National Championship Preview: Offense, Coaches, Pressure and more

Joe Lisi, Rich Cirminiello and special guest Terry Bowden preview this week's National Championship game between Alabama and Clemson. They break down who has the better offense, coach and talk about which team is under more pressure to win. #FNTSY #FNTSYRadio #NCAA #CollegeFootball #FantasyCollegeFootball #Alabama #Clemson #Coaches #Offense #NationalChampionshipGame

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
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(00:23):
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Network on our work. Let's go college football today. We

(00:51):
are set for a heavyweight showdown number two Clemson number
one at Alabama Monday night. Doesn't get better than this.
Welcome to College Football Today, brought to you by bet
d s I, Joelici, Ritzermonello, Gabe Lorenzi, and former Auburn
and Akron head coach Terry Bowden in studio with us.

(01:11):
We're gonna be breaking down the National Championship game for
the next three hours. Gentlemen, we saw some great bulls,
great playoff games. Alabama Clemson stepped up dominated their opponents.
But I think we're gonna have the stage is set
really for a great National Championship game. Fourth meeting Monday night.
This is the epic heavyweight battle that I think all

(01:32):
of us expected. I mean, these are the two best
teams in the country. We saw that last weekend. We
expected both Alabama and Clemson to win a little more
comfortable than I had hoped for. Wanted to see more
entertaining second half games. Joe, I thought Clemson was dominant.
I mean that was the one game. If I thought
one of these two playoff games was gonna be competitive
in the second, I thought it would be Clemson Notre Dame.

(01:54):
Didn't happen. That Clemson defense, even without Dexter Lawrence, from
start to finish, vacated Notre Dame thirty two three in
that matchup, and it sets up, as you said, fourth straight.
These are the two epic programs. This is the game.
I want to say, Coach, when you look at this
matchup as a whole, people I've heard run Wings saying, oh,
we don't want to see Alabama Clemson. But when you

(02:16):
get the two best teams in the nation playing for
the title, I mean, it doesn't really get better than that, doesn't.
This is the way it's supposed to be. You've got
the two most deserving teams in the game. Both four
D and OH, both with undefeated records a chance to
be what the first team in this part of the
century to have fifteen wins, are the most deserving, but
they're also the most talented. There is more NFL talent outfield.

(02:38):
You're gonna feel you're watching a Sunday game, and after
a year or two, you'll be seeing most of these
guys on Sundays. Because these aren't just the most deserving
two teams, they're the most talented two teams. And I
think it's a very even matchup. There may not be
equality throughout college football as much as the NFL, but
there's equality here. There's there's a quality in these two teams,
and then these are the right teams for an exciting

(03:00):
football game when you look at this matchup as well,
when you look at last week's games, I mean both
teams jumped out to big early first half leads and
really coached it in the second half. These teams want
to start fast, especially Monday night, to get the pregame
jitters out of the way. But I was very impressed
not only with the defense is rich, but how both
quarterbacks stepped up and showed poise, especially on the national stage. Yeah,

(03:23):
it's a great point, Joe, because one of the question
marks that we had two question marks that we had
two wild cards were what will two is ankle be like? Right?
We haven't seen him since the SEC title game, had
its surgically repaired, was in that boot for months for
the most of December. So how mobile was the I
thought his footwork was outstanding, the way he stepped up
in the pocket, planted, he was on target. That was

(03:45):
the two that we saw throughout the regular season that
looked as if he was coasting to a hisman trophy.
Twenty seven more touchdown passes and in completions in that game.
And then on the on the other side, the question
was Trevor Lawrence young kid, true freshman in high school
last year? Is this moment too big for Trevor Lawrence?
Quite the contrary. I mean, this kid, to me is
now a true freshman playing like a red shirt junior coach.

(04:08):
When you break this game down from a coaching aspect,
I mean, what can you learn from last year's playoff
loss that maybe Dabbo and the coaching staff now it
was a different quarterback with Kelly Bryant but now you
have a pure pocket passer and Trevor Lawrence that can
attack that secondary for Alabama. What do you think that
certain nuances or certain takes from last year's game. Well,

(04:28):
I think with a quarterback like like this one as
opposed to last year, he's gonna be one that sits
in the pocket. You've gotta screen a little bit, you
gotta dump it off. You've gotta make sure where his
legs don't really get him out of trouble. He gets
a quick dump off, he gets the ball out of
his hands quickly to avoid that great pass rush by
Alabama that he's got to do. You know, you mentioned
Alabama and the fact that the quarterback too could be hurt.

(04:49):
We don't know if that's a good thing, because hurt
tends to go in there and make something happen. So
I mean that's one of the storylines. If he's hurt,
is that make it even better for Alabama or that
make it interesting? And I think the at that the
young freshman at Clemson, the fact that it gets bigger
and bigger. Uh. These are two very talented quarterbacks, but
there is a little bit of difference in the postseason

(05:10):
experience level of the two. When you look at both
coaches too, they know each other well and they've coaching
now this is will be the fourth meeting. More pressure
on Nick Saban going for that illustrious national championship to
catch Bear Brian, or more pressure on Dabbo looking to
knock off Nick in this spot. I think there's more
pressure on Nick in this question, in this type of

(05:31):
atmosphere because of the history on the one and and
and he's the favorite. I think the expectation, the pedigree
really sits more with Alabama these days than Clemson. The
only thing I'll say about Dad, but I love both
of these coaches, both personally and professionally. The culture that
Dabbo has created. We spend time with him a couple
of years ago. I've interviewed a lot of his players.
I know you have as well. This is a cultural

(05:53):
shift that has taken place. They expect to win, Kids
want to play there, not just because it's a stepping
not only because the stepping on to the NFL, but
because the culture is so strong at this point. So
I love what Dabo has done. Nothing you could say
about Nick. Nick's been phenomenal as well. The one thing
I'll say about Dabbo is if you want to move
into the upper echelon, if you want to urban Meyers
stepped aside. If you want to truly be the next

(06:15):
best thing to Nick Saban, I think you need that
second national championship. Now does that mean more pressure? I
don't know, but I I think this really really matters
to Dabbo on Monday Night. They've recruited eerily similar. I mean,
Nick has done it better than anybody on the defensive
side of the ball. But when you look at Clemson's
defense as a whole, I mean they've stepped up. Now
four straight years they lose top ranked talent to the NFL,

