Finebaum believes Nick Saban would rather play Ohio State than Clemson football
The Clemson football team was one win away from competing for another National Championship, but the Tigers will be sitting at home following a 49-28 blowout loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Sugar Bowl.
Despite the absolute rout that we saw in New Orleans, SEC Network Analyst Paul Finebaum still believes that Alabama got the opponent that it most desired for the National Title game.
On his weekly appearance on WJOX radio in Birmingham, Finebaum explained that he thinks Saban is much happier playing Ohio State than Clemson simply because of the history between the Tigers and Crimson Tide.
"“In a weird, quirky sort of way, I think deep-down, Nick Saban is happier seeing Ohio State across the field than Clemson,” Finebaum said on WJOX. “And it’s only because of the history. We all know Alabama and Clemson’s history. I think that’s a program down in South Carolina that knows it can beat Alabama. I don’t think what happened in 2014 has any impact on this game. This is a completely-different world we’re living in."
Of course, he couldn’t help but also take a little shot at Swinney.
"“I think Saban will probably prefer to take his chances against Ryan Day’s team than another matchup against Dabo Swinney,” Finebaum said. “Although, really, these days with Dabo Swinney, you kind of invite that challenge because you don’t know how Dabo Swinney is going to affect the outcome of the game through his mouth.”"
Clemson football had a chance and couldn’t get the job done
Who knows who will win between Alabama and Ohio State. Both teams have elite offenses and they can put up a bunch of points.
As much as we didn’t think it would affect the outcome coming into the game, it was clear that Ohio State had an extra level of motivation when they saw Clemson on the other sideline. It was clear that the Buckeyes had this game marked for a year and it showed in the way they hustled and carried themselves throughout the matchup.
Now, it begs the question: Can they do that same kind of thing again?
Clemson had a chance to compete and never got going. The defense never came close to stopping the Buckeyes- and much of that should be credited to Ryan Day and his scheme- and that’s why they’re sitting at home.
Finebaum is spinning this in a way to pump sunshine for Alabama fans and he may very well be right, but it doesn’t change anything about the matchup coming in.
Did Saban secretly not want to play Clemson for the motivation factor that would’ve been present similar to the one Ohio State had for the Tigers? Maybe. Only time will tell if that will matter at all, though.