2016 National Championship Game - Alabama vs. Clemson

Which section is Alabama and which is Clemson?

Clemson is Orange sections and Alabama is Blue.

well if you know who played in which game you will know

Both teams really impressed me, especially Clemson. Mobile QBs have given Alabama a problem in the past. That said, Alabama’s D is ridiculous, especially their secondary, and Lane Kiffin coached an excellent game for that offense.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see Alabama win by 13, but I think Clemson will show how great a team they really are.

Clemson 34 – Alabama 28.

Get real…lol. Clemson would know that they aren’t the number one team if they had to play a schedule remotely as hard as Alabama’s….and maintain every single week. When they drop like flies, I will shout Welcome to the SEC! :)) Roll Tide.

Kristina you do realize that Clemson is the only team in the country with 4 top 10 wins right? They were the only team with 3 before Oklahoma. So think about that when you talk about schedules.

NICK U ARE WRONG! ALA BEAT GA#8 TEX AM #9 LSU#2 MICH ST#3

To Justin Clemson has beat 4 teams currently ranked in the top ten. Not preseason or even early season. Those rankings do not matter.

Monty,
You can’t reason with an SEC homer.

Maverick come on Alabama is the clear winner #Bestprogramwithbestcoachwithoutanystupiddancing

Don’t be a bitter Betty. Clemson wins by 6

You Bama fans are so cocky. Derrick Henry only played against 2 good defenses all year (Florida and Arkansas) Henry shouldn’t have even won the Heisman, McCaffrey should’ve. Clemson on the other hand has 4 quality wins that were statements to how good we are. (Notre Dame, UNC, FSU, and Oklahoma.) So Bama has a rude awakening coming for them, as long as Clemson doesn’t beat themselves.
Clemson 24
Bama 17

Can’t argue with Clemson taters that believe the schedule the Tigers played was actually decent…Notre Dame was crushed by Stanford and only lost at Clemson because of poor coaching a second string QB…FSU also had to play at Clemson with a second string QB…UNC couldn’t even beat a horrible South Carolina team (although they played in the ACC Championship without a single quality win), and Oklahoma lost to Texas, should have lost to Tennessee (few lucky plays to go 3 OTs), and won their last 3 games against teams without their starting QB (sound familiar)…Bama will wear them out and by the 4th quarter have their way with Clemson like a $5 prostitute.

Both teams are hungry for the crystal ball……..I think everyone knows that. I think it will be a hard fought, low scoring game. Both defenses are relentless. Both offenses know how to put points on the board. For the first time, in a very long time, I think that the two best teams in the country are playing for the National Championship! With that being said, I think Alabama is much deeper than Clemson. I think that replacement players are better for Bama. I also think Bama’s special teams are better……..I think Alabama will win but will EARN the victory! ROLL TIDE ROLL!

Well, Tide fan, your team is more than welcome to take home the crystal ball. Seeing as how that was the BCS Championship trophy and we’re now in the CFP era, your crystal balls are already collecting dust. Clemson wins, 31 – 21 to take home the College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy. GO TIGERS!!

Tiger Rag you are so right. And you’re the 10th Bama fan to say we are gonna win the crystal ball. Thats what you guys said last year and got stunned by a Ohio State team led by a 3rd string QB. This is a new playoff era and the BCS is long gone buddy. Theres no crystal ball anymore its a 3 foot tall gold trophy that weighs like 20 pounds.

Is the Old Boy Club ever going to let go of its power to select the four “best” teams in the Country, and have a REAL Playoff, with the Champion of each conference competing? This little beauty contest they have going now is NOT in any way, shape, or form, a playoff.

you can’t exactly have a 5 team playoff between the power 5 conferences. so that would mean you have to add the group of 5 with the American MAC C-USA MWC and Sun Belt. So for that reason a full playoff between winners of all the conferences wouldn’t be fair. You’d have a team like clemson or alabama playing a team like bowling green or appalachian state. Lets be honest the playoff is fine the way it is. Now if you want to make it a 6 team or 8 team playoff just make it be between the top 6 or 8 teams. But most colleges have spring semesters starting this week or next week so they cannot do a big playoff simply because it would take too long. Heck we would just now be getting to the semi finals. It would also clash with the NFL playoffs. If you were a fan of the bcs I’m sorry because the BCS was messed up in so many ways.