(06:37):
and all Dabbo and bread Venables have done is recruit
and coach that talent up. I mean they really have
I think the uh really similar type of program to
what Nick is built. In terms of that foundation in Tuscaloosa, well,
I mean every tab Dabo looks for somebody for inspiration,
he looks at Alabama. That's where he went to school.
My brother Tommy was his position coach there when he

(06:58):
first began. He's from Alabama. He's a part of Alabama,
and he kind of makes his h program very much
like that. Uh. Nick brought the NFL draft philosophy to
college football. They study every little detail. It becomes a
science with Nick, and I think they've kind of turned
a football around. As you see right now more players
in the NFL from Alabama than any other team in

(07:19):
college football. But what a what a matchup this is.
You mentioned how big this game is is for a
Nick Saban, I coached in Alabama, I coached at Auburn.
I coached against Alabama, UH for five years. This is
huge because Bear Bryant into college football circles, he has
recognized as the greatest coach of all time, six national championships,
and in Alabama that that's everything even more so UH.

(07:42):
And now you've got Nick with a chance to beat
that record and to go ahead of that. And so
that is huge in circles. And most coaches recognize the
same thing that he's about to walk in territory that
has never been walked in before for a long long time.
And that's critical. And of course, Dabbo to me, to me,
as you look at these two coaches, just a in
a nutshell, you've got a little Stowa says a little
more process in Nick, he's very down to earth, you

(08:04):
don't want to distract. He's focused. Then you've got you
still got youthful enthusiasm with Dabbo. He's getting older. You know,
my brother was the head coach at Clemson and Dabbo
was his coordinator, was his staff member for ten years.
And I've known Dabbo forever. But he still brings that
kid type of youthful enthusiasm to the table for playing
this game. And I think that's gonna be his his advantage.

(08:24):
His team is kind of that youthful enthusiasm. We can
do anything. But you've got Nick who says, hey, we've
been here before, we know the process. We understand why
people kids come here to get out in three years
and play in the NFL, and this is a part
of that process. So it's an interesting difference in these
two teams. But I think it all goes back to
that Bear Bryant, that there's a Bear Bryant mystique behind

(08:45):
this all that kind of carries both coaches. It's interesting
because when you look at Bear Bryant six national championships,
I mean in the modern day, he's got a factory. Now,
I mean he's just pumping out top ten talent each
and every year, and all they do is relow and
more importantly make it to the college football Playoff. I mean,
it really is fascinating in terms of today's landscape to

(09:06):
see two dynasties now being built because years ago, I
think the landscaper is a lot different. Now you have
kids one and done or two years they're gone, and
now the way he coaches that talent up each and
every year is phenomenal. I couldn't agree more. And I
know coach could speak to this in greater detail than
I can, but I think to do it in this age,
it's such a different time. I know every year brings

(09:29):
different challenges, but when you talk about scholarship restrictions that
exist today that didn't exist during the Bear Bryant era,
the distractions that exist, the social media age that we
live in, the more likelihood that kids are jumping to
the NFL or transferring. Transfers are far more uh common
than they were in the past, So there's so many
challenges today. You now have a stratified college football in which,

(09:52):
out of the hundred and thirty teams, you have a
lot of different options where talent can go back in
the day, it was really more of a tightly packed
a dozen or so teams that you wanted to go to.
The Texas Is, the Ohio States, the Michigan's, the usc S.
I think it's tougher what Nick is doing today. That
has to take nothing, obviously away from Bear Brown. I
think you have to give credits to Nick. If you
look at the coaches that followed Bear Bryant, most failures,

(10:13):
most guys, I mean jeans Doggs won the championship, and
most guys didn't quite make it, couldn't carry on that
legacy or the level of vict of success that they
had to have. But Nick seems to have the right ingredients.
I know when I was a football player at West
Virginia about in there, he was a defensive backfield coach.
He must have been twenty six or twenty seven at
that time, but he got there earlier, he worked later.

(10:34):
You could look as a player and see this guy
is different. This guy puts in a different time frame,
He works a little different schedule than everybody else. And
you could see it back then and somewhere along the line,
through his NFL experiences and through working with good people,
he understood that you can't just be a great coach
and a hard working coach. You've got to go to
a football program that has the ability to give you
the resources. He goes to Michigan State at a time

(10:56):
when they had so much difficulty surpassing Michigan. He wins
just enough to get him to the one school that
can give him everything he wants. L s U. They
give him everything he needs facility wise, he wins a
national championship Miami Dolphins. They don't give him the control
he needs because he needs to make sure he controls things.
He gets back to Alabama, like l s U. It's
the other school that whatever you need to be successful

(11:18):
you can get if you look at their facilities, if
you look at how much emphasis they put on football.
You know, up here in New York City there's a
lot of proteins around. In Alabama, there's only one thing
that's college football, recruiting and spring football. I guess there's
three sports, college football at spring football. Now, he's at
a place with his work ethic, with his background in
the NFL and the process that goes with that, at

(11:39):
a place that says, Nick, what do you need, We'll
give you what it takes to win. You make sure
we get there. And I don't want to say the
perfect storm because they didn't make it that one, but
it was the perfect bringing together of elements that when
you see them, you see next background, you can understand
why he's been the guy to now take them back
to a level they haven't seen since Parare Bryant. Yeah,
and to piggy back off with Terry said in terms

(12:01):
of just beat the culture. Now it's expected to win
each and every year. If Alabama doesn't make it to
the College Football Playoff, your failure. I mean, so that's
the pressure that he's really set the bar for. And
you see teams like Clemson and now look at the
other teams like l s U. I mean l s
U's chasing. Alabama had a very successful season ten and

(12:22):
three overall, but to chase that bar that Nick is
set within the SEC is unbelievable, to say the least,
But you gotta look to it. And to go back
to the comparisons of the two. They've been in the
playoffs four straight times and they played against each other,
with the three times in the championship game they played
against each other. But look how prepared. Both teams were.
Last week they got ahead what thirty one to tend

(12:44):
at halftime one team Alabama twenty three to three, uh
Clems again, no name. They came in expect knowing how
to play in this thing. So they do come and in
in despite all the history of their two schools being
a little bit different, they come and as probably the
most experienced playoff teams over the last four or five
years in a country. And when you look at these
types of players, these blue chippers that they're recruiting, do

(13:06):
you think coach that that you know they're even more
amped up once we get to late December January, because
you know, the Christian wilkins Is, the Travis E. T
n S, the Trevor Lawrences. They're thinking championships when they
get to Clemson Alabama. Same thing with those players. So
do you think it's like, okay, now we're ready, Now
the right your season. I think it would be a
little tougher to motivate them once you get to the playoffs.

