The Alabama Crimson Tide are set to face Clemson in the playoffs for the third consecutive year. Clemson finds itself in the position of being more highly ranked and the defending champions this time around, but remains an underdog according to Vegas and S&P+. After the last two years I expect this game to go to the wire either way.
The Alabama offense looks different this year from the unit that Lane Kiffin coached. Brian Daboll’s offense runs the ball nearly 2/3rds of the time, with four excellent running backs complementing lead ballcarrier Jalen Hurts. The jet sweep Kiffin loved has been mostly replaced with more pro style shifting.