I agree.
The only way to prove the dominance of the SEC is to let all of the conferences come out to play.

To The SEC fans that no doubt will boast about how you have so far gone 8-2 in bowl games this year,

First off, wins are wins. Congrats. 6 of your teams won in dominating fashions, and Arkansas pulled away in the 4th. No one can take that away from you.

Now, let’s take a deeper look into these match-ups:

1.) SEC games with SEC team having better final record:
-Arkansas (7-5) beat Kansas State (6-6). That is a game you should win. And you did.
-LSU (8-3) beat Texas Tech (7-5). That is a game you should win. And you did.
-Auburn (6-6) beat Memphis (9-3). That is a game you should win, as Memphis is a Group of 5 team that finished 3rd in their division, 4th in conference. And you did.
-Mississippi State (8-4) beat NC State (6-6). That is a game you should win. And you did.
-Texas A&M (8-4) lost to Louisville (7-5). That is a game you should win. BUT you LOST.
-Florida (10-3) lost to Michigan (9-3). That is a game you should win. But you LOST.

Observation: In games, where you were clearly a better team via final record (not including Group of 5 team Memphis’ record), you went 4-2. That isn’t very good.

2.) SEC games with SEC team having worse record:
-Ole Miss (9-3) beat Oklahoma State (10-2). That is a game you should lose. But you WON.
-Tennessee (8-4) beat Northwestern (10-2). That is a game you should lose. But you WON.

Observations: The SEC won the game it shouldn’t have beaten based on record. That is something to brag about.

3.) SEC games with SEC team having same record:

-Alabama (12-1) beat Michigan State (12-1). This is an even game, and you won.

Observation: The SEC won the evenly matched game in dominating fashion (Alabama). Once again, Alabama gives the SEC something to brag about.

Final Observations: The SEC had a pretty good, but not great, bowl season. Although they suffered 2 bad losses (Michigan and Louisville), they also had 2 good wins (Oklahoma State and Northwestern). What pushes a mediocre post season into a pretty good post season is Alabama’s win against Michigan State. Right now before their championship game, I’d rate the SEC’s post season as a 6.5 out of 10. If Alabama wins the championship, I’d rate their post-season as an 8 out of 10. A loss will not hurt them.

Side observation: Bret Bielema chanting how great the SEC is once again goes to show how full of balogna he is. They barely beat a really bad Kansas State football team by pulling away in the 4th Quarter.

Overall observation based on conferences: Every conference has great teams (SEC – Alabama, Pac12 – Stanford, Big 12 – Oklahoma, ACC – Clemson, Big 10 – Ohio State). To get these teams to be more evenly matched up, I will once again say every conference needs to play an equal amount of power 5 games. To any that would argue this, the best Group of 5 teams are almost always about even with the most mediocre of Power 5 teams. We need equality in conference setup.

Still, the SEC won their bowl games at 8-2 so far. So I’m sure SEC homers will brag about that. Do me a favor, just brag about how you share the conference with Alabama. That’s the breadwinner. The rest of you are their little brother and side girlfriends.

The logic simply doesn’t work out with your comment. You assume that because a team isn’t in a power five conference that they should automatically be beaten by a team that is. This is wrong. Boise State, TCU and any number of other teams have proven that wrong. This is why the you must play X number of Power Five teams doesn’t matter. All teams, regardless of conference affiliation, have the potential to be good or bad. Memphis was a heck of a lot better than a lot of power five teams this year. Boise State was a lot better than power five teams in years past.

But I get it… you want to throw out the record when it supports whatever ridiculous anti-SEC argument you are trying to make, then consider it when it’s convenient. That’s evidence that even you don’t even believe the nonsense you are spouting off about.

The fact is, the SEC has now won more bowl games in a single year than any other conference. The numbers don’t lie. The difference between the SEC and other conferences is that over the last decade, most conferences have been dominated by one team. USC/Oregon in the Pac 12, Texas/Oklahoma in the Big 12, Ohio State in the Big Ten, Florida State in the ACC…

But the SEC has seen several teams, Alabama, LSU, Florida, Auburn, all crowned not just conference champions, but National Champions. No other conference could ever boast that many good teams over a short span. It’s pretty amazing, really, when you think about just how much the SEC has dominated the college football landscape and how they continue to dominate the college football landscape.