(13:26):
I think it's gotta be. I think the higher up
you go and getting a five star recruit, the more
they're they are focused on winning championships, loving to compete,
loving to show people their number one. And when you're
going to Alabama, and now also when you're going to Clemson,
you're going there for a reason to be number one,
to show people your number one. And so everything nothing
gets done now until you get to the postseason, until

(13:47):
you get to the championship game. But as you look
at great athletes in the NFL, NBA, any sport, you
see how much they rise the playoffs, they rise to
the championship series. That's what great athletes do because that's
in their mind, that's what they're play in the game for,
to play for the championship and the biggest arena. And
now that's what these two teams have. They're playing in
the biggest arena of college football. And when you see

(14:08):
the landscape now, I mean, we saw you CF play
l s U toe to toe. They've lost that matchup
forty to thirty two. I'm still not in favor of
expanding the playoffs in terms of expanding it to aid
or possibly ten or even sixteen, because in my opinion,
the regular season will be non existing and takes away
really from the matchup that we have on Monday Night

(14:28):
with the two best teams I mean, you're gonna hear
arguments on both sides, but after last week's bowl performances,
I don't think we should expand the playoff in any
compa you might be convincing me. I mean, the more
I watched the postseason, I mean I've I've kind of
flirted with the idea of eight and and my my
thought has been more meaningful football in December is better.

(14:49):
I'm just not a huge bowl fan, as you know.
I think it's gotten a little too big. Love when
the smaller schools get their opportunity, those are my favorite
bowl games. You know, show me in Eastern Michigan against Georgia,
something great, great football game. I have no problem with that.
But when you start to get the Power five teams
at six and six, I think you see a level
of lethargy, a level of disinterest amongst a lot of
those players. Kids now skipping the bowl games. I'm torn

(15:12):
on this. The one thing I think is second is
sacred to me is the regular season in college football.
If anything's gonna mess with that, I'm I'm in favor
of keeping it the way it is. I'm close, but
I still would like eight. I would like aid because
because I I coached at the mid major, and I've
been a head coach over twenty five years, Division three,
Division two, Division one, Double A, all playoff levels where
you play sixteen games possibly, so I know even private schools,

(15:34):
very academic schools, reach a playoff where they get fifteen games.
That's not out of the usual for them. I just
the reason as I got to Akron, which is a
mid major, and you watch Central Florida and you watch
Western Michigan in the past or Louisville in the past,
you see our boys, and you see teams that go
undefeated and they can't. There's they're they're, they're, they're not.
This is not an inclusive system. One more game eight

(15:57):
to get to two, to me, would add a non
uh Power five team, And I just that's the one
thing I missed out. If you can somehow show me
that there was a realistic chance for a zero lost
team to get it over a one lost Power five,
it's not gonna happen. Right now, we see that it
doesn't happen. But I believe the only thing I would
believe that you could have an eight team playoff Christmas

(16:18):
weekend first January. One game second, the weekend coming up
third and still have every bowl out there just like
we do, and it would work. I'm not I enjoy
the four. I remember when we we had Nope, we
had the BCS, and there were Major conference commissioners said,
I don't ever want to playoff. I don't ever want
to playoff. And now they're saying, I really like this

(16:38):
step in the right direction. Well so so this I like.
I'm just saying it's from a stampot of a coach
who has been in the SEC but has also coached
at the mid major level. It's hard to look your
kids in the eyes and say, men, we're gonna go
on defead and play for national champion. They know that's
a lie, and right now that is a lie. But
we come back, we'll be talking about Clemson's defense. Keep
it where it is, Joelici, Rich Ermonello and Terry about

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(17:59):
on College Football Today, brought to you by bet d Side, Joelici,
Riz Sermonello, and former Auburn and Acron head coach Terry
brad Bouting breaking down the Big Game Alabama and Clemson coach.
When you look at tendencies, I think the team that
wins this game Monday night will have to break tendency
in terms of whichever team is more aggressive early on

(18:21):
taking chances outside their normal game plan my opinion. In
my opinion, that's the way you're gonna have to win
this ball game Monday night. That's a great point, Joe.
Tendencies are so critical this late in the season because
each team, each staff has fourteen games to evaluate. Now,
all good teams have tendencies. Tendencies mean you're good at something.
Always run behind the right tackle on short yardage, always

(18:42):
do this on the left hash. If you're good at something,
you tend to do that over and over again. So
it's not bad to have tendencies. It's bad not to
know your tendencies because the key is to study tendencies
very much, know what they are so that a critical
game like this fourteen games to study, and the other
teams pens all their time stopping your favorite play. That's
when the great coordinator, the great play caller will call

(19:05):
the other play. You'll call the play that's just the
opposite of that play, And that's when you must break tendencies.
You must do something a little different. Maybe you tend
to throw the ball on first down seven cent of
the time, you might run the ball because they're gonna
be dropping people off into coverage. So you really need
to study your tendencies because with somebody having every single
game or your season, you have if you're any good

(19:26):
at what you do, you have tendencies. Some people think
it's bad to have tendencies. Know it's great to have tendencies.
It's bad not to know your tendencies. And when you
look at Dabo, I mean a couple of years ago,
he lost that National Championship game. Eede caused Nick Sieban
rolled the dice, kicked in on side kick and you're
look at Nick Sieban's I want to say progression and
success against a CC teams nine and one against the

(19:47):
e c C since two thousand and seven, which is
dynamic statistic. The only team to knockoff Alabama was Clemson.
So I think this team is gonna come in confident.
I think the one thing when you look at Dabo,
that's a one thing they fear no nobody. I mean,
if there's one team that does not fear Alabama, it
is Clemson. And that's that's a testing, a testament to

