NFL Conference Championship Preview/Predictions

Credit to Brad Stewart for the Graphic

BY: Joe Smeltzer
This week, two games will be played in the National Football League. The winners of said games will earn themselves a trip to the city by the bay to participate in Super Bowl 50. Me and my kin have our picks in. I have just about sealed up the family championship. No more needs to be said.

3:05
AFC Title Game
Patriots (13-4) at Broncos (13-4)

Gotta love Gronk. Photo creds to itiswhatitis.com

Will New England survive Denver's vaunted secondary with virtually no running game? Will C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman take advantage of a banged up Pats front seven? Will Denver's receivers get the butter off their fingers? Will Aqib Talib suffocate Julian Edelman and still not get called for pass interference?

All of these storylines are more compelling than yet another Brady vs. Manning clash. I have an immense amount of respect for both Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, as they are two of the greatest players in the history of the sport. While Brady is the best quarterback of all time and still among the best right now, Manning does not have a lot left in the tank, and if the Broncos win this game, it will likely be in spite of him, not because of him. When only one of the parties involved is still a star, the story is not as memorable as it used to be. So this game should be billed as ''Denver vs. New England'', not ''Brady vs. Manning''.

Denver is a weird team. They are the #1 seed in the AFC, but they sure don't feel like a team worthy of that honor. They have the league's best defense but have not been a dominant team all year. New England, on the other hand, has been dominant for the majority of this season, and now that Edelman is back, I think they are a force once again. The Denver team that my Steelers fell to last week did not look like a team primed for a Super Bowl birth. The receivers were terrible, the quarterback can't throw anymore, and the secondary was vulnerable. If Martavis Bryant can have a big day against Denver, so can Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski. You can bet your life that Brady will bring his A game, and, at least, one of those two targets will benefit greatly from that. While New England's defense is banged up, they are more than capable of handling the Bronco, um ''attack''.

Patriots 24, Broncos 14

Player to Watch: Rob Gronkowski 

6:40
NFC Title Game
Cardinals (14-3) at Panthers (16-1) 

Photo creds to www.sports360az.com

Most of you are probably thinking that the Super Bowl will be played on February 7th in San Francisco. Not true. It is being played on January 24th in Charlotte. The winner of the NFC Championship Game will win the Super Bowl. I say that pretty comfortably because the two best teams in the NFL are in the NFC. This game will be great to watch, but I think Carolina's dream season will come to an end. The Panthers are great, but they have not been in great form the past few weeks, particularly when it comes to closing out games. I think that this will come back to bite them. Carolina will get out to an early lead, but Arizona, who I have long believed, is the most dangerous team in the NFC, will be led back by one Carson Palmer. As with Green Bay, the Panthers will be done in by Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald. Palmer will throw for 250+ yards in the second half and connect with Larry Fitz in the end zone twice in the final 30 minutes to lead a thrilling come-from-behind win. Cam Newton will make some nice plays, but he will make one or two crucial mistakes. This can go either way, but Palmer, Fitzgerald, and Bruce Arians have all paid their dues, and now is Arizona's time to be rewarded.

Cardinals 30, Panthers 27

Player to Watch: Carson Palmer

So your Superbowl match-up will be Arizona vs. New England. Palmer vs. Brady. It should be fun. 

Now for a quick edition of things that tick me off. On Friday, I was listening to Pittsburgh's sports radio station, 93.7 The Fan. They were discussing the NFL Playoffs and brought up that Steelers fans would love nothing more than to see the Patriots lose. They then went on to talk about how the Steelers felt cheated in the AFC title endeavors with New England in 2001 and 2004. So the overall gist that I got was that plenty of people in this city feel that Steelers-Pats is a rivalry. While Steelers fans have every right not to like New England, there is a difference between disliking a team and having a rivalry with them. Aside from the two championship games, along with  being two of the most popular franchises in the NFL, there is nothing about these two teams that fits the qualifications of a rivalry.