And there is no sign that this trend will break anytime soon. The SEC continues to get stronger. Florida is on their way back, Georgia will be a contender in the near future, Arkansas is there now, Tennessee is back… All of this in addition to Alabama, LSU. Mississippi, and the rest.

It’s unbelievable how the rest of the country hasn’t been able to keep up. I mean, the two teams that played for the Big Ten championship were embarrassed. Seriously, they should be kicked out of the power five. The Big Ten is a big joke.

The SEC… that is some serious football.

Maverick,
Please give it a rest, now the SEC is 8-2 in bowls this year & you’re still trying to bash. You have to be obsessed with the SEC, it’s all you talk about. You were pounding your chest about Northwestern all year, they got beat 45-6 by Tennessee, Michigan was favored to beat Florida so no the Gators should NOT have WON. Tennessee & Ole Miss were both favored so yes, they should of WON. SEC dominated most of their bowl games, not even close. Texas A&M only lost by 6, that is not a bad lose. You always try to make things out more then they are, instead of saying congras to the SEC, you have to make it seem that it WAS not impressive as it was. In that case, that Northwestern & Iowa team you stood up for all year fell right on their face, badly! USC could not even win in their own state, congras to Wisconsin on the win. Even though Michigan St has a great team, they got shut-out. You said the SEC would have another bad bowl season, you were wrong. I don’t have to brag about what the SEC did, it speaks for itself. Congras to the SEC & Bama vs Clemson game should be a good one. ACC vs SEC in championship game,imagine that.

You kids just don’t get it. You assume because they are matched up in bowl games that that match up should be equal. When the Big 10 has their three best teams playing the best of the SEC, the best of the Pac 12, and one of the best of all (Notre Dame), and they go 1-2, that is NOT BAD AT ALL. Yes, they got blown out by Stanford and Alabama, but no one in their right mind would say Iowa and Michigan State are the best teams in the Big 10. It was easily Ohio State.

You refuse to acknowledge that.

Also, the Big 10’s 4th best team (Michigan) blows out the second best SEC team (Florida). The Big 10’s 5th best team (Northwestern) gets blown out by the 4th best SEC team (Tennessee). The Big 10’s 6th best team (Wisconsin) beats the second to fourth best Pac12 team (USC).

Ole Miss is the 2nd to 3rd best team in the SEC, and they blew out the 2nd-4th best Big 12 team (OK State).

I think we can all agree that this system still is broken, as it justifies loop holes (which the SEC has successfully exploited for years). The only thing that is working is the College Football Playoff. As great as I think Stanford is, they lost 2 bad games. They didn’t deserve to go. Clemson, Alabama, Michigan State, and Oklahoma earned their trips. Yet, the system still needs equal conference games, equal power 5 games, and a conference championship. Now hear me out. If a conference is better than another conference, then your final result should confirm that when the bowl games turn around. However, you can’t use that argument to justify playing 8 conference games (and 1 power5 OOC game), rather than the 9 conference game, 1 power5, no FCS and a conference championship game, that every other conference is doing.

Also, during bowl assignments, the SEC gets to choose who they play. It’s in their contracts. First, the other teams accept their invitations, then it goes to the SEC to choose their matchups (which one should have no doubt they are making sure it’s the best change for each team to win). There’s a reason why you guys got blown out by Michigan in the Citrus Bowl!!! The SEC had no say in who they wanted to put in the matchup. It went solely to the best #2 team available in the Big 10 and SEC, only the Big 10 had to send their best team available because the other 3 were in major bowl games.

If you just look at the surface, one clearly should see SEC dominance!!!! They dominated the matchups. 8-2 records so far! That’s great! 6 matchups blowing out teams by 21+ points! That’s great. But let’s make sure these matchups are as close to equal as possible. That is common sense. I’m not hating, (except on that giant loser Bielema who was acting how great Ark was for beating a 6-6 KSU team after a year where they lost to Texas Tech and Toledo!). Alabama is awesome. Tennessee should be a top 10 team next year.

Coming from an unbiased SEC critic, this is how I and most non SEC people would rate the SEC this year and next year.

