Alabama-Clemson is a familiar sight for college football fans this time of year. The fourth College Football Playoff matchup between the Crimson Tide and the Tigers—who’ve combined to win the past four national titles and seven of the past 10—promised to be entertaining, if not exactly novel. Check out all of The Ringer’s coverage of the game and its lead-up here.
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January 8, 2019
Dabo Swinney Grabs the Belt
The Clemson head coach’s second national championship proves his once-plucky program is the new standard in college football
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January 8, 2019
King Clemson: How an Alabama Rout for the Ages Ushered in a New Day in College Football
The Tigers’ 44-16 rout of Bama was the most stunning result in the modern championship era. This was more than just a coronation—it was a tectonic shift atop the sport’s hierarchy.
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January 8, 2019
Long Hair, Unfair: Trevor Lawrence Is College Football’s New Conquering Hero
Clemson’s true freshman QB, with golden locks and a golden arm, torched Alabama in Monday’s national championship game
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January 8, 2019
Clemson Won the National Title by Handing Nick Saban His Most Humiliating Loss
Alabama has suffered tough defeats under its head coach before. But no one has ever made Saban’s Crimson Tide look like this.
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January 7, 2019
The Era-Defining Greatness of Alabama-Clemson, the Four Year (and Counting) War
Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide juggernaut finally has found a program that looks like its peer. Can Clemson topple what might be the best team of Bama’s dynastic run in the national championship game?
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January 3, 2019
The College Football Playoff Keeps Giving Us Alabama and Clemson Blowouts. Does That Mean the System Is Broken?
Taking stock of a postseason structure defined by familiar matchups, semifinal routs, and relentless sadness for Notre Dame and the Big Ten