The Steelers have had rivals away from their division before. Some of the most heated contests in NFL history took place when the Steelers and Raiders faced off in the 1970's. But Steelers-Raiders qualified as a rivalry due to how much the teams hated each other and how that hate could be felt by whoever watched those two teams play. I never got that type of feeling when watching a Steelers-Pats game. Aside from the two contests mentioned above, all this ''rivalry'' is is two great teams who play each other about every other year. The Steelers and Cowboys played in different conferences, and yet there was something beautiful about how those two teams and cities, represented entirely different ways of life in the 1970's, with Dallas being a glamours team in a glamorous city, while Pittsburgh was a blue-collar team in a blue-collar city. The two teams did not get along, and they were also the two best in the NFL throughout a large portion of that decade, and took part in two of the most memorable Super Bowl's of all time. All of that made Steelers-Cowboys a unique rivalry. Steelers-Patriots does not have that same type of beauty.

If Steelers fans are still pissed off about things that happened 10+ years ago, they need to get over it. You would think that winning two championships would heal the wounds of the New England losses, but I'm sure that is not the case with some people.  The Patriots are recognized as an unlikable team, but nobody associated with the Steelers should feel that they are more entitled to hate New England than, say, the St. Louis Rams, who's Super Bowl loss to the Pats was a little fishy. Or the Oakland Raiders, who were victims of the ''Tuck Rule''. So fellow Steelers fans, root whichever way you want, but none of us should feel that we have more reason to root against New England than anybody else does. Well, unless the fact that the Pats crushed Kordell Stewart's dream of being a Super Bowl winning QB strikes a chord with you. Then it would make perfect sense.

Pittsburgh Steelers Requiem: Good, not great year/give Fitzgerald a break

Photo creds to www.sacebbe.com

Another season done. It's that time of year again when for eight months, the terrible towels are put away. For 8 months, there will be no cussing at Mike Tomlin, no getting drunk at 10:00 A.M. on a Sunday afternoon (at least I hope not), and the bland yellow seats at Heinz Field will be emptier than they are when Pitt plays. Yes, until training camps starts up in Latrobe this July, there will be no form of Steeler football to speak of.

Although the Steelers could easily have pulled off the upset of the #1 seeded Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon, I am nonetheless proud of how they performed as a whole. Yes, it was a sloppy game by both teams, but at the end of the day, the Steelers had the #1 seed on the ropes in their stadium, and that is commendable especially considering the injuries that were plaguing the Black and Gold.

However, the way the Steelers failed to close the deal will be in plenty of nightmares of everyday citizens between now and September. Pittsburgh was up 13-12 and driving late in the 4th quarter, when Fitzgerald Toussaint, the emergency running back, made a poor fundamental play, got stripped by Denver defensive back Bobby Roby, and just like that it was Denver ball. The Broncos scored a touchdown, got the two-point conversion, and after the Steelers stalled on their next drive, won the game.

Photo creds to www.sportingnews.com

While Toussiant made an awful fundamental error, he is a reason the Steelers lost the game, not the reason. His fumble turned the tide in the game, but other mistakes were made, two of them on the ensuing possession after the fumble. The Steelers defense was able to force a 3rd and 12, but Brandon Boykin did an awful job of covering Bennie Fowler, and Fowler as a result of the soft coverage ran for 31 yards, triggering what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. Also on that drive, William Gay dropped what should have been an interception. Throughout the game, receivers dropped some balls, and the defense missed tackles. Hell, if you want to pin it all on one play, why not go back to Aquib Talib holding Martavis Bryant in the end zone on 3rd and 5 from the Denver 10 yard line? That missed call turned 7 points into 3, which could have been a factor in the outcome.

I'm not trying to sound like a typical coach, but team sports are never about one guy. I know it's so easy for yinzers eating their Pramanti's sandwiches to scapegoat, but I'm not one of those people because I know how dumb scapegoating is, and I also think it is heartless. CBS was seemingly egging on the Toussaint pitchfork crowd by showing the poor guy sitting on the sideline every 5 seconds. He made a mistake. Others made mistakes as well. Leave Fitz alone.

