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National title race is down to 2 teams: Alabama vs Clemson

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) congratulate each other on the field after their team won the Orange Bowl NCAA college football semifinal playoff game against Oklahoma, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Clemson defeated Oklahoma 37-17. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) congratulate each other on the field after their team won the Orange Bowl NCAA college football semifinal playoff game against Oklahoma, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Clemson defeated Oklahoma 37-17. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

By Associated Press December 31, 2015 1 min read

The national championship race is down to two.

Top-ranked Clemson and No. 2 Alabama will face off in the desert after dominating wins in the national semifinals Thursday. The Tigers romped in the second half for a 37-17 win over No. 4 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, while the Crimson Tide rolled Michigan State 38-0 in the Cotton Bowl.

The Jan. 11 title game in Glendale, Ariz., matches a high-scoring offense led by Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson against Nick Saban’s latest dominating defense at Alabama, which limited the Big Ten champion Spartans to 239 yards.

There’s another storyline to the title game. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is an Alabama alumnus who played on the Tide’s 1992 national championship team.

Now, he’s going against the greatest coach of this generation. Saban has won three national titles in the last six years at Alabama, to go along with a BCS title at LSU.