2015-2016:
1. Alabama
2. Ole Miss
3. Miss State
4. Florida
5. Tennessee
6. Georgia
7. LSU
8. Texas A&M
9. Arkansas
10. Auburn
11. Vandy
12. UK
13. Mizzou
14. USC

2016-2017: Tennessee will win the SEC. Guaranteed.

It’s the same reason why TCU blew out Ole Miss last year and Wisconsin beat Auburn, only it has been reversed. TCU was 11-1 vs Ole Miss (9-3). Wisconsin was (10-3) vs. Auburn (8-4).

This isn’t rocket science. The same records DO MATTER. Playing similar opponents at the same rate DOES MATTER.

This bowl season was poorly designed. A big let down. I would have loved better bowl matchups. I also think the Pac 12 and the SEC should look into setting up a couple bowl tie-ins. Maybe games in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

Signed,
A very letdown College Football Fan.

P.S. Good Luck Alabama and Clemson fans. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Maverick,
You’re are the one that was praising Iowa all season saying how great they were cause they beat Wisconsin & Northwestern & went 12-0, you also had them #1 at one point,you also mentioned how great Michigan St was, now you’re are saying they’re not great & that The Ohio St is, please make up your mind. There is nothing wrong with the system, just your logic, you pounding your chest on the SEC west going 2-5, now the SEC is 8-2 overall & your just making excuses to how the SEC is overrated in this year’s bowl games, Really? Michigan beat Florida cause they were the better team, not because of the match up. What you are trying to say is if the match ups were different then the SEC would not of none well, there is no fact to that,

There is no guarantee at all that Tennessee is going to win the SEC next year. SEC fans know that Tennessee is good & they are coming around, they also blew Iowa away in the bowl game last year.

The only reason you feel it was a let down bowl season is because the SEC went 8-2 & now you can’t bash the on the SEC west anymore, the match up were fine, there were also blow-out wins with other bowls minus SEC teams, it’s not Michigan’s fault cause Florida could not hang, just like it’s not Tennessee’s fault cause Northwestern could not hang, they were evenly matched. I just find it funny how you complain about SEC OOC & now you’re complaining about the bowl match ups are uneven so that’s why the SEC did so well, whatever!

Who said they were equal? All I said was claiming that an SEC team, or any Power Five team, should beat Memphis simply because they aren’t a Power Five team is more than just a little misguided.

And yes, the Big Ten going 1-2 is bad. In fact, it’s very bad.

And it’s funny to see you claim that Michigan State and Iowa weren’t the best teams in the Big Ten. Had they won, I imagine your tune would be quite different. But, let’s face it, they, along with Ohio State, were the best the league had to offer and they simply didn’t fare well on the national stage, something the Big Ten has to be getting used to by now.

It’s also funny to add that in addition to claiming the two teams that played for the Big Ten title weren’t the best teams, you then claim Florida was the SEC’s second best team, which was not the case at all. But, whatever, it’s just interesting to see you apply such ridiculous logic when it’s convenient and avoid it at all costs when it’s not.

You can say the SEC has exploited loopholes for years… I prefer we call it what it is… they win out of conference games at a higher clip than anyone else. See, for all you people that hate the SEC, there is an easy way to end the debate. Beat them. When your teams line up with the SEC… beat them.

But they don’t. Year in and year out, the SEC beats all comers.

The system isn’t broken. But you are right, the conferences are not equal. Winning the SEC is not like winning the ACC or Big 12. It’s harder. And until it’s as hard to win the Big 12 as it is the SEC, things will be unfair… toward the SEC…

And besides, the winner of the SEC will play 9 conference games. Every year. Plus a Power Five out of conference game.

Every conference determines who their teams will play. Texas was terrified a few years ago that they would get selected to play A&M and the Big 12 said they wouldn’t allow that to happen. The Big Ten selects who will go to the Rose Bowl. All conferences do that in an attempt to have the best possible matchup. Stop acting like it’s just the SEC that does that. Everyone else does it, too.

So you admit that the SEC does that? I see. Thanks for agreeing with me.

Maverick makes sense. You SEC blowhards are so set on defending the SEC that you don’t even choose to look into the facts. You guys are acting like a victory over a team you should beat is something to be proud of. It’s the same argument you make defending the SEC playing 4 scrub non-conference games.

