Tag: College Football Playoff

Mini-CFP Championship Preview: Alabama vs. Clemson

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ALABAMA ROSTER NOTES

• Players recruited by Michigan: LB Christopher Allen, LB Eyabi Anoma, LB Markail Benton, OL Tommy Brown, DB Shyheim Carter, LB Ben Davis, DB Trevon Diggs, OL Emil Ekiyor, TE Miller Forristall, RB Damien Harris, RB Najee Harris, TE Hale Hentges, TE Kedrick James, WR Jerry Jeudy, DB Josh Jobe, WR Derek Kief, DB Nigel Knott, OL Alex Leatherwood, LB Terrell Lewis, DB Jared Mayden, LB Josh McMillon, LB Dylan Moses, OL Chris Owens, LB Jarez Parks, OL Kendall Randolph, DL LaBryan Ray, WR Henry Ruggs III, WR Tyrell Shavers, TE Irv Smith, Jr., DB Patrick Surtain II, TE Major Tennison, WR Jaylen Waddle, OL Jonah Williams, WR Xavier Williams, OL Jedrick Wills, Jr., LB Mack Wilson,
• OL Emil Ekiyor and RB Damien Harris were previously committed to Michigan
• Cornerback Trevon Diggs is the younger brother of former Maryland and current Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs
• Tight end Irv Smith, Jr. is the son of former Notre Dame and NFL tight end Irv Smith
• Cornerback Patrick Surtain II is the son of former Southern Miss and NFL cornerback Patrick Surtain
• Alabama QB coach Dan Enos was employed by Michigan for a short time in the 2017-2018 off-season

CLEMSON ROSTER NOTES

• Players recruited by Michigan: OG Matt Bockhorst, QB Chase Brice, OL Jackson Carman, WR T.J. Chase, RB Lyn-J Dixon, DE Clelin Ferrell, CB Mark Fields, DE Justin Foster, C Zach Giella, CB Mario Goodrich, DE K.J. Henry, WR Tee Higgins, OT Mitch Hyatt, DL Xavier Kelly, QB Trevor Lawrence, DE Justin Mascoll, CB Kyler McMichael, CB Trayvon Mullen, S Tanner Muse, WR Diondre Overton, WR Amari Rodgers, WR Justyn Ross, DE Logan Rudolph, DE Xavier Thomas, LB Regan Upshaw, CB LeAnthony Williams
• Safety Brian Dawkins, Jr. is the son of former Clemson and NFL safety Brian Dawkins
• Cornerback Mark Fields II is the son of former Washington State and NFL linebacker Mark Fields
• Linebacker Regan Upshaw is the son of former Cal and NFL defensive end Regan Upshaw

LAST TIME THEY PLAYED MICHIGAN . . . 

• Michigan has never played Clemson.
• Michigan is 2-2 against Alabama. The last time they played was in the season-opener of 2012, which Alabama won, 41-14. The series between Michigan and head coach Nick Saban is also 2-2, as he went 1-2 at Michigan State vs. the Wolverines.

PREDICTION

• Alabama 42, Clemson 34

Who should be in the College Football Playoff?

Kyler Murray

I’ve seen a lot of debate about this topic, and the debate is borderline ridiculous to me. So I thought I would bring it to you readers for your thoughts.

Which four teams belong in the College Football Playoff?

My thoughts:

#1 Alabama: They’re 13-0 and won the SEC Championship. Their non-conference schedule was a joke (Louisiana-Lafayett, The Citadel, Arkansas State, Louisville), but they handled their business against SEC opponents and beat everyone on their schedule.

#2 Clemson: They’re 13-0 and won the ACC Championship. They had two solid non-conference games (a 56-35 win over South Carolina and a 28-26 win over Texas A&M). Their only other close game, aside from playing A&M, was barely beating a Syracuse team when the Tigers were down to their #3 quarterback (Kelly Bryant transferred, Trevor Lawrence got hurt).

#3 Notre Dame: They’re 12-0 with no conference championship game. They have some solid wins, but nothing great. However, they scheduled some tough teams (Michigan, USC, Virginia Tech, Stanford); it’s just that three of those four teams had down years (USC, Virginia Tech, Stanford).

#4 Oklahoma: No, they don’t play defense, but they’re 12-1 and avenged their one loss in the Big 12 Championship game. That was against a solid Texas team. Otherwise, they played some tight games, but that loss to Texas was better than the Purdue loss for . . .

#5 Ohio State: Yes, the Buckeyes won the Big Ten Championship, but their loss to 6-6 Purdue was not only a big letdown, but it was a blowout loss. The Buckeyes have the potential to beat those other teams in the top four, but the big-play guys for the top four would gash OSU more so than the all but Oklahoma. (For the record, I don’t have strong feelings about whether Oklahoma or OSU should be in the CFP – I think both would lose to Alabama in the first game.)

#6 UCF: UCF beat everyone on their schedule. They even won their conference championship without their starting quarterback.

#7 Georgia: This is the biggest, dumbest debate I’ve seen. Georgia played Alabama close, but they have already proven they can lose to TWO teams. How could you name a national champion who has two losses when three teams only have one? For example, should a 2-loss Georgia team be named national champions above a 1-loss Alabama team who split the season series between the two? The Patriots were 16-0 in the regular season before losing to the 10-6 Giants, and yet the Giants were the Super Bowl champs and go down in history as the best team that year. I don’t care if Georgia “looks” like a top-four team, because that’s subjective. What’s not subjective is that this season, they were worse than Alabama and worse than 9-3 LSU when it came time to playing those teams. They had a chance to settle the issue on the field, and they didn’t do it.