(20:08):
what Dabbo and prep venerables have done that there's no
question about it. One of the discussions we had throughout
the season on Saturdays. I remember bringing it up in
November is Clemsons started to play at an Alabama level.
And and you know that didn't happen. In the Syracuse game.
Syracuse game, you know, first game without Kelly Bryant, Trevor
Lawrence goes down Chase Brice comes in Trivis c t

(20:28):
N has a strong second half and they survive Syracuse.
Ever since that game, nine consecutive victories by twenty or
more points. And they really are playing on both sides
of the ball. Uh, special teams not so much, but
offense defense. They're playing at an Alabama level of dominance.
That's something that we haven't seen from anyone outside of

(20:49):
Tuscaloosa in the past decade. And I think that's what
makes Monday Night's games so delicious when you look at
the time in terms of preparation coach, from the conference
championship games on December second to the semifinal games on
the twenty nine, there was about four weeks. How do
you prepare a team? Because I was very impressed by
the way both teams came out. I mean, they did

(21:11):
not miss a beat from the end of the regular
season until the layoff until they stepped onto the summery
fine old playoff game. I think that only comes from experience,
because it takes experience to understand how to go from
a season end to a couple of weeks off or
maybe three weeks off, and to play a game and
not to practice too much. You've already been through a
huge season twelve sometimes thirteen games, and now how much

(21:33):
more do you practice? How much do you arrest their legs?
How much do you do classroom work, and how much
do you repetition? Because again, football is a game of
eleven people repeating over and over again something that they
must all do together. So you have to be on
the field a good bit of time. It takes time
and experience to do that. That's why these teams team
to repeat and repeat once they get to that level,

(21:54):
because they understand how to prepare for a bowl game.
And and I'll say this even for non championship level
bowl games, they're becoming more and more important because they
represent what you're gonna do going into the next year
and how important that is uh in regard to how
you prepare for for that bowl game. When you look
at this matchup two, I always have a feeling that
an unheralded player will step up Syndrome. But he stuffed

(22:18):
up though against told me he was basically non existent
for much of the year. Higgins and Ross got a
majority of the catchers that you really didn't hear a
lot from hanter Renfro and oh, by the way, a
thirty two yard reception to really catapult that offense into
scoring a touchdown on that drive. So I always feel
that in these type of games, especially when your game
plan for a specific player or type of scheme, this

(22:41):
is where the unheralded star will step up. And that's
why a player like Jalen Hurts might be on the
radar in terms of certain package. Well, there was no
better example than to last year, right, and you talk
about breaking tendencies. That was That was breaking tendencies one
oh one. I mean, you take the true freshman quarterback,
the lefty, the more even more mobile than Jalen Hurts,

(23:01):
you insert him into the second half and he winds
up winning the national championship game against Georgia. I I
have a couple of names on the Clemson side, ASAA
Simmons is someone on defense who continues to impress me
more and more. He's a big kid, kind of a
hybrid nickelback outside linebacker. Played extraordinarily well against those big
wide receivers of Notre Dame. Someone is gonna have to
step up, and that's my big concern on both sides,

(23:23):
which defensive backs steps up against a step up against
superior wide receiver talent number one and number two. Although
they're not completely off the radar, those Alabama running backs
have sort of taken a back seat to the passing
game this year, something I never thought I would say
during the Nick Saban era. But any one of those kids,
we love Josh Jacobs, we think he's gonna be a
terrific pro. Damien Harris, Naj Harris, those are still weapons

(23:48):
and I wouldn't be surprised to see them accentuated a
little bit. Coaches hold back a little bit because we
saw Nick Saban last year and no J Harris, who
was freshman, came on seventy seven rushing yards, most of
it in the fourth order in the overtime period. Do
you hold a little back in in terms of this
type of game plan where a player that you might
not have utilized for much of the year now you

(24:09):
incorporated them into the game plan with four weeks of preparation. Ya,
I think I think it's not quite that uh complicated.
I think you play the guys that are ready to
play you, You create competition. You want the guy that's
playing the best at that time, and you gotta remember
to be undefeated. You don't know which play was the
most important play of those fourteen games, which game was
the most important. The most important one would have been

(24:31):
the one you lost. And so you make sure you
play the very best people under every circumstance that you
need to to win that game to make the next
one even more important. But I will say this, talking
about which guy is gonna step up and be the
new national hero, that was always one of my favorite
motivational talks towards the end of the season. And then
tomorrow you're gonna play on national TV. Tomorrow, you're gonna

(24:52):
play for a championship. The next day, one of you
is gonna be on the on the lips of every
talk radio show, every newspaper is gonna talk about you.
As you lay in bed tonight, as you visualize yourself
making a play or maybe being called off the bench
for the first time this year. Maybe it's gonna be you.
That's the guy everybody in this country is gonna talk

(25:12):
about on Tuesday morning as having to be the guy
that was the reason we won the national championship. Joe,
get me a helmet. I'm I'm ready to let me
see I like that And that, and that's why I
think we were all looking at E. T n on
the offensive side of the ball and a dynamic playmaker

(25:32):
average and eight point two yards per carry. But a
guy like Feaster to me is another guy under the
radar because of his ability to catch the football in
the short term of media passing game. They utilize two
backs last year in terms of trying to neutralize Alabama's
defense up front. So we'll see if they can do
that in this ball game, because that's a name that
I think could have some yours in this batchul Well,

(25:53):
and again we're we're at a point in the season
where we're splitting hands. I mean, there are two undefeated teams,
two epic heavyweights. This is not a quintessential Alabama run defense.
Now we've seen better run defenses. They're allowing three point
five yards to carry. It's outstanding, but by the Alabama
measuring stick, not at the same level that they're expected

(26:15):
in the past. So I think Clemson will have a
shot to run the ball, and if they do, certainly
opens up a lot of RPO and a lot of
play action for Trevor. You're a point. It's the highest
rushing total of an Alabama defense. I will break it
down when we talk about Alabama since prior to two
thousand and nine. So you think about the dominant defensive
fronts under Nick Saban Kirby Small, Jeremy Pruitt in his

