By Kris Jones The 2016 College Football National Championship pitted the #2 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide against Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers that turned out to be, in the college football fans’ eyes, an instant classic. The road to the National Championship seemed like a breeze for number 1 Clemson. They had arguably the best quarterback in the ACC, DeShaun Watson, and possibly the best head coach in the ACC in Dabo Swinney. Luckily, both Dabo and Deshaun will return next season to the Tigers, making the team’s national title hopes a lot brighter. Although they do lose defensive end Shaq Lawson, linebacker B.J. Goodson, and defensive tackle D.J. Reader to graduation, Clemson has a lot of talent coming in next season. But, with these losses, Clemson seriously needs to rebuild its defense. Luckily for the Tigers, they have some big time defensive talent coming to campus next season. An example of some of the talent is outside linebacker Rahshaun Smith from the ever popular IMG Academy and defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence from Wake Forest, North Carolina. These guys are huge improvements for an already stellar defense. Alabama, on the other hand, has not lost the whole base of the team. The biggest loss for the Crimson Tide is Heisman winner Derrick Henry. That is a seismic loss for the team, but, all's not lost for Nick Saban. Najee Harris, a running back from Antioch, California, committed to the Crimson Tide and this guy is a big back who can bring it to the house, so, don’t be surprised to see him playing as early as his freshman season. During the game, Alabama took a huge gamble during the 4th quarter. The team did an onside kick (which was nicknamed a “pop kick”) with 10 minutes left and their defensive back Marlon Humphrey caught the ball over his shoulder. This started what could be the comeback of the year. The Crimson Tide were living up to their name as they rolled over a powerful and hopeful Clemson side. Alabama won and stunned Clemson 45-40. Nick Saban is now being proclaimed the best college coach in history. Quite a big claim for a coach of the most traditional college football team. But, this was a war between two giants and the fans who were watching at home and those in the stadium sure were happy with the results.
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Dylan EdelmanWilson Senior Archives
February 2020
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