Hey, y’all know what happened after the last time Alabama played in a title game when they used the “R” word.
It’s not just that we’ll be seeing last year’s national title game participants face off again. It’s that the semis were totally lopsided affairs that basically served as evidence that they could have skipped the preliminaries altogether and gone straight to the main course.
Alabama was Alabama, the five-star python that let its opponent have an early chance to breath — Saban’s gotta have something to get his blood pressure up — only to spend the rest of the game slowly squeezing the life out of its prey.
Clemson’s win may have been even more impressive. Shutting Urban Meyer out for the first time in his career was a big deal, one that will be forever in Corch’s mind. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a coaching staff use the month off to prepare better for an opponent than Dabo’s crew did last night. (Technically, Ohio State had one more week to get ready than Clemson did, since the Buckeyes skipped the championship game route.)
In the end, both teams showed they’re college football’s 2016 cream of the crop. They should be playing for all the marbles.
All that being said, it’s still Alabama vs. Clemson. Again. If you think that’s kind of boring — and if you’re the kind of casual viewer that ESPN and its clients are trying to reel in with the CFP, you probably do — don’t worry. The folks running college football are sensitive to rematch issues. Stay away from the TV for a few days and you’ll get their knees jerking eventually. Hopefully, the rest of us will get to enjoy a great national championship game.
Get The Picture 
Gosh same as the BCS without all those traditional New Year’s Day bowls generating clutter! New and Improved!
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And lose out on the joy of watching Urban Meyer get destroyed, shut-out, and humiliated?
No, sir. This was another example of why having the extra playoff games is wonderful.
I got to watch two meaningful games on a New Year’s Eve instead of watching a couple of meh teams in a meh Peach Bowl.
Love it. Now lets get it to 8 and it will be perfect.
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Dabo has done an incredible job and may very well beat Bama. At Clemson. It’s time to throw out the defeatist attitude that UGA can never be Bama, OSU, USC, etc. We can win big and should expect to. That’s what Dabo sells at Clemson, along with a lot of hard work and enthusiasm. Hats off to him, and here’s to hoping that formula works for CKS.
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The semifinals had some value. Anything that’s bad for Corch is good for the nation.
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Just think how great it will be when Ohio State is the first team to lose to a Cinderella in a 16-team playoff. That will justify playoff expansion all by itself.
//sarcasm
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Think big Senator: what if urban lost to 16 seeded UNC-Wilmington? Between the spread and playoff expansion we could have two college basketball seasons! December Delirium!!!
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Senator, I grok the sarcasm in your second sentence. As to the first: alevay. 🙂
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You couldn’t have skipped the preliminaries. Under the old BCS formula, Ohio St would have played Alabama and Clemson would have ranked 4th behind Washington.
Without the playoff, the 2 best teams would never have played each other. Clemson would have played Washington in the Rose Bowl probably.
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we do not know what the tip two teams would be under the old BCS formula because the BCS does not exist any more. Neither does the Harris Poll, which was a crucial factor in the BCS rankings.
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Just because we don’t use the BCS formula anymore doesn’t mean that we forgot what the formula was. There are numerous sites that still track it. Would you like me to link one?
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No, I believe you.
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Bingo. That’s exactly what would have happened.
Voters wouldn’t have wanted a rematch, and Alabama and OSU would have been the marquee choice.
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If I’m not mistaken OState was the favorite in that game. Without the playoff it’s possible Clemson would’ve been left on the outside looking in (unlikely but possible).
Whether the game is a repeat of last year’s game or not is irrelevant if you’re trying to determine the best team. Until somebody can beat either of these teams then this is the matchup we’ll see.
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That’s what I said after ‘Bama and LSU faced off in the national title game.
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Without the playoff Clemson absolutely would have been left out. With the old BCS rankings, Clemson would have been ranked 4 behind Washington, Ohio St and Bama.
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Who knows for sure? Clemson was seeded second by the selection committee. Perhaps the polls would have reacted differently had they still been legitimately in the mix.
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Clemson’s loss was worse than OSU’s loss..they would have been out if just two in.
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Unless the pollsters adhered to the first Herbstreit doctrine requiring a conference championship. Then, Clemson jumps OSU in the final poll.
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True..but I’m still mystified that he was/seen as an oracle.
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True.
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I thought the pick 6 finished W, until then, they believed and Bama had doubts…
Clempson takes it all…
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The pick six killed me too. I was really hoping, as a UW alum, they would win. Go Clemson.