(26:36):
days there, I mean to have total since prior to
two thousand nine. Now on the flip side, they do
have other statistics that are in their favor since you
know the offensive revolution that started with Leaning Kiffen a
couple of years ago. But I did want to get
coaches take in terms of we know players have pregame
jitters and those are usually erased after the first hit

(26:56):
in a big game like this, whether it be a
Big Bowl matchup, Sugar Bowl, Old National Championship. What do
coaches do because Alabama the iron Ball, you can't go
out there and hit somebody. Is it after that first
play call or first series that you really start settling
down in terms of the game plan. You're talking about
the coaches whole. You know, it's funny because in that game,
I've had coaches on my staff at Auburn when we

(27:18):
play against Alabama in the Old Iron Bore when it
was played in Birmingham at Legion Field, the true iron ball.
I've had coaches throwing up in the bathroom before that.
That's the nerves that's involved there, and how much that
game means and how big it is. And yet always
when you go out on the field and the first
the first time, the first play is called, you're too

(27:39):
busy to think about anything but playing the game. It's
all about playing the game once it starts, so you
really don't think about a thing. And I think the
players don't think too much. Once you get to play
in the game, you you're so grateful you're out of
the locker room. You're out of that waiting process where
it's all attention and anxiety and all preparation, and so
I think that's the biggest thing. Once you go outside,

(28:00):
you just start playing the game. This is what we've
done for a long long time. It's interesting because I
I read about that l s U victory, about how
they were struggling. They were up twenty four to twenty
one against U c F. In that matchup. They brought
out the big catch rill in the locker room, and
that's what Eddie Oh did to rally you see. I
like that, I mean, on the hell they're in the

(28:21):
they're in the shower, stalls in in the fiesta ball
and they're doing the big catch roll and knock off
UCF to me that that would never happen in the NFL.
Number one, you would have the players union involved. But
in number two, that's what separates the college game from
the NFL in terms of being a business. And I
think that's why Ed is so popular. You know, really

(28:42):
a player's coach. I think there's a connection that's there
wherever he has been, whether it's All Miss, whether it's
USC in an interim role, and now at l s U.
I think he has a connection with those players. He
knows those kids, Terry, you know those kids. But by
this time of a year, you know what buttons to push,
and he knew that was something that could really maximize
their potential in that game, and they played great in
the second. It really is, I mean unbelievable. I mean,

(29:03):
what is it about about certain coaches that have a
pulse on their team and then you look at other
coaches that just they just seemed to business like. I
look at talking We've talked about Lovely Smith coming from
the NFL to the college level, it doesn't seem like
you disconnect. There's clearly a disconnect. And again I'll say this,
I'm all for the enthusiasm. I believe that you talked

(29:25):
about ed Origernmy. It's it's sincere, it's down to earth,
it's it's almost over the edged times. And then you
put him in Louisiana, where he's from and where how
he talks, and he's Cajun. He's one of them, and
when he can talk like one of them, he it
becomes one of them. But I'll also remember one of
my father's favorite opponents and coaches that he admired and
was close friends with, Tom Osbord. There was no nobody

(29:47):
more stoic and didn't even didn't do anything on the
sideline but stand there. But you learn as you're as
you coached long enough over and I've done it over
twenty five years. As a head coach, you can't have
too many screamers. You gotta have some. If you're a
head coach, you gotta get a lot of young assistants
are all over the place, you better let them do it.
If you're a head coach and your maybe Dabo is
still young enough that he's jumping around, he's high five

(30:07):
and he's chest bumping, he's crazy legged or whatever they
call that thing he does. Then he didn't need his
assistants noticed step back and don't take the show away.
But you need a little bit of both of that stuff.
But the main thing is to be sincere and be
be honest with him with what you do. Be be yourself.
But I guarantee you gotta bring that enthusiasm because that's
a big, big part. You mentioned the difference with the

(30:28):
NFL and college game. Eighteen to twenty two year old
young men react a little different than a year old veteran.
It's got kids at home, got bills to pay, got
a huge contract to worry about. It's still a little
bit about just playing the game because you love to
play the game. And we talked about offense, We talked
about defensive. Special teams could be a factor in this matchup.

(30:48):
We saw for a few years ago Kenyan Drake with
a big kickoff return for a touchdown could really change
the landscape or fuel position of a battle. And when
you look at both teams, I mean they've stepped up.
We know Clemson years past has had some problems with
field goal kickers. You look at Alabama. I mean, no
matter how close they are, they seem to have some

(31:10):
kicking issues, especially entitled games. Look at last year in
that ball game against Georgia Alabama. That could be a
factor Alabama, really can you know they can at least
get in the discussion for any player, and almost anywhere
in the country would think you would think that go
get a J. C. Kier. Yeah, I mean the LSU
went to Assumption College to get cold Tracy. Tracy was

(31:32):
an ace on special teams. I I wonder sometimes. I mean,
there's so few close games that either of these schools play,
But I think that's different Monday night. I I to
your point, Alabama in terms of special teams coverage return
game is ahead of Clemson. But both of these kickers
have struggled. Greg Hugle I think is eleven of seventeen.
So both of these kickers could be on the spot

(31:54):
Monday Night. But here's the thing. Coach. I mean, as
as a player, you're know like, oh, we gotta the
kicker here we go. Stay away from him, don't let them,
don't breathe on them, don't look at them, don't look
what the coaches. I mean, when you're when your kicker
does go out there and you know a game is
on the line. I mean, what's going through your mind
in terms of that situation. You know so many people
go to the concession stands when there's an extra point.

