Getty Gallery: 2/6
No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (AP Poll: 1st)
No. 2 Clemson Tigers (AP Poll: 2nd)
There is still a lot of uncertainty within college football, but the one thing that is clear is Alabama is in a class by themselves so far this season. The quarterback controversy that Alabama started the season with is a thing of the past.
Tua Tagovailoa has proven he was clearly the right choice at quarterback. Tagovailoa has displayed the rare mix of playmaking ability combined with efficiency.
Things are about to get much more difficult for the Crimson Tide in November with LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn making up three of their final four opponents. This may be Nick Saban's best group of receivers he has had while at Alabama. Saban spoke about what makes the unit so dynamic.
"I think they have really good speed," Saban told 247 Sports. "I think all of those guys are really, really competitive. They have really good hands. We have a pretty good system that we've been able to utilize those things that they can make explosive plays. They all have ability to run after the catch. And I think that the quarterbacks have done a good job of getting them the ball when we have an opportunity to make those plays. They give them catchable balls and they've been able to finish plays and make a lot of big plays. Those guys have really good speed, they're good getting in and out of breaks. They've got good hands."
Clemson Could Cruise to the ACC Title Game
Clemson has not had a difficult schedule, and it does not get much better thanks to the decline of the ACC. The Tigers have played both Texas A&M and NC State who were ranked at the time, but have also played Furman and Georgia Southern. Boston College, Duke and South Carolina are the best teams remaining on their schedule. Clemson will be heavily favored in all three of these games.
Clemson has the No. 76 ranked strength of schedule in the S&P+, a number unlikely to make a significant rise based on their remaining schedule. It will be interesting to see how the committee factors Clemson's schedule into their evaluation of the team.
The Tigers have had their fair share of twists and turns this season. They started the season with Kelly Bryant as their starting quarterback who abruptly quit the team after Trevor Lawrence was named the starter.
Clemson's offense has been humming along with the true freshman under center. Another key to the Clemson offense has been running back Travis Etienne. Swinney elaborated on what makes him such a dynamic weapon.
"Yeah, well, he was a true freshman last year and to be honest we thought he would redshirt when he got here, but we figured out quickly in camp, whoa, this guy is really explosive," Swinney said per Tiger Net. "But just had so much to learn, and we had to pick our spots, especially early, how we used him. The biggest difference in him is obviously he's got experience. He kind of got thrown into the fire last year, and he had some good success, and he had some tough moments, too. So just that experience is certainly paying off for him this year, but more than anything, just the off-season, his ability to just get in that weight room and to develop his body."