Clemson Routs Alabama in Championship Game

This really shouldn’t have stunned anybody Clemson won this football game. But it was the margin and the fact Alabama waved a surrender flag early in the fourth quarter which might indicate there is a new program atop the world of college football. It was an execution of sorts carried out by Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers on both sides of the ball as his team made every play that mattered in beating Nick Saban’s dynasty Crimson Tide by a count of 44-16.

And consider this…it was carried out by a true freshman quarterback by the name of Trevor Lawrence who will at the minimum be back two more college football seasons wearing Clemson orange.

Alabama had no answers for Clemson on either side of the football or on special teams as well as they missed an extra point and panicked with a fake field goal on the first possession of the second half trailing 31-16.

In reality… that was the game. It was over there and then. From that point forward it was just Clemson torturing Saban until he went all Roberto Duran and said ‘no mas’ by inserting Jalen Hurts early in the fourth period. It was a good thing ESPN wasn’t doing those family shots of Tua’s parents during this game as is it would have been deemed as cruel and unusual punishment.

In the age of the playoff which has now been in place for five years the scoreboard reads…Clemson two championships, Alabama two championships, and Ohio State one championship.

This was not a pretty ending to this bowl season for the SEC. Instead it was a train wreck. First there was the unmasking of UGA and the Georgia Bulldogs by a four loss Texas team in the Sugar Bowl. Then this. Keep this in mind…neither game was close as Texas went into a prevent defense late in the game which made the score look closer than it was. Both Georgia and Alabama were beaten by teams which were more physical than they were on the two given nights.

Does this change the face of college football moving forward?

Not really. It does give us some relief from making Alabama the presumptive champion every year. It gives college football the appearance that a championship game without Alabama could be a possibility next season. It shows there is a roadmap to beating Alabama in the playoff era since Clemson has now done it in two of the last three seasons and Georgia should have done it twice.

But beyond that…I don’t see huge changes on the horizon. The talent level of the top football programs in the country reside in the South. This is a talent thing…as in which states produce the most NFL players per capita population. Google it if you doubt me.

These players come from the South. They reside in Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. It’s a southern thing. It’s the culture.

So while Alabama did go down in flames last night in northern California of all places, I’d say right now next year’s Final Four will still be dominated by the same teams next season. Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, and Texas all return their starting quarterbacks next season and that might be a starting point to preview next year’s Final Four the morning after Clemson’s dismantling of Alabama.