(32:15):
As a head coach who has done this a long
time and have lost games based on a mistech point,
it's not just the kicker, it's the long snapper, it's
the holder. These guys, which one's gonna bobble, which one's
gonna drive a snap over somebody's head. I am riveted
to the field every extra point, every field goal because
I know over the years there's one where one guy
gets a little shaky and he makes a mistake. And

(32:38):
I'll say this about kickers when you're recruiting, it's the
hardest thing because it's one of those things that on
video you just can't quite get a field for what's
flowing through their veins. Because the kicker is much like
a putter in the PGA. I would imagine you got
to have ice water in your veins, and you can't
see that on a high school video. Well, when you
see a guy kick boom at every single time, you've
almost got to have that guy come to your camp

(32:59):
in the in the summer, so you actually watch him
kick with you standing right in front of him. And
I can remember the old story of Lou Lou Holtz's
kicker said he was staying there watched him in practice,
like staring right at him. He's his coach. You're making
me nervous. And Lucy's well, I plan on being at
the game, So you better get used to be watching
your kick and so. But it is a very hard.
It's a hard, uh a position to evaluate. When you

(33:22):
got one, you know you got one. But we all
get a bunch of them every through the years that
can get percent and every time they step on the field,
it's points. Every time they step on the field, usually
it's field position or points, whether it be a putter
or a kicker kickoff. Yeah, And I think when you
look at today's college football, I mean years ago you
would say, are you playlayed for the extra you played

(33:42):
for the field goal to win the game. Not anymore.
Now we just see high octane offenses score every time
you get the football. And I think that's the way
the game has changed from a bowl season back from
when Terry was at Auburn until now is that we
just see offenses want to dominate and dictate the tempo
from the get go. Yeah, place kickers. Placekickers are like

(34:04):
a hidden advantage for smaller schools sometimes, you know, sometimes
you can you can get that overlooked place kicker and
have a kid that's a difference maker in the MAC
or in the sun Belt. You know, Sun Belt, Some
Belt has had some great kickers over the years and
put seventy thousand fans or a hundred thousand fans to
coaches point. You just never know. I mean his technique
might be, you know, precise and spectacular, but his ability

(34:28):
to come through in the clutch, you won't know until
it's Saturday. Your dad had Janakowski, right, he had Jenna,
He's had some good with Jennikowski. Was he could kick
at fifty yards with either leg. You know, that was
one of those ones that you had, one that was
very very unique. A first rounder, that's a that's a
field goal coicker. But you know, another thing we're saying
today too is offenses know that other offenses are scoring
points and they're not willing to go for a field goal.

(34:50):
They to the thirty two yard line, they get to
a forty yard field goal they're going for. They're going
for because three points is not going to keep up
with the scoring. And that's part of what it's happening
with these fast paced, up tempo, change of tempo offenses,
where the offensive averages go up. There's less significant placed
on a field goal kicker when maybe it ought to

(35:11):
be more emphasis just to make sure that game. You know,
you never know which game you're gonna lose about one
or two points. Yeah, if this game comes down to
a field goal, if you had to pick, I mean
I would say I would lean Clemson just because when
you saw last year's performance, I mean, he got harm Nick.
Nick almost pulled his hair out with that. Nick loses
Monday night because of a field goal kicker. He's gonna
be on the recruiting trail looking special teams on Tuesday. Well,

(35:33):
we'll see. When we come back, we'll be breaking down
Clemson's defense. Joel si Ritz, Sermonello and Terry Batten live
from Studio thirty thirty four. Keeping where it is from
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Start back on college Football today Our one with Joe Lesi,

(36:34):
Terry Bowden, and later on Gay Maurenci will come in
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That's promo code F and T S Y to get
your bonus deposit match. But putting five bath a couple
of play of props on Clemson that I was talking

(37:38):
about in Vegas on Monday Night. UH for Monday Night
UM twenty two and a half total completions for Trevor Lawrence.
I think I'll blow through that, and two touchdown passes
two plus, so they're giving odds on that under over
is two t V passings two TVs. Here's an interesting
one too that I think under but I want to
get your take is Travis e t NS rushing yards

(38:00):
eighty five, which is you think about it, this is
a Clemson offense that's averaging two Ordren fifty six rushing
yards per game. That's their highest rushing total guys since
prior to two thousand and nine. When you think it's
about some of the running backs C. J. Spiller was there.
I mean, they still never rushed for more yards than
they're averaging heading into this National Championship game, and the

(38:21):
offense is passing for two seventy four through the year,
with Lawrence completing six of his passage twenty seven touchdowns,
four interceptions. But I think they utilize E. T N
in the short intermedia passing in to neutralize the rush
of Alabama and the screen attack. So that's why I
think under eighty five, but I think it's total yards

(38:42):
will be will be higher because because of the receiving.
So that's what I'm looking for this matchups in terms
of how they game plan against that stout Alabama defense. Yeah,
unders always make me worried because someone like, yeah, that's
the that's the one concern clips and I think that's
the one thing when you look at there, and the

(39:02):
fact that's so balanced is critical. But E t N
the fact that he can break a big play. We're
looking for a big play and explosive play and a
big games like this. If you're looking at over history,
turnover margin becomes critical. Who has turnout? Where where's the
point change differentiate because the turnover and then then an
explosive play, a fifty yard touchdown run, a sixty yard pass.

(39:23):
I think Alabama's receivers have big play potential. They makes
a lot of big plays too. I think Clemson's running
backs are much more of a big play type of team,
long play as opposed to the Jacob's power type of back.
It's more of an NFL type back to me. Uh,
And I think those are factors, uh. But turnover margin
will be a big factor in this ball game. What's interesting,

(39:44):
Riches is that you look at this offense in terms
of running the football less two games in the National
Championship Game two years ago and and last year in
the playoff game. They could not run the football consistently
last year to take the pressure off of Kelly Bryant.
But this is a different type of offense what Trevor
Orange at the helm. Alabama has the thing passed first,
and that can open up the running lanes for E.

(40:05):
T N. But you look at those wide receivers Ross,
you look at Higgins, both of those players combined over
reception yards and sixteen receiving touchdowns. That's a dynamic effort
for both players well and again two young players that
you know, one of the fun parts of college football
and covering college football is to watch the progression of

(40:26):
young kids the way they you know, we we follow
them in the spring, and then we watched them in
fall camp, and then the season begins and they're a
little bit clunky. But now you look and Justin Ross's
my goodness, I mean, he was unstoppable against a very
good Julian Love led Notre Dame secondary. These are two
big wide receivers. They're long, they can go up and make,

(40:46):
you know, plays above defensive backs. And again taking nothing
away from the Alabama defense, but this is not the
same secondary than we've seen in the past as well.
They are giving up a lot of big plays through
the air. And to your point, Joe, with Trevor Lawrence's
ability to stretch a defense and utilize those weapons, it's
gonna create more space for those backs as well. And

