Prediction on 2019 College Football National Championship

After a crazy weekend in sports, we finally have our two College Football National Championship teams, and they seem very familiar. For the fourth year in a row Clemson and Alabama will meet in the College Football Playoffs, the third time in the four years that it is in the National Championship. I know some people are getting sick of these teams always playing each other for the title, but sometimes you just have to sit back and look at the brilliance that is occuring at both programs. Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban may go down as one of the best college football coaches of all-time, and Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney has turned the mentality at Clemson over the last 10 years. This is the first year though that both teams are undefeated going into the championship game, which is a first for any CFB Championship Game in the playoff era. I am going to try and decide which team has the advantage when each side has the ball, and by those advantages, who will be champions.

Alabama has the ball

First, the Alabama offense. After Tua Tagovailoa won the starting quarterback job over previous starter Jalen Hurts, OC and play caller Mike Locksley has altered the plays so that Tagovailoa can show off his arm more. In the past, Alabama would mainly run the ball for most of the game, either with the RBs or the QB, and would rarely pass the ball. But for one of the first time in years, Alabama is averaging more passing yards per game than rushing yards (325.6 to 202.0). They will be eyeing up even more pass plays with their quarterback almost fully healthy after a surgery on his ankle a month before the semifinal against Oklahoma. The Clemson defense learned some bad news this week, that star DT Dexter Lawrence will be among three Tiger players who will remain suspended due to testing positive for ostarine with both test samples. Even without Lawrence, the Clemson defense was dominant last weekend against Notre Dame, allowing only three points and 248 total yards, and forcing one INT and one fumble. The Tigers are on average only allowing 183.8 passing yards a game and only 92.9 yards rushing. Something is going to have to give in this game. I will give the slight edge here to Alabama, just due to the Alabama coaching and ability to change on a dime to a rushing offense with Jalen Hurts.

Advantage: Alabama

Clemson has the ball

Let's be real, the Clemson Tiger offense is the best that it has been in years. Most years they would have one aspect of the offense be great, while the other would be average. Now, the passing game is superb with freshman QB Trevor Lawrence leading the charge, and the run game as also been excellent, with RB Travis Etienne running for 1572 yards this season. The Tigers are averaging 44.3 points a game, only three less than Alabama. For the Roll Tide defense, being able to switch the coverage types on a dime will be key. Clemson is not like most teams, who manly prioritize one type of offense, they constantly change their play style in the game depending on which method is working best. I am not saying that the Alabama defense is bad or anything like that, they just cannot afford to be off kilter for any portion of the game. Alabama is only allowing 14.8 points a game, which is insane for their kind of schedule. It is even closer than the other side of the ball, but I believe the Tigers will be able to switch up the play calls enough to score points.

Advantage: Clemson

Prediction It is hard to decide which team will win with both having so much success this season. But, I do have to decide, they can't just share the championship. Alabama slightly allow more yards per game, but Clemson allows three more points a game. My prediction is that Clemson will beat Alabama 27-24 to win their second national title with HC Dabo Swinney.