Now that the 2015 Steelers are history, what is the overall legacy of this team? My take is that the Steelers had a good year, especially considering that Le'Veon Bell, Kelvin Beachum, Maurkice Pouncy and Ben Roethlisberger were all MIA for multiple games each. It is also important to note that the Steelers won a playoff games for the first time since January of 2011. The Steelers took a step forward, not backward, and a lot more good came out of this season than bad. While it was a good year in a lot of aspects, it could have been better.

The Steelers did lose some winnable games, Baltimore 2X, Seattle, and the first meeting with Cincinnati all could have easily gone the Steelers way, but did not. At the same time, they did beat Arizona with Landry Jones, as they came back from 17 down at the half to down Denver in the regular season meeting, so the tough losses are somewhat balanced out. Yes, the Steelers could have been better, but there are a lot of positive things to take away from this year, and Pittsburgh showed that they are a force to be reckoned with in the AFC. I'm sure some people are angry with the way this season turned out and have dismissed this season as a failure. I have a message for those people: get out of the time bubble.

There is a high level of pride in this city, and that can be a bad thing at times. If people are disappointed with the way this season went to the point where they think that the negative outweighs the positive, they are probably basing that off of who the Pittsburgh Steelers were and not what they are. People in this city tend to think that because the Steelers have 6 Superbowl rings, they forever shall be the class of the NFL, and are shocked by anything less than an AFC Championship game appearance. Well, I'm sorry, prideful yinzers, but that is not an accurate way of thinking. It is not 2010 anymore (or 1978, if you really set the bar high). The past four years the Steelers records have been 8-8, 8-8, 10-6 and 11-7. The Steelers progressed more this season than they have since their Superbowl run in 2010, and that is a big positive.

The Steelers are no longer the class of the NFL. What they are is a team that is fantastic on one side of the ball and has a lot of growing to do on the other side. If you are that discouraged with your beloved Stillers right now, the least you can do is look toward the future. The Steelers at full strength are better than any other team in the AFC North and are my very early favorites to win that division. Our window for a 7th Lombardi is not closed by a long shot. We all know how good this offense is, and believe me, the defense will get better. The front 7 is talented and will get better with maturity, and the secondary has nowhere to go but up. If Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin are smart, they will take a defensive back with their first round pick, and he will be named the starter before he reaches the podium to shake hands with Rodger Goodell. One name to keep in mind between now and April 28th is Desmond King from Iowa. King was second in the country in 2015 with eight interceptions and was the heart and soul of that Iowa defense. I think he would be a great fit, and at the very least, an upgrade over Antwon Blake. Don't be surprised if the Steelers take another linebacker, but pray like hell that they don't.

Let the front office decide what needs to be done this off season. All we can do as fans is pray that this team has all of it's weapons ready to go in 2016. If Ben, Bell and Pouncey play a full season, and both the defense continues to make strides, Martavis Bryant becomes one of the games better receivers, and players like Chris Boswell and Alejandro Villanueva can prove that they are not one-shot wonders, 2016 will be a lot of fun.

Steelers-Broncos: 3 Keys to Victory

Photo creds to www.pittsburghsportingnews.com

Hello, all. The Pittsburgh Steelers have a relativity important football game this afternoon that will be played in relativity high altitude, and Pittsburgh has a some relativity large hurdles to overcome. DeAngelo Williams is out once again, and so is the best wide receiver in the world. To add to it, God only knows how much of the real Ben Roethlisberger we will see. Needless to say, it will be a tall task at hand. Here are three things the Steelers can do to overcome it.

