It was supposed to be this way.
Ever since Alabama outlasted Deshaun Watson and Clemson in last season's College Football Playoff National Championship, 45-40, college football has been building toward a rematch. It is the unstoppable force that is Crimson Tide football against the quarterback who diced their defense for 405 passing yards, 73 rushing yards and four touchdowns in last year's matchup.
Nick Saban's program has won four of the last seven national titles, but Clemson looked just as dominant in a 31-0 beatdown of another blue-blood program in Ohio State during the Fiesta Bowl.
Chad Peltier of Football Outsiders called the impending game a battle of "the country's most talented team against probably the country's most talented quarterback.