We’re five days away from the start of the college football season and according to the AP Top 25 Poll released on Monday, Clemson and Alabama still have the College Football Playoffs on lock.
The National Championship game will probably come down to a battle between these two powerhouses for the fourth time in six years. Both programs are head and shoulders above the rest of college football. Entering 2019 not much has changed as Clemson holds the No. 1 spot for the first time in program history and Alabama is a dangerous No. 2 on the preseason poll.
Alabama has won five national titles since Nick Saban took over the helm in 2007 and elevated the already distinguished program to what many consider the greatest college football dynasty in history.
Alabama ranked #2 behind Clemson in opening AP poll https://t.co/Bbjx4Rgm0R
— Roll ‘Bama Roll (@rollbamaroll) August 19, 2019
Clemson has been the only school formidable enough to hang with Alabama’s National Championship dominance, winning two of the last three title games under Dabo Swinney.
This is the first time since 2015 that Alabama did not start the season ranked No.1 in the AP Poll. Clemson has officially closed the gap and maybe even surpassed Alabama as the premier program in college.
Clemson, who went 15-0 last season, has a 49 percent power Index from ESPN, the highest of any team in the country and they are bringing everybody back. They have a tough game against Texas A&M in Week 2 and have to be careful not to stub its toe in the Carrier Dome against Syracuse.
Alabama — who will never play another day game at home because of a new multi-million dollar stadium with exquisite lighting and all the toppings — doesn’t have to play No. 8 Florida or No. 3 Georgia out of the SEC East which is a huge advantage. They do have an always dangerous LSU in November at home.
Alabama releases video of new Bryant-Denny Stadium light show. https://t.co/cpMaVu9fXI pic.twitter.com/Vw8lLXg9WC
— AL.com (@aldotcom) August 19, 2019
These teams are pretty evenly matched from head-to-toe. The difference between going 15-0 and winning the title and losing 44-16 in the title game as Alabama did last season, will be the play of the quarterbacks.
Alabama and Clemson each have a quarterback who will go in the Top 3 in the 2020 NFL Draft and compete weekly for the Heisman Trophy. Clemson sophomore sensation Trevor Lawrence is projected to be the favorite at this juncture as well as the expected No. 1 overall pick of the NFL Draft when this season is done.
CFB analyst projects 'runaway' Heisman win for Trevor Lawrence https://t.co/eG0QIfHOCt
— Jamie Cunningham (@jamie1971c) August 14, 2019
The hoopla surrounding Lawrence and his dominating performance against Alabama Heisman hopeful Tua Tagovailoa in last year’s championship game has stolen some of the shine Tags received when he took over for starter Jalen Hurts (now starting for No. 4 Oklahoma) as a freshman in the National Championship game in 2017 and led Bama to a 26-23 comeback win over Georgia.
Trevor Lawrence quickly snatched the flavor of the month crown from Tagovailoa by going 20/32 for 347 yds and 3 TD in the National Championship game with the football world watching.
Tags threw two TDs but also had two crucial picks and he will undoubtedly have a chip on his shoulder and wants to show NFL scouts that he’s just as much of a franchise QB as Lawrence.
You have the two best teams, with the two best quarterbacks. The hype will be real. Social media will be buzzing and College football will be more than healthy this season.
