Why Bet On Clemson To Win The College Football Championship

Deshaun Watson and the Clemson Tigers made my bold pick to reach the CFP National Championship look great by going 13-1 and winning their semifinal showdown against Ohio State to do just that. Now, with the mighty Alabama Crimson Tide standing in their way of hoisting the 2016 championship trophy, college football bettors need to know why Clemson could beat the Tide to win it all. That’s where I come in. If you’re looking for reasons why you should bet on Dabo Swinney’s squad to win it all, then let’s get started with an excerpt on what I wrote about the Tigers in August. Maybe it’s me, but I think the national champion runner-up Clemson Tigers are poised to lift the national championship trophy in early 2017. Clemson has arguably the best quarterback in all of college football and an underrated running back that will be playing at the next level in the very near future. Combine that with Clemson’s stud-filled defense and a head coach in Dabo Swinney that takes a back seat to no one when it comes to motivating his players. Not only do the Tigers appear in consecutive national championships, but this time, they win it all!

Why Bet On Clemson To Win The College Football Championship

   

Deshaun Watson

While Louisville’s Lamar Jackson won the Heisman trophy this season, I maintain that it is Clemson Tigers superstar Deshaun Watson that is the best quarterback in all of college football. The poised Watson has completed a blistering 67.3 percent of his passes this season while throwing for a stellar 4,173 yards with 38 touchdowns, even though he has tossed a high, 17 interceptions. The fleet-footed Watson has also rushed for 581 yards and eight touchdowns one year after rushing for 1,105 yards and a dozen touchdowns. Make no mistake about it, Watson is the type of quarterback that could give Alabama’s stout defense tons of trouble, making him the No.1 reason to bet on the Tigers to win the CFP national championship.

Mike Williams

Clemson’s junior wideout is a flat-out superstar of the highest order. Williams has hauled in a whopping 90 passes for 1,267 yards and 10 touchdowns and is the type of player that could beat Alabama deep a couple of times. Make no mistake about it, the Tide will have account for Williams on each and every snap.

Defense

While Watson and Clemson’s high-powered offense get the majority of attention for their explosive high-scoring ways (39.5 ppg), it is Clemson’s outstanding defense that could lead the Tigers to win the win over Alabama in the national championship. This season, Clemson ranked eighth in total defense (306.9 ypg), 16th against the pass (183.8 ypg), 19th against the run (123.1 ypg) and a stellar seventh in points allowed (17.1 ppg). The Tigers have a handful of future NFL performers on the defensive side of the ball, including junior linebacker Ben Boulware and freshman defensive lineman Clelin Ferrell.

The Dabo Effect

While he doesn’t get mentioned in the same breath as some other elite coaches like Alabama’s Nick Saban, I believe that Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney bring something to the table better than any other head coach in the country and that’s his infectious enthusiasm that I like to call the ‘Dabo Effect’. Swinney has compiled a stellar 88-28 record in nine seasons as the head coach at Clemson while losing two games or less in four of the last five seasons. Swinney reminds me a lot of Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll in the sense that his enthusiasm and ability to get players to believe more than they ever have before is unmatched in the college game today. 61 percent of public bettors like Clemson to cover the CFP national championship spread, so there’s that as well.