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I have to disagree with you on this one. The way the game played out last season seems like the perfect marketing pitch for the networks to use to appeal to the casual viewer. ‘Remember how entertaining last season’s national championship was? Come watch those two teams go at it again!’…combine that with the whole Clemson revenge aspect and you’ve got what should be a blockbuster matchup.
Does the casual fan really care if it’s Bama and Clemson again, or do they just want to see an entertaining game? For me, personally, I get tired of seeing Bama, but I also have a bias given the UGA ties. Not sure if that applies to the larger viewership.
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Agree. tOSU was getting a free ride from the wwl and media. Glad clemmons kicked some corch butt.
If this year’s game is anything like last years, it’ll be worth watching – even if it is the absolute worst day and time to schedule a national championship game.
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Very large enthusiasm gap between the two winning teams yesterday. Motivation weighs huge on Clemson’s side.
Third-year QB vs. First-year QB. Would not be surprised to see Clemson smoke Alabama, too.
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This is my fear as well.
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They ain’t going anywhere either. If Clemson can find a QB their defense could take them back. Bama WILL be back.
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Re: the headline
Frank Nitty in ‘The Untouchables’, right?
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It is clear that the BIG TEN is vastly overrated. We will see how Penn State and Wisconsin fares tomorrow.
If you follow the rankings, Clemson would not have been playing since they were ranked at 3. Dabo has done a great job there. It took him a while. You will remember that Clemson lost 5 straight to South Carolina was embarrassed by WVU in the Orange Bowl a few years ago.
Maybe Smart can grow to that point with UGA.
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Kirby’s leash is too short to lose five straight to our main rival. He wouldn’t last long enough to do that.
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I coudn’t stop laughing at the way Clemson totally kicked Ohio State and Corch’s asses. The only way it could have been better was if, during the post game press interview, Corch had grabbed his chest and started staggering around hollering “This the Big One” like Red Foxx used to do on Sanford and Son. Priceless.
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I loved Corch’s halftime interview when he said they weren’t getting pushed around or anything like that, they just needed to execute. Nice guy throwing his kids under the bus like that. They were absolutely manhandled.
And I enjoyed every minute of it.
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Are you kidding? Watching that 3 1/2 hour, national, humiliation of urbie and the entire obnoxious suckeye fan base was more exciting than the Ginger Lynn’s Greatest Hits video in the 90s. Man, that was a game I couldn’t take my eyes off of. And for Herbie to have to call it….priceless. Their fans are really POed about their QB returning next year (and may come after Chaney as they want their OC fired. Please, be our guest!) Three weeks ago they felt Barret should have won a Heisman now they want him gone.. Maybe he should have won it, he played like one usually does in bowl. games. 🙂
And if you think Mickey would have let Bama and Clemson play (two Southern teams) in the title game and keep the TV sets in the Great Lakes area turned off, you are crazy. Hell they were talking about three Big? teams being in the four team bracket.
It was so great I overlooked the fact that Clem’s Son wore those ugly ass, all orange softball unis. And that only conference champs should be invited until we get to eight spots. By including Washington and ohio, only the Big 12 got dissed. Too exclusive at four, but it will get improved.
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Uh, Ohio State didn’t win anything, not even their division. State Penn is the Big T-whatever champ.
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Yes, I know, just worded it poorly. Meant only the Big 12 had no representation at all, champ or not. And that ohio would have played Bama under the old BCS system. Clemson would not have made it.
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Got it.
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8 playoff teams–all 5 conference champs plus 3 at large–sounds just right to me.
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Love this post, Mac..but who in the hell IS Clem?
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And great point about Herbie having to call it. He looked and sounded miserable. But the playoff system was invented to stop the SEC and it hasn’t really worked.
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Clem might have been Frank Howard’s illegitimate grandpa….who, legend has it, also sired Dabo’s ancestors on a trip down to Gulf Shores.
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I just wished there was a BCS ranking available to compare the two. I honestly did not mind the BCS. I thought it got it right most if not all the time.
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Absolutely loved watching OSU get wiped. I usually turn these type games off, but not this one. Wanted to see if it would turn out to be a big fat 0. For OSU. It was fitting that Herbie, the love bug, was there. Sorry, that is an insult to VW.
I kept thinking you had a month to prepare for this. Jeez.
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I am anticipating a very interesting scenario: if AL beats, how the manage or justify moving tOSU ahead of Clemson; or if Clemson beats AL, how far down they will drop the Tide. Watching the games and other games, these teams are 1 and 2.
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Not totally sold on Clemson at #2 but that Venable defense has been salty in 2-3 games. Bama offense is their weak spot so it could be close,
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