Clemson defensive end Austin Bryant, shown after the Tigers’ win at Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Sept. 22, and his Clemson teammates are preparing to face Alabama in the College Football Playoff title game on Monday night. The Tigers and the Crimson Tide will face off for the national championship for the third time in four years.CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson center Justin Falcinelli remembers the quiet, hollow feeling in the locker room after last year’s Sugar Bowl loss to Alabama.
He vowed not to forget it.
Not that Falcinelli could have even if he wanted to. Clips of the 24-6 defeat to the Crimson Tide in last year’s College Football Playoff national semifinal are played on the team’s giant video board at the Tigers’ practice facility. Players regularly field questions from fans eager for Clemson to avenge the loss.
The reminders of the disappointment have motivated and driven the Tigers throughout this season.
Now No. 2 Clemson (14-0) gets its another crack at No. 1 Alabama (14-0) on Monday night in the national championship game in Santa Clara, California.
“It was a bit of a wakeup call,” Falcinelli said of the loss. “It’s driven us to say, ‘We did well, but there was still clearly plenty of room to improve.’ We’ve been focusing on that.”
Falcinelli said reflecting on the Alabama loss – Clemson has also split two CFP title games with the Tide – was part of the routine during winter workouts, spring drills and summer weightlifting sessions in 2018.
“There’s always stuff to remind you why you’re working” to improve, Falcinelli said.
Clemson defensive end Austin Bryant (7) holds up the trophy as the Tigers celebrate their 30-3 win against Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl national semifinal this past Saturday in Arlington, Texas.Last year’s Alabama-Clemson contest was the latest episode in the dramatic series, during which the teams have traded nail-biting wins in championship games, with Alabama winning 45-40 in January 2016 and Clemson winning 35-31 on a last-second touchdown pass 12 months later.
But unlike those two games, Clemson’s offense could never get going against Alabama’s fearsome defense last year. Kelly Bryant threw two interceptions, both of which led to Tide touchdowns, and the Tigers ran for just 64 yards in the demoralizing loss in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama advanced to the title game and rallied to beat Georgia in overtime.
“That left a sour taste in our mouths,” Clemson defensive end Austin Bryant said of the semifinal defeat.
Bryant, a senior who has been part of all three playoff games against Alabama, said he and his teammates did not spend all their time consumed with losing to the Tide. They were more bothered that they had not lived up to their potential as reigning national champions and did not want to finish this season in a similar fashion.
What that means, Bryant said, was preparing with success in mind, no matter the obstacle or the opponent.
It’s something Clemson coach Dabo Swinney continually talks to his players about – keeping their eyes on themselves, when possible, as well as the bar they’ve set these past few seasons.
“At the end of the day, we just try and be the best version of us, and we’re not trying to live up to anybody else’s standard,” Swinney said. “We’ve got our own standard here.”
Coaches Nick Saban of Alabama, left, and Dabo Swinney of Clemson will meet again Monday night in Santa Clara, Calif., as their teams face off in the College Football Playoff title game.Clemson will bring a different quarterback into the rematch, with freshman Trevor Lawrence taking Kelly Bryant’s spot. Lawrence was named the starter in late September; days later, Bryant left the program and has since transferred to Missouri.
Lawrence has led Clemson’s offense on a high-scoring streak. The Tigers have averaged more than 45 points a game in his 10 starts, including a 30-3 win over Notre Dame in this past Saturday’s Cotton Bowl national semifinal as Lawrence threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns.
Alabama left tackle Jonah Williams said the Tide will have their hands full trying to stop Clemson.
“They have the capacity to beat us every year,” he said. “They did my freshman year and almost did the year before. So you have to play your best and you have to execute.”
Despite the respect Clemson gets, defensive end Clelin Ferrell said the loss to Alabama last season stands out as a glaring breakdown in the level of success the Tigers have achieved. He said they worked hard to follow up their national championship season with another strong year, and while 12-2 and the 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference title might satisfy most programs, Ferrell said that performance left the Tigers flat.
Ferrell summed up the Tigers’ motivation in simple fashion: “We don’t want to feel that way again.”