By Mike Ferris
1.) Clemson will knock o1 Oklahoma in the Capital One Orange Bowl. Clemson is undefeated and has showed that they can win the close ones. Deshaun Watson is a Heisman Finalist and has thrown for over 3,500 yards and 30 touchdowns this year. He has added 11 touchdowns on the ground and must be good against the Sooners if the Tigers are going to advance. Clemson holds the longest winning streak in college football and is the only undefeated team in the playoff. The Sooners are good, but Oklahoma doesn’t have the defense to slow Clemson down enough.
2.) Alabama will have no trouble with Michigan State in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. The Spartans have no doubt been good this year, but let’s be honest – the Big Ten is not the SEC. Alabama has one loss in the daunting SEC against a very good Mississippi team that landed in the Sugar Bowl, showing they are no joke. The Crimson Tide’s running back Derrick Henry has ran for just under 2,000 yards and 23 touchdowns and should have no problem dismantling the Spartans like he has everyone else lately.
3. If Alabama and Clemson meet in the National Championship, it’ll be a matchup between the two best teams and the two best players in the country. Watson and Henry belong in New York City for the Heisman Presentation and fans should hope that these teams, which have been ranked first and second for weeks now, match up against each other because that would truly be a great game. Alabama’s defense ranks third in the country only allowing 258 YPG and 14 PPG, while Clemson’s o1ense averages 511 YPG and 38.5 PPG. This would be a battle between an explosive o1ense and a lockdown defense.
4. Henry will win the Heisman. Alabama’s Henry, Clemson’s Watson and Stanford’s Christian McCaffery were the three players invited to the Heisman Trophy Presentation. Henry has rushed the ball 339 times for 1,986 yards and 23 touchdowns. He has an absurd average of 5.9 yards per carry. Watson has complete 69.5 percent of his passes for 3,512 yards and 30 touchdowns. On top of the passing statistics, he has ran for 887 yards and 11 touchdowns. McCaffery has ran 319 times for 1,847 yards and eight touchdowns. In addition to the rushing numbers, he has 540 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Personally, I would tell you Watson should win, but Henry is looking like a lock to win at this point.