Key #1: Stifle Peyton Manning 

Photo creds to www.espn.com

The Steelers offense is nowhere near at full strength, and Denver has the best defense in the NFL. So you could say that having the usual 30+ point eruption is probably not a realistic idea. If the Steelers want to book themselves a flight to Foxborough, the defense needs to step up. The way I see it, here are Keith Butler's two best options:
A. Take advantage of Denver's banged up offensive line and blitz a crap ton.
B. Disguise the blitz and try to confuse Peyton Manning the way AJ McCarron was baffled last week

The problem I see with option b is Manning's ability to read a defense. When Emmanuel Sanders said shortly before the regular season meeting between these two teams that Manning was the best at preparing for a game, many Steelers fans took it as a shot at Big Ben. While that might be true, Sanders had a point. Manning is one of the greatest ever for a reason, and his brain is his strongest asset. I'm sure Manning spent countless hours this week studying film of the Steelers defense and looking for any habits to exploit. Since option b worked so well in Cincinnati, Manning will probably be expecting it more so than option a. Butler knows what he is doing, and I trust he will call a good game. But if it were me, I would take advantage of the b-rate line and order a blitzkrieg.

Likelihood of Execution: It's Manning in the playoffs, so decent

Key #2: Quantity over Quality 

Photo creds to boston.cbslocal.com

With DeAngelo Williams out for the second week in a row, the Steelers running game will be the property of Fitzgerald Toussaint and Jordan Todman. While individually, neither of these men are as good as Williams, collectively, they might make up for the loss. The Steelers currently average 107.8 rushing yards per game on the year. If the Steelers are smart, they will make Toussaint running back 1A and Todman 1B, giving them both similar amounts of carries. Last week, the two men accounted for a combined 123 yards, and I don't see why they can't do as well this week. Yes, the Broncos have one of the best run defenses in the league, but so does Cincinnati. Toussaint should also have a vital role in pass catching as he caught four balls for 60 yards last week. If the Steelers had blown it at Paul Brown Stadium 8 days ago, it would not have been because DeAngelo Williams was missing. If the Steelers lose at Mile High this week, it won't be because of DeAngelo Williams either.

Likelihood of Execution: Solid

Key #3: Bryant becomes a man

Alright, Martavis. It's your time to shine. Antonio Brown is out, which makes you #1. You are now seen as the Steelers biggest receiving threat in the eyes of the NFL's best secondary. You might recall that a few weeks ago, your QB called you out publicly, saying that you needed to ''grow up''. Your sick TD catch in Cincy was a start, but now you need to take it one step further. You need to be the shining star of the Steelers offense. You have the chance to silence those who criticize your football IQ. You have the opportunity to free yourself a little from AB's large shadow. You have the chance to lead the Steelers to victory. 

Unfortunately, I don't see your QB having the strength to be able to strongly throw you the ball. #7 will put his heart on the table this afternoon, but that damn AC joint won't allow him to be himself. I'd love to be wrong, but I think that the pain that Roethlisberger is in; assuming he plays, will be too much even for somebody as tough as Big Ben. 

Likelihood of Execution: Not good

Final Prediction 
The 1976 Steelers might have been the greatest team in franchise history. I see a lot of similarities between that team and this years edition. The 1976 Steelers had a historically good defense while this team has a great offense. The 1976 team lost their quarterback early in the season, just like this years team, and the 1976 Steelers were on fire towards the end of the season but ran out of gas in the AFC Championship Game, due in large part to running backs Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier being out with injuries. While this year's team is not quite as good as the '76 squad that fielded 8 Hall of Famers, the similarities are striking, and I think this years team will run out of gas one round earlier than the 1976 squad.

I'd love to be wrong, but beating the Broncos away would be a challenge no matter what personnel the Steelers had at their disposal. Now that some key pieces are missing/not 100%, I just don't think that they can do it. But this has been the craziest Steelers season I have ever experienced, and no matter what the result is, something weird will happen. Believe that. 

Broncos 27, Steelers 14. 

