3 key storylines heading into the CFP National Championship

If you’re anybody but an Alabama fan, the College Football Playoff National Championship is about as entertaining of a matchup as you could ask for. LSU and Clemson both roll into the game unbeaten on the season, with a shot at going 15-0 on the line for both programs. Both starting quarterbacks are already legends in the history of the sport, with one looking to win his second straight title and avoid his first loss, while the other tries to become the first Heisman winner to also win the College Football Playoff. We break down the three biggest storylines heading into what should be an amazing football game.

LSU’s unstoppable offense vs. Clemson’s unbeatable defense

If you’ve watched LSU play at all this season, then you know what they are capable of doing. Joe Burrow ran away with the Heisman Trophy for a reason, and while we will get into his numbers in the next key, let’s take a look at what the Tigers’ offense has done as a whole.

LSU is the first team in college football history to have a player throw for 5,000 yards, another player rush for more than 1,000 yards, and two wide receivers gain over 1,000 yards each. They averaged 49.3 points per game against SEC opponents, including the SEC Championship. They were held under 36 points only once all season, in a 23-20 win over a top-10 Auburn team, and they scored at least 50 points on six different occasions. In short, this is one of the greatest offenses that the college football landscape has ever seen, and they made it look easy at times, thanks in large part to a receiving corps that features three future NFL players in Justin Jefferson, Terrace Marshall, and Biletnikoff winner Ja’Marr Chase. The three wideouts caught an astounding 48 touchdowns combined on the season.

On the flip side, Clemson’s defense has been good year-in and year-out. This is a defense that shut down Alabama in last year’s championship game, holding them scoreless in the second half. They were expected to take a bit of a step back with losses to the NFL, but instead they came out as dominant as ever this season.

Brent Venables is one of the highest paid assistant coaches in college football, and with good reason. The defense has allowed fewer than 12 points per game this season, and while they did not record a shutout this season, Clemson held seven of their 14 opponents this season to 10 points or fewer. However, Ohio State exposed the defense a bit last weekend in the semifinal game, as the Buckeyes jumped out to an early lead and nearly blew the game open. They scored 23 points on the Tigers—the most any team has scored this season—and gained over 500 yards of total offense. If Clemson is not able to get pressure on Burrow, their secondary will struggle against a receiving corps the like of which they have not seen this season.

The duel between Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence

One is a Heisman Trophy winner who annihilated passing records every step of the way this season. The other is a sophomore who has yet to lose a game in his career. Both are the best quarterbacks in college football, and will look to strengthen their legacy with a win on Monday.

Everyone knew how special Burrow was, but the show he put on against Oklahoma was historic. In fact, among the numerous records he set during the laser light show against the Sooner was the most absurd one: the most touchdown passes by one quarterback in a college football playoff. Not the most in a college football playoff GAME, the most in a college football playoffs. His seventh touchdown pass, which he threw in the first HALF of the game against Oklahoma, broke a record of six touchdown passes over the two games which was held jointly by Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa in the 2018 season. He ended the first half with 403 yards passing on 21 completions, and had Twitter going crazy as he just kept tallying up the records in a performance that may never be replicated.

Burrow now only needs four touchdowns in his final game to break Colt Brennan’s single-season record of 58 touchdown tosses. Meanwhile, the other guy in this matchup isn’t too shabby, and he had to put Clemson on his back just to get to the championship game. Lawrence, who now boasts a 25-0 record as the signal caller for the Tigers, rallied his team from a 16-0 first half deficit to give them a lead in the third quarter, and then led the team down the field on a four-play, 94-yard drive inside the final three minutes to put them ahead for good.

Clemson’s quarterback has thrown 22 touchdown passes in his last seven games, with no interceptions during that streak, and has not thrown a pick in more than 200 pass attempts. His 3,400 passing yards and 36 touchdowns would be considered among the best in the nation, if not for Burrow absolutely overshadowing everyone else that plays the position. It’s very likely that Lawrence will need to out-play Burrow if he is going to keep his record unbeaten, and join a very select group of quarterbacks with a pair of championship rings.

Clemson can become “The” current dynasty with a win

For as long as most can remember, Alabama and Nick Saban have been king of the college football mountain. The Crimson Tide have won five of the last 10 college football championships, and have finished runner up two other times in that span. They have also played in the national title game in each of the last four years, winning two of them. However, their two losses were each to Clemson, first in the 2016-17 game and then by getting blown out 44-16 in last year’s contest.

Suddenly, Clemson is in a position to unseat the Tide as the big dog in college football, as they play for in the national championship for the fourth time in five years. A win on Monday night would give them their second straight championship, and their third title in four seasons. Furthermore, defeating LSU would also mean Clemson enters the 2020 season not having lost since the 2017-18 national semifinal game. Dabo Swinney would lift his third national title at the age of 50, which is eleven years younger than Nick Saban was when he took home his third title in 2011. With his success year after year on the recruiting trail, a win would see Clemson become the premier program in the country, and unlike Alabama, who face LSU and Auburn every single season in conference play, Clemson will likely face little challenge in the ACC over the next few years.

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