The majority of Clemson football nation will be rooting hard against the Alabama Crimson Tide, but could it be beneficial for the Tigers?
The Clemson football program is just two wins away from being in the CFB Playoff.
The Tigers have one matchup against in-state rival South Carolina and then the ACC Championship next weekend to determine if they’ll make it back to the CFB Playoff for a fifth-straight season.
Over the course of the past four seasons, Clemson football fans have become quite acquainted with Alabama.
The Crimson Tide and Tigers have matched up each of the last four years in postseason play, three of the games being in the National Championship. The two hold a 2-2 record against one another, but Clemson holds a 2-1 advantage in National Championship matchups.
Earlier this season, Alabama gave up 46 points and was beaten by LSU at home. Despite the Crimson Tide losing and a heart-wrenching injury to QB Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama is still squarely in the mix for the CFB Playoff. The Crimson Tide get the benefit of the doubt despite having no defensive pulse this season and, for obvious reasons, it makes Clemson football fans sick.
I’ve been beating the drum for forever talking about how Alabama shouldn’t be in the CFB Playoff and how there are other teams from other conferences that are more deserving. I’m a firm believer that if Utah or Oklahoma win-out and finish with one-loss and a conference championship, that they should be considered over Alabama- a team that finished without even winning its division.
However, I want to point out a perspective for Clemson football fans that many may not have thought about before.
If Alabama makes the CFB Playoff, it will be because the committee puts the Tide in over Oklahoma and Utah, or some crazy scenario of absolute chaos happened over the next two weeks.
Just for a second, let’s assume it’s the cleanest scenario.
Let’s assume that LSU, Ohio State and Clemson win out. The committee decides to put Alabama in over Oklahoma or Utah- perhaps one of those teams lose in their conference title game.
While the committee didn’t get it right, this may would be the best scenario for Clemson football. Why? It’s all about the matchups.
If you’re Clemson and you get to choose between playing Ohio State or LSU in the semifinal, you want the Tigers. Why? This year, teams get about the same amount of time to prepare for the semifinal game as they do the National Championship- it’s about a 2-3-day difference.
You want the easiest path to the playoff and getting LSU in the semifinal means that you don’t have to face the Tigers in the National Championship game, which is in New Orleans.
The committee already chose to move Ohio State ahead of LSU in the playoff poll and it would stand to reason that the Buckeyes are going to remain No. 1 if they win-out, even if LSU comes away with a win over a top-four Georgia team in the SEC Championship. The committee would be even more obliged to keep Ohio State at No. 1 if that meant LSU wouldn’t play Alabama again in the semifinals.
So, for those of you playing along: If Alabama gets in, it’s pretty much a guarantee Clemson gets LSU in the semifinals and dodges having to play the Tigers in New Orleans, their home-state.
In addition to not having to play LSU in New Orleans, Clemson would get the bowl game it wants, as well. The committee isn’t going to send No. 1 Ohio State to Atlanta if Alabama is the opponent. The Buckeyes and Crimson Tide would be playing in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl in Arizona.
That would leave the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta to Clemson and LSU.
How about that? You give Brent Venables a month to prepare for that LSU offense, you know that you have an advantage over that putrid defense and you get the game in Atlanta where the crowd should be 50/50, or perhaps even favor Clemson football.
Honestly, I don’t expect anyone to begin to pull for Alabama. I know that I won’t.
But it certainly could be advantageous for Clemson if the Crimson Tide somehow backed their way into that No. 4 spot.