ESPN Analyst Says Fans Are Jealous, Not Bored, of Alabama-Clemson Sequels
Clemson squares off against Alabama for the national championship in college football Monday night for the third time in the last four years.
In 2015, No. 2 Alabama beat No. 1 Clemson by a score of 45-40. In 2016, No. 2 Clemson beat No. 1 Alabama 35-31.
They played last year in the College Football Playoffs, too, as No. 4 Alabama beat No. 1 Clemson 24-6 to advance to the championship game, where they beat Georgia 26-23 in overtime.
This year, Alabama is ranked No. 1 and Clemson is No. 2, so, obviously … Clemson will win … as the No. 1 ranked teams have not fared well in the matchups.
However, many fans are not enthused by the prospect of seeing these two teams in the championship game again. Should they be? That was the question USA Today’s For the Win posed to ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit.
“I think it’s more envious of the teams that are winning than anything. I think they’d love their team to be there, and they’re just frustrated. I’ve always said when people say they’re tired of it, they’re tired of seeing Clemson and Alabama be dominant. I think if the truth be told, they would love to see their coaches out-recruit Alabama and Clemson and get better players and develop them and try to beat these teams,” Herbstreit said.
BEAT THEMMMMMM!!!!!! https://t.co/Rl7sbPVN8J
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) December 30, 2018
“So if you’re tired of it, then ask your coaches to raise the bar and change the narrative of these teams getting together every year for the championship,” he added.
That’s easier said than done, but it is doable, Herbstreit said.
“Syracuse the last two years has given Clemson all they can handle. Knocked them off at the Carrier Dome (last season), and this year, they had a chance to beat them in Death Valley,” Herbstreit told Michelle Martinelli with For the Win.
“Georgia had Alabama down 28-14 and until Jalen Hurts came off the bench for an injured Tua (Tagovailoa), it looked like Georgia was going to be able to knock off Alabama,” the ESPN analyst added.
“So I think people are over simplifying this and basically saying it’s not fair that these teams get the best players. Yeah, they get great players, but so does Ohio State, so does Georgia, so does Oklahoma,” Herbstreit said.
If you look at the rankings of the schools that have done the best recruiting in the class of 2019, Alabama is indeed No. 1, but Clemson is 6th.
Georgia, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, and LSU are all ahead of Clemson, according to 247 Sports.
Herbstreit was asked how this rivalry compares with others.
” … Alabama is the Darth Vader of college football if you’re not an Alabama fan because they win so much. And Clemson just happens to be a team that’s been bold enough and talented enough to get into the ring with them and hang around and, one time, knock them off,” Herbstreit said.
On the day of the National Championship, @KirkHerbstreit calls Alabama the “Darth Vader of college football.” One of many great nuggets in this interview from @MMartinelli4 https://t.co/huZnCrLT40 via @forthewin
— Caroline Kenny (@carolinerkenny) January 7, 2019
“If you put your own rooting bias aside, I don’t know how you can’t be excited to watch two teams — who are the best — go at it. It’s kind of like when Ali and Frazier were the two best. It didn’t diminish their fight when they got together a second or third time. It made it more intriguing,” he added.
“I think Clemson and Dabo Swinney — they were once on the outside looking in at teams like Alabama and Ohio State. And what they did was created a winning culture … ” Herbstreit said.
Herbstreit is not afraid to defend his positions on Twitter, in fact he relishes the Twitter battles.
“I actually enjoy it. I think 90 percent of the people I hear from are positive and like-minded people, and you get 10 percent that are wack jobs. And I tend to enjoy responding to those people because I think the rest of my followers find it entertaining,” he said.
“When they basically stick their middle finger up at me or tell me to go to hell, I’ll tell them to have a great Tuesday.”
Kickoff is tonight at 8:00 PM. Will you be watching?
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