CFP Championship: 3 reasons Clemson beats Alabama
By Kelvin Hunt
Passing Game/Wide Receivers
I know it’s crazy to think a true freshman quarterback could beat a Nick Saban defense with a week to prepare. However, Trevor Lawrence isn’t a true freshman anymore with 14 games under his belt.
We’ll touch on this later, but Clemson’s run game should slow down Alabama’s pass rush enough to give him time to work the in the passing game.
Lawrence does a good job of getting rid of the ball quickly anyways, but the thing to keep an eye on is Clemson’s wide receivers against the Alabama secondary.
Clemson has huge wide receivers who can win one-on-one matchups downfield. Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross are both 6’4″ with the 37 year young (sarcasm) Hunter Renfrow creating havoc from the slot position.
Clemson will look to establish the run and play off that to attack downfield with those larger receivers for explosive plays. It’s something they’ve done all season and have six receivers with double-digit average yards per catch.
It should be noted that Alabama has given up 19 passing touchdown receptions on the season too. Clemson’s defense has only given up 11 passing touchdowns all season.