NFL Divisional Playoffs Preview/Predictions (except for Steelers)

Hello, all. It's playoff time. The wildcard round has passed, and it's time for the top 2 seeds in each conference to put up or shut up. What do I think will happen? Well, that's why we're here

Saturday
4:35
Upset City
Chiefs (12-5) at Patriots (12-4)

Photo creds to dailymail.co.uk

If you have read this blog before, you'll know that I love me some Tom Brady. However, I think the Pats injuries will be their doom. The game hinges on the health on one Julian Edelman, and even if the little slot receiver is able to play, I think he will be too rusty to be a factor against Eric Berry, Marcus Peters and the rest of the Chiefs secondary. Kansas City is a buzzsaw, and they are every bit as good as New England right now and a lot healthier. The winner of this game will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl, and that team will be Andy Reid's Chiefs. Book it.

Chiefs 34, Pats 24

Player to Watch: Alex Smith 

8:15

This might get ugly 

Packers (11-6) at Cardinals (13-3)

Remember that 38-8 beating that Arizona put on Green Bay a few weeks back? I don't expect it to be that bad again, but it won't be pretty. The Packers are not a great football team, and the Cardinals are. Arizona is better on both sides of the ball, and as of tomorrow morning, there will be nothing to look foward to in Green Bay, Wisconsin for 6 months. 

Cardinals 35, Packers 14 

Player to Watch: Carson Palmer 

Sunday 

1:05 

This could get ugly 

Seahawks (11-6) at Panthers (15-1)

It is an act of God that the Seahawks are still playing football this season, and Blair Walsh won't be able to save them from the big bad Panthers. Cam Newton and Jonathan Stewart will provide the glory to finally get Carolina passed the Divisoinal Round and avenge last seasons defeat at the hands of Seattle. 

Panthers 24, Seahawks 13

Player to Watch: Cam Newton/the Carolina defense 

Face the Facts: St. Nick is the best. Ever.

Photo Creds to www.wruf.com

A lot can be told about Nicholas Lou Saben Jr. In Tuscaloosa, he is a god. In a lot of other areas of America, he is the devil. But no matter what your opinion of Saban is, it should be recognized that Monday night's win over Clemson cements his status as the greatest college football coach to ever live.

Ever since Rutgers and Princeton played in the first collegiate football game back in 1869, there have been many great generals that have led their teams to greatness. As a die-hard Penn State fan, I will always look at Joe Paterno as an icon. But while Joe Pa is the most consistent football coach of all time, as he coached at the same school for over 62 years, he was only able to win two national titles. Saban has won 5 (four at Alabama, one at LSU in 2003). Notre Dame fans will always bow down to the immortal Knute Rockne, but his reign ended 85 years ago. College Football has become considerably more advanced ever since the Rock's plane went down in a Kansas wheat field.  The 7-7-2 defense is no longer a thing, and Rockne has long been surpassed as the gold standard in college coaching, even if some Irish fans seem to think he never left.

Getting into the present era, Ohio State's Urban Meyer, like Saban, has dominated during the past decade, and Meyer has 3 National Titles of his own. But 5 is > than 3, and Meyer will never be as good of a motivator as St. Nick, nor have his teams been as consistent (his Florida teams had some years of mediocrity ), so if I could hire any coach in America, I would consider Saban before Meyer. Saban's teams have either won National Titles or come pretty damn close, and Alabama has won 10+ games eight seasons in a row. While Meyer was coaching in the SEC, his overall record was 65-15. St. Nick is currently 100-18. So St. Nick only has 3 more losses at Alabama than Meyer had at Florida while coaching in 53 more games. While Meyer has done wonders in turning Ohio State around, his first two seasons were partly  a product of a pathetic Big 10 leaders division. Meyer is great, but Saban is better.

Now for the debate that has been the most prevalent over the past few days: Nick Saban vs. Paul "Bear" Bryant. There is no arguing that the Bear will always be the greatest folk hero in college football history, as his checkered suit, checkered hat, and overall aura probably won't ever be matched. Bryant is a greater legend, but I think Saban has cemented himself as the better coach.

