Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney and Alabama counterpart Nick Saban pose Sunday beside the trophy that will be awarded after tonight's national championship game in Tampa, Fla.TAMPA, Fla. - When Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney told Alabama's Nick Saban early last year that he would see him again in January, that was the easy part.
There was still the matter of creating the first championship rematch college football has experienced since the installation of the Bowl Championship Series in 1998 and the adoption of a four-team playoff in 2014.
The No. 1 Crimson Tide (14-0) and No. 3 Tigers (13-1) play tonight in Raymond James Stadium less than a year after Alabama toppled Clemson 45-40 in Glendale, Ariz., for last season's crown.
Alabama and Clemson began this season ranked 1-2 in the Associated Press poll, but how did Swinney know his Tigers could live up to the billing and again challenge the sport's perennial Goliath?
"We played a lot of freshmen last year, so I knew we were going to have a very strong sophomore group," Swinney said Sunday in the final news conference before tonight's official 8:17 kickoff on ESPN, "and the seniors and juniors that we did have were impactful people who were incredibly committed to our program - guys like Deshaun Watson, Ben Boulware, Mike Williams, Wayne Gallman, Carlos Watkins and Jay Guillermo. These are very impactful leaders, and I could just tell right out of the gate from the very first meeting that these guys were locked in.
"I also think they had an experience to draw upon that no other team I've had has had, as far as what it takes."
The challenge of getting back to college football's championship game has been quite daunting in recent years for programs not coached by Saban.
Texas lost to Alabama in the BCS title game after the 2009 season and has gone 46-42 since with four losing records. Auburn won the 2010 BCS title and played for it again in 2013, but the Tigers went 8-5 in each of the ensuing seasons. Florida State reached the semifinals of the inaugural playoff after topping Auburn for the final BCS crown, while Ohio State went 12-1 last season but missed out on the playoff after winning the 2014 title.
"I think Clemson, with what Dabo has done there, is one of the top college football programs in the country," Saban said, "and I can't tell you how much respect we have for the job that they do. I think it's reflected in the way they play on the field, the success that they've had and the consistency in performance that their team has shown."
Clemson was the undefeated and top-ranked team heading into last season's showdown, but Swinney insists this bunch is better. He cites Watson having more experience now as a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, Gallman heading up a more proven group of tailbacks and more depth up front on defense.
Yet what Swinney likes most is the "juice" this season's team possesses compared to last season's squad, which played 10 consecutive weeks before preparing for the playoff. This season's team played six straight weeks before beginning its playoff run with a 31-0 thrashing of Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve.
"I really did not like how we finished last year," Swinney said of his 2015 Tigers. "I appreciate that we found a way to win in November, but we were straining to get to the finish line. We didn't have a very good rotation defensively, because we had seniors and then freshmen. We were not healthy, either, down the stretch.
"We're a healthier team now, but more importantly we've got more functional football players. We're built differently from a depth standpoint competitively than we were last year, and that's always the position you want to be in as a coach because it brings a different edge to your meetings and practices."
For Swinney's Tigers to capture the program's first national championship since the 1981 season, they must defeat the sport's standard, as Alabama is bidding for its fifth national crown in the past eight seasons under Saban. A Crimson Tide victory also would give Saban his sixth national championship - he guided LSU to the 2003 BCS title - in his 15th season in the Southeastern Conference.
Legendary Tide coach Paul "Bear" Bryant won six national championships in his 25 seasons in Tuscaloosa.
"I've never seen anything like it," Swinney said. "Obviously I grew up with Coach Bryant as a hero of mine, but with what Coach Saban has done with the championships in the span of time with scholarships is just incredible. I really have no words, because it's really hard to do.
"If we can win this thing tomorrow night, it's not like it's our final destination or like we just hang up the cleats and walk away. You're always trying to get better, and that's what I give Coach Saban credit for. Every year is kind of that season of its own, and you have your challenges."
Harris arrives
Five-star tailback prospect Najee Harris flew to Birmingham on Sunday and is expected to begin classes at Alabama this week as an early enrollee. Also enrolling early are five-star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and five-star linebacker Dylan Moses.
Alabama had four mid-year enrollees - Isaiah Buggs, Alex Leatherwood, Kyriq McDonald and Chadarius Townsend - report several days ago, with Buggs, Leatherwood and McDonald going through on-campus workouts last week as the Tide prepared for tonight's game.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.