(41:07):
that's what you see clips and do big plays and
big plays. That's why I say, in a game like this,
how many how many explosive plays? Are big plays? Change
change that line or change how the game could outcome,
Just like a turnover. Either of these teams turn the
ball over very much neither of these quarterbacks throw interceptions,
but what if if that becomes a factor, it will
change the outcome of the football game. Uh as you

(41:29):
might see. But the passing game is is the big
play possibilities are so important, and I think in a
little bit that's kind of why Alabama is not running
or as much yardage. They're throwing the ball. So well,
you have to go a little bit with what got you.
You gotta remember if either of these teams and says,
you know what, we're gonna stop the run. We're gonna
do whatever it takes to stop the run, then you
better open up the game passing the football, especially on

(41:50):
first down. Of you realize the only down that the
defense has no advantage is first down. They absolutely have
no idea. And usually in a big game like this,
you better be throwing it about if you present on
first down early in the game, just to make sure
you've got things under control, and then you you work
from there, you work back to your running game. And
so although you want to be bounced, you're never bounced

(42:10):
to start with Harley. You want to be you're gonna
take advantage of what they give you. And when the
stats finally end up at the end of the game,
the stats come out pretty balanced because you did what
you're supposed to do. I think what both these teams
are good at because even Alabama rushes for over two
hundred yards throws for over three hundred. Both teams can
run and throw it well enough, so if the other
team comes out there and changes a tendency or gives

(42:32):
them something they haven't not ready to see, they can
go to the other phase their game well enough to
overcompensate for that until they get that team back and
off and play like they wanted to play. That's a
great point. I I've always said that in order to
attack Alabama's defense, if you want to run the football,
it's not how many times you passed them. You could
pass the football ten times, but if you're aggressive on

(42:52):
first and second down, you open up running leans later
in that matchup. What I see a little bit differently
from two years ago with Deshaun Watson at the helm
now with Trevor Lawrence is the tight end, not that
dominant tight end like Jordan Leggot about one years ago,
where you can mismatch him on nickel backs or linebackers
to create mismatch problems, especially on dig patterns, and I

(43:14):
think that that could be a factor for this Clemson
offense should they start slow in this ballgame because they
don't have a go to guy like that. If they
take away Ross and Higgins on the outside, where's your
weapon underneath? Yes, we know what's Hanna Renfro, but in
terms of that deep dig pattern, that big body six
five six six, that's what Watson had what Legged a

(43:36):
couple of years ago. They have a tight end, but
he's not as dominant as leg it was a couple
of years The tight ends in general in these last
formats you know, have been accentuated because look at O. J. Howard.
I mean O. J. Howard was a stud against Clemson
a couple of years ago. Jordan Leggott was a threat
as well. That player does not exist for Clemsons. And
so if you're talking about intermediate underneath routes, I think

(43:59):
that's where you get to a hunter. Rentfro not a
tight end, not tight end size, but for for something underneath.
I think Renfro is someone who will be making plays
as opposed to the outside thread of Tee Higgins and
Justin Ross. If you don't get rid of the ball
quickly in this game, if you don't hit the underneath route,
the quick turnaround by tied end, you've got to Alabama
that has forty five sacks. That sounds good. Do you

(44:19):
get to Clemson they got fifty two. You've got the
two best sacked teams in the country to tackle for
lost teams in the country, and the last thing you
want to be doing against either Clemson's defense or Alabama's
defense is playing against the chains comes from sacks or
tackles for losses. That's why the tight end or inside
slot receivers doing the quick routes that you can get
to like you would do a tied end. Uh. That's

(44:41):
critical in a game like this because these guys are
so good at getting to the quarterback faster than they
can get to the other teams on the league have
given gotten to them in the past. When I break
down the film and you watch these teams play over
the last four years, I feel like Clemson's had the
game plan in terms of attacking Alabama's defense. Verdict, that's
how you neutralize the speed. Last year, they didn't do

(45:02):
a good job of it with Kelly Brian because they
didn't have the type of quarterback that can make every throw.
They threw a lot of hitches, a lot of slam patterns,
which really goes right into the strength of Alabama's defense
because they can run sideline to sideline. Now, with Lawrence,
I think they're gonna be very aggressive early on. I'm
curious to know, though. I wonder, like, do you feel

(45:24):
like it's better to script out the first maybe ten
or fifteen plays in this ball game and see how
it goes and then adjust, or do you think it's
better to be a just aggressive early on, roll the
dice without a scripted game plan and see what really
transpires in terms of Alabama's coverage and formation. Bo knows.
With Trevor Lawrence, he has a unique true freshman on

(45:45):
one of the more unique true freshman quarterbacks that I
can remember. I mean, you and I have been covering
this for a long time, Terry obviously longer. I don't
remember someone as poised, as polished, as unflappable in the
pocket as Trevor Lawrence was from day one. I remember
this was a kid that was thrust into a situation
in which a a junior quarterback and Kelly Bryant, who

(46:07):
was very popular in the locker room. Was was asked
to take a back seat, and Trevor Lawrence did not
in any way back away from that. He wasn't arrogant,
but he was poised ever since he got that job.
I thought he's done an incredible job to coach his
point about a quick trigger. I mentioned la on last
week's show. Second, I'm among Power five quarterbacks with the
fastest release just over two seconds. He gets rid of

(46:29):
the ball, So Alabama will have that rush, but Trevor
Lawrence is gonna get rid of it quickly. Trevor's made
me kind of think it was long ago. We all
remember in the NFL where a rookie couldn't start, you
had to have him see the bench. That ended a
long time ago. But a nineteen year old now, I
don't I know what Clemson they've never had a nineteen
year old. I don't know if we've ever had a
night year old win the national championship. But that maybe
the stat I read, a nineteen year old quarterback is

(46:50):
what you've got at Clemson right now. But you know,
you think about the things that are going on right now.
These kids grow up playing seven on seven, They grew up,
and video games, video football games where they learn to react,
to make adjustments. All these things treat teach them how
to play in a faster game. You know how they say,
from high school to college the game speeds up, and
from college to pro the game speeds up. It does,

(47:12):
But these young guys come in so much more ready
for that type of speed than they were in the
past that you're seeing guys like this. But I do
think that Clemson has got an exceptional talent there that
Dabbo was said, you know, we can't wait, it's time,
we gotta go with it. And even Alabama, you've got
to know when to pull the trigger because you've got
an exceptional quarterback that was backing up another exceptional quarterback.

