Clemson and Alabama faced off in the Colllege Football Playoff Championship for the second year in a row on Monday night. It was the thrilling rematch of last year’s game, in which the Clemson Tigers had their underdog hopes dashed in a close 45-40 finish that earned the Alabama Crimson Tide their 4th national championship title under head coach Nick Saban.
So when they returned to face off with the kings of college football yet again, Clemson was armed with a full year’s worth of motivation. And in the end, and I mean the very end, it was they who would improbably emerge from the final college football game of the season as the best team in the country.