People who long for the "good ol days" need to realize that college football is simply much harder than it was when the Bear was the king of the south. As far as statistics go, things are pretty even between Nick Saban  and Bear Bryant, as both have the same lifetime winning percentage at 76%. Saben will likely never catch Bryant's win total of 323. However, what Saban has accomplished in consideration of the times dwarfs what Bryant did.

This will give you an idea of how important bowl games were 40+ years ago. In 1973, Bryant's #1 ranked Tide took on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Sugar Bowl. The Tide lost the game by a score of 24-23 in what would normally be a crushing defeat. However, the blow was softened somewhat when Bama was awarded the National Championship in spite of the loss.

Nick Saban will never have a luxury where a bowl game does not matter, and Bear Bryant never had to coach in a conference championship game, didn't always have to play #2 in a bowl game when his team was #1, and never had to coach in a playoff. To win in college football is a harder task than it has ever been and the season is longer than it has ever been before (Saban's team played in 15 games this season, Bryant's played in, at most, 12 per year.) The Southeastern Conference, although currently in a bit of a downswing, has largely been much more difficult in Saban's regime than it was during the Bear's.

It's easy not to like Nick Saban. It's easier to admire Joe Paterno, Knute Rockne, Bear Bryant, Lou Holtz etc. But Saban is a better coach than all of them. He has dominated a time that is harder to govern than any other, and as a result, he has proven more worthy of having this GOAT (greatest of all time) honor bestowed upon him than anybody else. And just think, if flukes such as the "Kick 6" at Auburn in 2013 never happened, Saben might have even more hardware than he has right now. I'm sure there are plenty of people in Alabama who will always see Bryant as the king of kings. While there is nothing wrong with having that opinion, those people need to realize that Saban has a shot surpass the Bear's total of six national titles (St. Nick needs two titles to do that overall, 3 to set the Alabama record). If I had to bet, I would say that Saban will retire with more than six national championships. I mean, what can't the guy do? If Saban wanted to fly a rocket to Mars, I would not doubt his ability to do so at this point.

Great coaches are great coaches, no matter what era they come from. But what Saban has done, considering what he has been up against, trumps all. It doesn't matter what you think of guys like Saban and Bill Belichick as people. I am not crazy of either one of them as men, but what they are as coaches are second to none. If these men are jerks, then let's give the jerks their due.

Brad-ketology: Loss Moves Maryland To A Two Seed

Brad-ketology

By:    Bradley Stewart

         Resident Bracketologist

January 13, 2016

Hi everyone.  Since this is my inaugural post on my bracketology on "Smeltzer on Sports", I am going to describe what it is.  One of the most common practices held during the year is filling out a NCAA Tournament bracket.  Bracketology is the art of not-predicting who will win come March, but where the selection committee, will place the teams.  So, basically, bracketology is the art of predicting what seeds teams will receive.  For a full list of rules and seeding procedures visit: http://www.ncaa.com/content/di-principles-and-procedures-selection.    This is my fourth year doing bracketology and I am currently ranked third in the "Bracket Veterans" division on the Bracket Matrix.  The Bracket Matrix gives you points for every team you correctly seed, correctly place in the tournament, and for being one off the correct seed.  Other notable people in the Bracket Matrix is ESPN's Joe Lunardi and CBS's Jerry Palm.  The matrix also combines all the contributors into one bracket based on average seed.  For that list visit: http://bracketmatrix.com/.  For a more up to date bracket visit: bradketology.blogspot.com

We are nearly half way to Selection Sunday and the College Basketball Season is in full swing.  This season has had so much parody it is ridiculous.  Remember last year?  We were talking about the Kentucky Wildcats going 40-0.  They were the best team in the country and everyone knew it.  This year there are two remaining undefeated teams and neither of them are in the Top 5.  SMU is currently ranked 10th in the country, but are ineligible to go the NCAA Tournament, because of a post-season ban handed down from the NCAA.  The other remaining undefeated is the 15-0 South Carolina Gamecocks.  The Gamecocks did not make the tournament last year.  The primary reason they are undefeated are because they have played a very weak schedule.  Their weak schedule is a factor in their RPI rank that has them at 25.  Carolina's best win has been against the Vanderbilt Commodores, a team not even in my bracket or ESPN's Joe Lunardi's.          

