Breaking down the Clemson and Alabama offenses
With the College Football Playoff National Championship Game just days away, it’s time to take a deeper look at the two teams playing for the title on Jan. 11. We’ll start with the offenses of Alabama and Clemson. Both units put up over 30 points on their opponents in the semifinals on Dec. 31.
QUARTERBACK
Alabama quarterback Jake Coker is coming off his best game as the team’s quarterback against Michigan State. Coker was 25-30 for 286 yards and two scores. Wednesday, his offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin said it was “about as good as you can play.” Coker made great decisions and Michigan State’s focus on the run opened up the deep passing game.
Coker has been an efficient passer all season. He’s completing 67 percent of his passes and has thrown eight interceptions in 13 games. While he’s been overshadowed by his backfield mate, he’s been far from a liability when Alabama needs to throw the football. His performance against Michigan State should serve as a confidence builder for the national title game. Alabama now knows it doesn’t have to win a monster game on the back of Derrick Henry. It can rely on Coker, though he’ll see some different looks from a Clemson secondary that will play more man-to-man defense than Michigan State did.
Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson could be the best quarterback in college football. As Coker was the key to Alabama’s win over Michigan State, Watson was magical against Oklahoma even if his statline isn’t as efficient as Coker’s.
Watson was 16-31 passing for 187 yards and also ran for 145 yards. On the season, he’s thrown for nearly 3,700 yards and rushed for 1,032. And combined he’s accounted for 43 touchdowns. His running ability will be a massive test for an Alabama defense that has not seen too many quarterbacks with significant running ability. And it’s done very well against the dual-threat QBs it’s faced.
Watson can cut upfield and turn a 7-yard gain into a 70-yard touchdown. Combine that with his passing ability and he’s the best quarterback Alabama’s faced all season. Is the best strategy for the Tide to keep him in the pocket, or is Alabama’s defense good enough to take away the aerial attack and dare Watson to beat it on the ground?
Edge: Clemson
RUNNING BACK
Clemson running back Wayne Gallman has quietly had a fantastic season. Gallman has rushed for over 100 yards in the Tigers’ last three games and has nine games where he’s broken the century mark. He has 1,482 yards on the season and 12 touchdowns.
Gallman will need to make it a fourth-straight 100-yard game if Clemson is to win on Monday night. And he hasn’t had four-straight 100-yard games all season (he’s had three occurrences of three-straight 100-yard performances). It’s much easier said than done. Alabama has the best rushing defense in the country and gives up 2.3 yards per carry and 71 yards per game.
No. 2 is Boston College, the only other team that’s given up less than 1,000 yards rushing. Gallman’s worst game of the season came against the Eagles when he had 17 carries for 48 yards.
Meanwhile, you likely already know a lot about Henry, the 2015 Heisman winner. He ran for 75 yards on 20 carries against Michigan State. It was the fewest carries he’s had against a Power Five opponent since Alabama’s season-opening win against Wisconsin.
But Michigan State clearly wanted to slow Henry, and it paid the price in the pass game to do so. Clemson knows that it can’t divert all attention to Alabama’s run game. As Henry has run for 2,061 yards in 2015, Kenyan Drake has come back from an elbow injury to be a key contributor for Alabama down the stretch. Drake has 407 rushing yards on the season and also has 27 catches. Henry, meanwhile, has just 11. If Alabama is going to throw the ball to a running back, it’s likely going to be Drake.
The run game is all about Henry, however. Clemson’s defensive front is very good, it’ll be a surprise if Henry runs all over the Tigers. But whether or not you believe Henry was a deserving Heisman winner over Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey, there’s no disputing that he’s one of the best backs in college football.
Edge: Alabama
RECEIVERS
Both teams are missing key pieces. Alabama is without Robert Foster, who has 10 catches for 116 yards this season. Foster was lost for the year when he suffered a torn rotator cuff against Ole Miss.
Freshman Calvin Ridley has stepped up in his absence. Ridley was the best receiver on the field in the Cotton Bowl and caught both of Coker’s touchdown passes. Ridley has 83 catches for 1,031 yards and seven scores. Meanwhile, ArDarius Stewart has 61 catches for 637 yards.
Tight end O.J. Howard had more catches in the Cotton Bowl than he had in the previous three games combined. He emerged as a middle-of-the-field weapon and things will be going well for the Tide if he gets more than his cursory one catch against Clemson. Richard Mullaney remains a reliable safety valve if Coker needs it.
Clemson could get the nod here if its receiving corps was at full strength. But it’s not. Five-star freshman wide receiver Deon Cain, who has 34 catches for 582 yards, was sent home from the Orange Bowl, reportedly for failing a drug test.
And, like, Alabama, Clemson has a star wide receiver too. Artavis Scott has 89 catches for 898 yards and five touchdowns. Meanwhile, senior Charone Peake had four catches for 54 yards in the Orange Bowl and has 44 catches for 617 yards. Tight end Jordan Leggett has 35 catches and seven have gone for touchdowns. Even without Cain, Clemson has some depth here. This one is too close to call.
Edge: Push
OFFENSIVE LINE
Alabama’s offensive line has improved as the season’s gone along. The Tide’s offensive line was questioned in the mdidle part of the season after it wasn’t up to Alabama standards. Since then, Derrick Henry’s late-season success has been fueled by a line of Cam Robinson, Ross Pierschbacher, Ryan Kelly, Alphonse Taylor and Dominick Jackson.
Kelly, a three-year starter, won the Rimington Award, which is given to the top center in the country. Robinson, a starter at left tackle as a freshman in 2014, has emerged as a possible early pick in the 2017 NFL draft.
Clemson’s offensive line entered the season with major questions. Center Ryan Norton was the team’s only returning starter and after Isaiah Battle entered the NFL’s supplemental draft, true freshman Mitch Hyatt emerged as the starter at left tackle.
The Tigers’ offensive line has been far from a liability this season and Jay Guillermo has taken over for Norton at center. Hyatt, Guillermo, Joe Gore, Eric Mac Lain, Joe Crowder and others have helped create rushing lanes for Watson and Gallman. They may not be as big or as highly-touted as Alabama’s offensive line, but a comparison of the two isn’t a landslide in the Tide’s favor.
Edge: Alabama
For more Alabama news, visit TideSports.com.
For more Clemson news, visit TigerIllustrated.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
