Clemson Football: Can Swinney join rare air win 2nd straight win over Saban?
Can Clemson’s, Dabo Swinney join the short list of coaches who have defeated Alabama’s Nick Saban in back-to-back seasons?
Nick Saban is arguably the greatest head coach in college football history. His five National Championships are second all-time to Paul “Bear” Bryant. Saban has a realistic shot at tying Bryant before it’s all said and done.
During his 10 years at the University of Alabama, only two head coaches have defeated Saban in back-to-back seasons. The first, was Les Miles in 2010 and 2011. If it wasn’t for Miles’ elite defense, chock-full of future NFL stars, that wouldn’t have been possible. Saban went on to own Miles, finishing 6-3 in head to head match-ups with the ex-LSU head coach.
The second was Hugh Freeze, previously the head coach at Ole Miss. Freeze led the Rebels to consecutive wins over Saban during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. His innovative spread offense and aggressive defense were enough to edge the Tide.
Swinney’s chances
Dabo Swinney has a better chance at defeating Saban in consecutive seasons than the previous two coaches mentioned. For Miles and Freeze, their victories over Alabama were more of an anomaly than anything else. Swinney has elevated Clemson to a level comparable to Alabama’s.
Not only is Clemson on par with the Tide from a culture and expectations standpoint, they are clearly the better football team this time around. Choosing a winner between Clemson and Alabama last year, was like splitting hairs, both teams were evenly matched.
This season – even with everyone healthy – Alabama has taken a step back on the defensive side of the ball. That’s not to say that they aren’t good on defense. Simply they are not as dominant as a year ago.
On the flip side of the ball, much hasn’t changed for Alabama offensively. Jalen Hurts is making better decisions with the football, however, he is still limited as a passer. I highly doubt the Tide will be able to run the ball against Clemson’s dominant front seven, which will force Hurts to win the game through the air. If this matchup comes down to the arm of Hurts, the Tigers will win convincingly.
Clemson’s success against Alabama this season has more to do with their improvement on defense.
The Tigers got longer in the secondary with guys like Tanner Muse (6-foot-2, 225 lbs), Trayvon Mullen (6-foot-2, 190 lbs) and K’Von Wallace (6-foot, 195 lbs) carving out larger roles this year. They also improved at linebacker, thanks to the elite play of Dorian O’Daniel, Kendall Joseph and sophomore, Tre Lamar. Not to mention Clemson has the best defensive line in the nation.
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After watching the way Auburn and Mississippi State dealt with Alabama upfront, I am confident Dabo Swinney will secure his second straight win over Nick Saban.