No. 1 Clemson Beats No. 4 Oklahoma to Advance to the Championship

Clemson, a team once known for such inexplicable stumbles that a derisive term was coined for it, is headed to the national championship game with a still-perfect record after a 37-17 smackdown of Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl on Thursday. Clemson looked especially vulnerable in its last two games, holding off SC 37-32 and beating North Carolina 45-37 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. This game also is about darkness and light and the shadow of Bear Bryant.

“The message at halftime was I didn’t think we’d played bad, but were not as clean as we needed to be”, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said.

No. 1 Clemson and No. 2 Alabama more than validated their rankings with dominant showings in the New Year’s Eve semifinals.

The Clemson junior defensive end sustained a left knee injury on Oklahoma’s first drive in the Orange Bowl victory.

Alabama, which dominated Michigan State to claim the other spot in the title game, looked good but not unbeatable, Marable said.

Everyone expected Alabama to be here. He’ll be a big reason why the Tigers hoist the national title trophy on January 11.

With everything on the line against the Crimson Tide, Lawson knows what is at stake and that this opportunity might never come again for the All-American defensive end.

Dabo Swinney was in no mood to talk about Clemsoning.

Swinney, whose top-ranked, undefeated team routed Oklahoma in a national semi-final in Miami Gardens on Thursday, said that was easy to answer.

Free spirits? Who the heck calls a fake punt pass to a 322-pound freshman defensive tackle, as Swinney did against the flummoxed Sooners. The last 20 national champions were at least plus-three in turnover margin. Swinney would remain a fixture with the program, starting out as a graduate assistant before working his way up to wide receivers coach.

Of course after a win, we dance. Various oddsmakers have initially listed the Tide as around a touchdown favorite.

Now comes an even greater challenge for Watson and Clemson, the nation’s only unbeaten team. As Alabama is an SEC team, it’s mostly unfamiliar with playing against a good quarterback.

Watson played like Heisman finalist. Moreover, unlike Michigan State’s Connor Cook, he’s a dual threat, and athletic quarterbacks sometimes give Saban and his ravenous defense trouble. Later in the quarter, Watson would connect with Hunter Renfrow on a 35 yard score to make it 30-17.

The Tigers played loose throughout, even pulling off some special teams trickery to set up their first TD. After Oklahoma scored easily on the opening drive, the Tigers spent much of the night keeping Mayfield, who over recent weeks had (rightfully) inspired Johnny Manziel comparisons, off balance and in check, something no team accomplished since Texas in early October. Yet, when it comes to the title game, it’ll be a team from Alabama against a team from SC.

With one more win, they’ll be known as something else.

The Spartans were overmatched by Alabama in the Cotton Bowl, and while I was surprised by how utterly dominated they were, the same problems Michigan State had all season reared their head against Alabama.

But the biggest takeaway from this Tigers victory should be the way Clemson rag-dolled Oklahoma in the trenches, something that could portend it bringing home the school’s first national title since 1981.

Whether you view that as a return to the dark side or not, it will be part of what fuels the anticipation for what figures to be a heck of a brawl.