Football Begins Training for National Championship Matchup with Clemson

As with the majority of the Alabama football coach’s public displays of emotion that vaguely resemble joy, it was brief and pointed and wracked with awkwardness, which was also how Saban’s brief celebratory “dance” with the Alabama marching band came across a short time later.

The Tigers are within one win of their first national title since 1981. The final game of the college football season will kick off at 7:30 p.m. CT and air on ESPN with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Heather Cox and Tom Rinaldi calling the game.

“We will see him out there today”, Swinney said.

Instead of pounding away at a Michigan State defense that was stacked to stop Heisman Trophy victor Derrick Henry from running wild, Alabama aired it out. He was checked out by the medical staff at halftime and didn’t return to the game.

He has also run for 1,032 yards and 12 scores.

“Statistically, that team was probably better with the numbers, but this team has faced more talented offenses”, said the soon-to-be Georgia head coach. This is a Crimson Tide defense that silenced the Connor Cook-led Michigan State offense to 239 total yards of offense, with 210 of those coming from Cook.

Alabama is playing for another title after being upset by Ohio State in the semifinals of the inaugural College Football Playoff. Watson, who was named the game’s offensive MVP, passed for one touchdown and ran for another. Add Deshaun Watson’s running from quarterback, and it’s a formidable combination. Clemson held Oklahoma to a combined 67 yards on 33 carries in the Orange Bowl.

The Tigers didn’t just beat the Sooners. Alabama is sixth in the nation in ball control, averaging possession for 33 minutes, 48 seconds… the only game in which Alabama allowed more than 17 points was the 43-37 loss to Ole Miss.

They never mentioned it before the game, but Alabama players said they heard and spoke quietly among themselves about the “talk” Michigan State did before the game. The star junior defensive end suffered a knee injury in the first quarter, but Swinney is “very optimistic” that Lawson will play against Alabama.

Great defensive team. Play well on special teams. The Michigan State Spartans have not been shut out in over a decade, so this says a great deal about the quality of this Alabama team.

In the ACC Coastal, there’s still as good a case to be made for a Carolina repeat as there is for other team to take over in the division. “I think they were scared”.