(47:34):
So as every league, whether it be junior, high school,
high school, college, or pro ball, the most important factor,
the guy that touches the ball of every snap of
the game, which is the one dow on offense, is
the quarterback. That's why it still is the most important
factor in any football game. Uh, at this point in
time in the history of football. Yeah, when Marshall was here,
he thought to the progression of the quarterback was due

(47:57):
in fact, to the targeting rules as well. When wing
that you're not gonna get here consistently, each in, every player,
each and every week. You can stand in there and
deliver the football. Okay, you might get hit one or
two chimes, but you're not gonna get that constant pounding
in for there. You were seeing more confident quarterbacks at
the collegiate level. That's a great point. I don't remember

(48:18):
Marshall saying that, but I think it's an excellent point.
I think in the past you knew you were gonna
get popped. I think that's less likely to happen these days,
at least without there being a penalty or some kind
of ramification, even the potential to be tossed from the game.
And I'll take it even further because having just gotten
through a season and having two or three seasons where
we've lost safety after safety to targeting calls, we're much

(48:39):
more confident throwing the ball tightly, deeply over the middle
because these safeties are finding out they have to just
let the guy catch it and tackling they've got to
hit him low and let his arms free as a
as as opposed to tackling through the ball in the
head area where the ball is because of targeting they have,
they're having to stay off of balls where you throw
the vertical pass the tied up the middle of the
vertical passes. You're seeing a lot more risk being taken

(49:00):
there because of the targeting rule. Is letting these guys,
it's protecting them from getting being hit. Dangeling And I'm
all four targeting rules because it's helping the game. But
I agree with you on the quarterback. There's a lot
more confidence in how they're getting hit. But there's also
a lot more confidence and these quarterbacks feelings about throwing
the ball over the middle. Uh. And safety is going
out there and hit your quarterback and separating him from

(49:21):
the ball. And then when you see the progression from
the days that you coach in the mid nineties at Auburn,
I mean, it's football is now a year round sport.
It's it's it's a year round sport. Always wasn't college.
But we're seeing it now at the high school level.
We're seeing it now at the Pop Warner level where
these kids go to quarterback camps and they get a
certain trainer. We're seeing the the evolution of the quarterback

(49:44):
at a younger age, where years ago we didn't see
that until they reach college to to be coached up. Now,
these kids are already coming in at lead eleven camps.
I mean, these kids are polished and ready. You could
recoverage at at a young ag. Yeah, and that's why
we're beginning to see I mean we could. We're on
the precipice of having national championship teams that are led

(50:07):
by true freshman quarterbacks and back to back years. Albeit
Jalen Hurts obviously took the majority of the snaps, but
he took him to the championship game too as as
he as well. So, yeah, you have three in a row,
which is phenomenal, and it speaks to the fact that
that you're starting earlier and earlier. And and how about
young kids that are now participating in spring camp. Trevor
Lawrence was ahead of the game because he was on

(50:30):
campus in January. He was matriculated, he was taking classes,
he was getting used to that college culture, and then
once March and April came by, he was also practicing
with his teammates. He was developing rhythm with those young
wide receivers as well. So I think this is a
trend that we'll start to see more of as we
move forward into the future. Yeah, and you see quarterbacks
that don't play or get beat out transferring because they

(50:53):
want to play quicker too. So there's a lot of
transition because it's a young guy comes in, he beats
out of two years daughter, you see that guy transfer.
There's everybody tries to sign a great quarterback every year
because you just have to do that to create that
competition and depth. But it's almost always causing a young
guy steps in, older guy moves over, or young guys
come in and one guy the side. If he can't

(51:13):
do it, he's got to move to other league. Just
busting Fields yesterday. We just had the news yesterday just Field.
You know, arguably the hottest recruiting recruited quarterback in last
year's class Georgia for a year. Boom, now he's a Buckeye. See.
Now here's the thing when in terms of I want
to get your take in terms of what you look for,
because in terms of the quarterback position, it's not especially

(51:34):
at college, I'm not looking for the guy with the
strongest arm per se as much. I want a guy
that has a strong arm, But I also want the
guy that coaching coaches that team up on the on
the field, the guy that says, hey, follow me, we're
down by seven. I'm gonna lead you from behind. Now,
we saw a quarterback last year that got drafted into
the first round and Josh Rosen, we had mixed results.

(51:55):
I wasn't high on him, couldn't win on the road.
I want to see those intangibles at the quarter act position.
It's not just being able to make every throw, it's
being a leader of the offense. And I think that's
what you see in both Chuwa and Trevor Lawrence at
a young age. I mean, these are two kids that
can command a a huddle, and I think we'll see
that more in the future. I don't want to get

(52:15):
too much into two thousand and nineteen, but you know,
both of these quarterbacks have to be in college next year,
so I wouldn't be shocked if we're talking about playoff
matchups between Alabama comes in again next year. Yeah. The
two the two key and greatest to any quarterback being
successful was not arm strength. I mean there was always
the Lway versus Montana argument. You know, when we were
out there on the field, when I was coaching, and
who can throw the bar of the Fathers? It was

(52:35):
always a defensive band that could throw the far quarter
quarterback that that does that. But I think accuracy and
decision making are the two most important things. I remember
when I was working for ABC as a broadcaster, I
went to Purdue US to interview Drew Brees and I
watched out and nobody recruited him. He didn't have a
strong strong arm, he wasn't very tall, but he had

(52:56):
great decision making and great accuracy. And look what not
only he did it perdue, but look what he's done
the NFL. I still that's still the key. Accuracy, the
ability to throw the ball accurately, and then the decision
making of where to throw it, wind to throw it,
and want to throw it. Great point, And to Terry's point,
worst decision Nick Siban ever made not not drafting, not

(53:18):
taking Drew Brees over Dante Colepepper when he was the
head coach of the Miami Dolphins, because as a Dolphin fan,
I'm still feeling the effects. So when we come back,
we'll be talking about that dominant Clemson defense. Keep it
where it is,