DeShaun Watson is the “X-Factor”, for Clemson

“We’ve earned everything we’ve gotten”, Swinney said. “It’s better for college football”. However, the Tigers defense could just be hitting the stride needed to back their high powered offense.

Ask the contingent of Alabama fans if winning national titles gets old. “I think this program has done that”. Darn sure wasn’t afraid to put in the work to make it a reality. Clemson has been one of the nation’s most successful programs under head coach Dabo Swinney, and has won just about everything a great program can-except a national championship.

Alabama’s offense sputtered against Washington, but the defense stymied the Huskies and contributed a pick-six to deliver a 24-7 beating. And who but the Tigers carry enough offensive firepower to dent the Tide’s No. 1-ranked defense? “My man Carlos”, Lawrence said. “And being a rookie, Clemson got it”.

Neither that lone defeat nor Alabama’s resume made much of an impression on Watson, who seems to share the athletic world view once expressed best by former welterweight champion Marlon Starling. They’re going to do what they do.

“We weren’t going to sit there and say we’re not going to be in Tampa or in the national championship”, Watson recalled this week.

Clemson offensive lineman Jay Guillermo put it even more succinctly.

“The grandparents didn’t like me very much taking all the kids away, but it was a great opportunity to kind of have a new chapter and learn different things and be exposed to different things”.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. And that’s what they do”. Losing teams and players always reflect how they could’a, should’a, would’a played that game if they had it to do over.

“What beat Clemson past year was the ability of Alabama to get star tight end O.J. Howard the ball, his has the ability to open the offense up”, he said. If it can force the Clemson offense to be one-dimensional, The Tigers may be in trouble.

For the last seven years, everyone has known that this is Alabama’s world and the rest of college football is just living in it. However, should the Crimson Tide knock off Clemson in the College Football Playoff’s championship game on Monday (7 p.m. on ESPN), that would be five titles in the last nine years for Nick Saban & Co.

Clemson relied on Hunter Renfrow and Charone Peak in last year’s matchup, but Williams should see the bulk of the targets from Deshaun Watson this year.

Suggestion: Loosen up that Clemson D with some play action passes to Calvin Ridley and ArDarius Stewart.

That foundation from which to build off, for instance, has aided sophomore wide receiver Calvin Ridley.

“Alabama has a lot of ball-hawks, ” Watson said. A year ago that number dropped to 74 and coaches are hoping the new scouting rules can decrease it further.

The 14-0 Crimson Tide travel to Tampa looking to complete their first ideal season since the 2009 campaign and claim a second straight national championship.

That will take more pressure off freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts.

Alabama specializes in stopping the run – No. 1 in that category for the fourth time in five years – then destroying the passer. Howard, ArDarius Stewart and Calvin Ridley all need to be involved down the field. I hit the streets to see if you have Clemson as the victor or Alabama.

When Deshaun Watson is on, he’s the best quarterback in ball. And the look in Allen’s eyes whole-heartedly believes that’s going to happen.

The big thing is just trying to get them off to a good start. He had 478 total yards against a Tide defense that-what else is new?-was one of the best in the country, besting Young’s 467 yards against USC in the epic 2006 Rose Bowl game for the BCS title.

“It has been extremely fun run we’ve been on but my attitude, and the attitude of the entire team, is that’s it is not done yet”.