll say if we played tomorrow, I couldn’t be able to play, that’s how I feel right now”. Alabama has looked like a team on a mission but it would be tough to match last week’s total domination of Michigan State.