Alabama is dope. Roll Tide.

Maverick, If you had picked the score of the Michigan State / Bama game a few days ago, what would you have predicted? Probably not 38-0 Bama. I’m certain your prediction would have been much more along the lines of what ESPN had in mind, a very close matchup as they went on and on about how well the Spartans matched up with Bama. How this was a “trap game” for the Crimson Tide because of Michigan State’s defensive athleticism and strength…and in a three hour period, ESPN’s wishful thinking and their hopes went right out the window as Michigan State was crushed and shut-out. Secondly, the teams Bama played and beat in the top 10, WERE in the top ten until Alabama beat them. Your whole “we beat teams who were in the top ten at the end of the season and that makes Clemson better than Alabama” is just plain silly! So, did you consider Florida State a “big win” this season? Yeah, well Houston made the Seminoles look real bad in their last game of the season, right? Yeah…Houston! Not one bit of who played and beat who matters right now. It’s Clemson playing Alabama tonight! No previous scores matter! No previous teams Clemson or Bama played, matter! Not one of those top ten wins for Bama or Clemson, matter! The only thing that matters tonight will be what player from Alabama or Clemson lines up facing the guy in front of them and whips ’em. If enough Alabama players do that, we should win the football game. If Clemson lines up and whips their man…Clemson should win the ballgame. Both Alabama and Clemson are great football teams. Both Dabo Swinney and Nick Saban are great football coaches. NOTHING that’s happened before 7:30PM Monday, January 11, 2016 matters. I believe in “The Process” and I believe in The Alabama Crimson Tide! Best of luck my friend and Roll Tide!

I’m a Clemson fan of course… My wife is a huge Bama fan… Gonna be fun in our house… Send me some free tickets!!!!

Remember Chad Kelly if he stayed at clemson he would b backup qb 2 DW4, If he beat your %%% Just think what DW4 is going 2 do. And by the way one word nickie hates is TEMPO..?………And u know bama fan’s what’s coming. ….TEMPO, TEMPO, TEMPO

We can bantor all day long! Let’s just watch the game and ENJOY the outcome!!! ROLL TIDE!!!

@Joe – Clemson has beaten the SEC, LSU, Auburn, Georgia, South Carolina, check, check, and check. Non conference games this year against Notre Dame and South Carolina, we have Auburn and South Carolina next year. Alabama played Middle Tennessee, ULM and Charleston Southern, and Wisconsin. Garbage. And the sad part was Saban actually tried to defend the cupcake schedule likening it to Georgia Southern running all over the tide, a game Bama won 45-21, what a joke.

Scott,
Clemson has also lost to Georgia, Alabama, S.Carolina & Auburn. Bashing Bama because of their OOC is a little hypocritical, since when did Wisconsin become garbage? Clemson also has played teams like Middle Tenn & S.Carolina St in the past plus they played Wofford & App St this year, not a big difference. Saban defends every team Bama plays cause he respects them plus he does not want his kids going into any game thinking it is a guaranteed win. That Bama game vs Georgia Southern was 4 years ago, the same year Clemson beat Wofford 35-27, what’s the point? Yes, smaller schools can scare any team at any time.

Day,
The point is the SEC’s out of conference schedule truly is a disgrace. For a conference that says how great they are, they should always play up to competition, not down. If you want to get people to say you are the best conference without question, then play other teams in other power five conferences for nonconference games rather than the scrubs. You hardly ever travel, when you do its to a “neutral” territory, you never play home and home, and then when you play teams you should beat in bowl games you say the SEC is the greatest.

Yes, I am pointing on things that are passing on some of your points, the SEC’s bowl record 8-2 (possibly 9-2 or 8-3), but you kids did this to yourself. You started to make it the SEC vs everyone rather than every team for themselves. You take pride in your rivals beating other conferences and chant SEC. It’s so lame, but it is smart. But stop it. And if you want to do it, then do it by playing 9 conference games, 2 Power 5 OOC games and traveling for home and home games. Otherwise, just stop it.

The fact still remains… Clemson has not faced an SEC team… one of which has gone the distance. I’ll bet you $ that the SEC maintains its record for the next 3 years… Tennessee is coming next. Look out!!!