The point of this is that this College Basketball season has shown more parody than we have seen in recent year.  Last year their was parody at the top, allowing for some very intriguing Elite 8 and Final 4 match-ups.  Because of that parody there was not a lot of upsets.  This year there is a lot parody between seeds 1-9.  Because of this there is no clear-cut favorite for the championship, like when Louisville and Kentucky were everyone's picks.  If I had to bet there will be at least three 1, 2, or 3 seeds knocked out of the tournament by the opening weekend.  That does not mean go and pick a three to lose in their opening game, but the six seeds (currently: USC, Pittsburgh, Louisville, and Dayton) can all defeat the 3 seeds.  There is so much parody that just last night, the number one and number three teams in the country lost.

The story line I feel is the most intriguing is the success of Southern California.  Let's start with USC.  The Trojans currently has a 14-3 record and are fresh off of a 4OT win vs #18 Arizona.  What is intriguing is the success of Head Coach Andy Enfield.  Remember Florida Gulf Coast of March Madness Past?  America's favorite team for two weeks, Dunk City upset 2-seeded Georgetown and then proceeded to defeat seven-seeded San Diego State by a combined twenty points.  The dream died there when the Eagles flee to fellow Florida inhabitant, Florida Gators.  The Gators won by twelve, but USC took notice of Andy Enfield and signed him as their new head coach.  Enfield has transported his success across the state and has the Trojans one of the hottest teams in the country.

Here is my January 13th bracket:

Thank You for reading.  Feel free to comment your thoughts!

For a more up to date bracket visit: bradketology.blogspot.com

Clemson-Alabama: How they got to the dance/preview and prediction

Photo creds to fbschedules.com

Hello, all. The finale of the 2015/16 college football season is tonight, and the two best teams in the nation hope to provide a thrilling finale. Both the Clemson Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide belong in this exact spot, and Joe Smeltzer will now tell you how they got there.



Clemson 

Photo creds to www.sportingnews.com

The Tigers started the season ranked #12 in both the AP and Coaches Poll. Dabo Swinney's band was picked to by many to finish atop the ACC, although I had them finishing second to Florida State in the Atlantic Division (whoops). Clemson suffered what looked to be a massive blow on opening day when stud receiver Mike Williams was lost for the season with a neck injury. Luckily for DeShaun Watson, the loss of Williams has been well accounted for, as Artavis Scott, Charone Peake, Deon Cain ( who is suspsended), Jordan Leggett and Hunter Renfrow make up a deep and balanced core of pass catching options. After an opening day demolition of Wofford and a similar beating on App. State the following week, the Tigers were tested for the first time in 2015 when they traveled to Papa John's Stadium to take on Louisville in their ACC opener. It was a tight game throughout, but the Tigers held on for a 20-17 win. After a bye week, Notre Dame came to Death Valley, and this was when America took notice that Clemson could be a playoff team. After dominating ND on the scoreboard for 45 minutes, the Tiger defense held off a furious Irish march when safety Jayron Kearse forced a fumble at the Clemson 4-yard line. Notre Dame scored a meaningless TD in the final seconds, and Clemson held on for a 24-22 victory. After the ND victory, the Tigers shot up to #6 in both the coaches and AP polls. After taking care of Georgia Tech and Boston College at home, and performing a 59-0 waxing of the U in Miami, Clemson was #3 in the AP poll. It was also around this time that Watson began to be seriously looked at as a Heisman contender. An eventful 56-41 win at NC State brought up the second of the four ranked opponents that the Tigers would conquer when Florida State came into Death Valley. It was a tight contest, but the recipe of Watson and Defense got Clemson by with a 23-13 triumph, essentially clinching the ACC Atlantic. By this time, the Tigers were #1 in the land. Dabo's boys proceeded to pull away at Syracuse, take out Wake Forest, and survive a scare from pathetic rivals South Carolina. So they found themselves in the ACC Title game against a red-hot UNC team that was on an 11 game win streak. The Tigers survived a late comeback march and were aided by a controversial (and incorrect) offsides call on what would have been a perfectly executed onside kick attempt from the Tar Heels. Once again, Watson was the star, and Tigers were on their way to Miami for a hot date with the Oklahoma Sooners in the Orange Bowl, which was also the CFB Playoff semifinal.


