Welcome to Before The Snap, For The Win’s college football show where we’ll break down the sport’s trending storylines, examine each week’s biggest matchups and track the College Football Playoff and Heisman Trophy races.
The Tigers from Death Valley are playing the Tigers from Death Valley in the 2019-20 College Football Playoff national championship game Monday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN), and it’s going to be so much fun.
Both undefeated, No. 1 LSU and No. 3 Clemson will face off for a perfect season — and a second consecutive one with a 30-game win streak should Clemson win. LSU destroyed No. 4 Oklahoma while Clemson narrowly topped No. 2 Ohio State in a thriller, and the final two title contenders will have more than two weeks prepare for the biggest game of the season and get healthy.
Five days before the title game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, LSU is a 6-point favorite over Clemson, but that seems likely to change in the couple days before kick off.
Both teams are 14-0 ahead of this final game and are led by brilliant coaches and two of the best quarterbacks in the game. But here’s why LSU is going to win Monday night. (You can also read about why Clemson is going to win.)
3 reasons why LSU will win the national championship
1. Joe Burrow: This is, by far, the most obvious reason here, but it can’t be overlooked. The LSU quarterback has had a truly unbelievable season, practically doubling his stats from a decent 2018 campaign. Through 14 games, he has a 77.6 completion percentage and has thrown for more than 5,200 yards, along with 55 touchdowns. Against the Sooners, he and LSU set all kinds of crazy records. He was the first player to account for eight touchdowns in a bowl game — he threw seven — and his 493 passing yards also set a playoff game record. There’s a reason he won the Heisman Trophy and is the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, and LSU can’t complete its perfect season without him.
LSU making it look EASY.
Burrow ➡️ Jefferson AGAIN #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/LKlERruhbW
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 28, 2019
2. Extra rest: In general, it’s a good thing when you have a large enough lead that your starting quarterback doesn’t have to finish the game. When it happens in a playoff semifinal game, that’s even better. Some LSU starters didn’t have to play the full 60 minutes against Oklahoma, which means a tiny bit of extra rest — even with the two-week break before the title game. And perhaps no one benefited more from LSU’s demolition of the Sooners than running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire. He injured his hamstring in practice during the week leading up to the semifinal game, and coach Ed Orgeron knew he wouldn’t be 100 percent. As one of the best running backs in college football, he only carried the ball twice and was able to rest as his team cruised to victory. A little extra rest might not matter with two weeks without a game, but then again, even the tiniest advantage could be the difference.
3. It’s all coming together: OK, this may seem like a cop-out, but whatever. LSU has had a storybook season with the Heisman winner leading an explosive offense and a coach loved by college football fans everywhere. The Tigers have had a dominant season all around and are beating teams by an average of more than 27 points. Plus, the national championship game is basically at home for them because Baton Rouge is only about an hour away from the Superdome. It just seems like everything is lining up for them.
Michelle’s pick: LSU
Evan’s pick: Clemson
The 2019-20 College Football Playoff national championship game is Monday, January 13 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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