I was wrong. I picked Alabama to rout Clemson, and the reverse happened in the national championship game Monday night. It was Clemson that was in the advanced class. It was Clemson that was vastly superior. We thought Alabama was a team for the ages, but turns out that mantle belongs to the Tigers.
Clemson’s 44-16 victory was not the result of big plays. Both teams shared equally in producing big plays.
This was the result of little plays. Little plays and quarterbacking. Clemson freshman Trevor Lawrence made virtually no mistakes; Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa made two huge miscues, interceptions that helped ignite Clemson momentum.