After going into the locker down 17-16, Clemson turned it on in the second half, winning the game by a 37-17 margin that did not accurately tell how close the game was. And that, children, is how the 2015 Clemson Tigers made it to the championship game.


Now, here was Alabama's road.


Alabama

Photo Creds to www.pintrest.com

Bama is Bama, and before this season, as always, they were thought of to be in the hunt for a National Title. Bama's hopes and dreams took a hit when they were upset at home by Ole Miss, 43-37. The loss was a painful one, but it also marked a turning point. Before the game, nobody was sure if Jake Coker was to be trusted to quarterback Bama to the promised land. But after reliving Cooper Bateman and nearly leading the Tide back from a large deficit, Coker won over the team. It was Roll Tide from here on out, as the Tide won their next 11 games. 10 of the 11 victories were by a 10+ point margin, and 6 of them were against ranked opponents (Texas A&M, Michigan State, Geroiga, LSU, Mississippi State and Florida, in no particular order). Bama finished the regular season with a 11-1 record, setting up a date with the Michigan State Spartans in the Cotton Bowl (aka, CFB Playoff semi-final). 38-0 is all that needs to be said about that game.

Now that you have an idea of how these two teams got to the dance, here is how they match up against each other.

Offense

Photo creds to thetandd.com

Both of these teams are have one player on offense that shines about the rest, with Clemson's being Deshuan Watson and Alabama's being Heisman trophy winner Derrick Henry. What gives Clemson the edge is A. Watsons Versitility and B. His supporting cast. I think Clemson's core of receivers are stronger than Alabama's, and you better be watching for Wayne Gallman. Gallman is a tank at runnigback, and I have a feeling in my small gut that should Clemson win, Gallmen will be the game's most valuable player. 

Edge: Clemson 

Special Teams 

Cyrus Jones is a beast at returning kicks, while Clemson's kicker Ammon Lakip has only had the job for 3 weeks. If this game comes down to special teams, Bama is taking it.

Edge: Alabama 

Defense

Cyrus Jones can make big plays. Photo creds to www.baltimoresun.com

Both of these teams have among the best defensive units in the land, but I'm giving the edge to the elephants due to how deep and talented their front 7 is. Reggie Raglad, Jonathan Allen, Denzel Devall and A'Shawn Robinsion are just some of the talented names on the Alabama defense, and Watson should be wary of each and every one of them. Nick Saben's teams have always been defense uber alles, and this year is no exception 

Edge: Alabama 

Final Prediction 

These are the two best teams in College Football, but with all due respect to Dabo, Nick Saben will reign supreme. Alabama is on an incredible roll even by their standards, and I think they are a better team than Clemson right now. Saben is the best at preparing, and that will be evident when DeShaun Watson finally makes a mistake in a key situation. Both defenses will come to play, but Bama will make one or two more big plays than Clemson, and that will be the difference. Jake Coker will be cool, while Deshaun Watson will make a rare mistake in a tight situation. Roll Tide.

Alabama 24, Clemson 14

Alabama Crimson Tide, 2015 National Champions