Tigers One Step Away From Another Perfect Season

Last season, as Clemson was preparing to face Alabama in the College Football Playoff's Championship Game, much of the talk centered around that Alabama team being the best Crimson Tide team in history. Some went as far as to call it the best team in college football history.

Fast forward one year, and heading into this years national title game, much of the talk is centered around the LSU offense being the best in college football history. This coming off of a Fiesta Bowl win over Ohio State in which much of the talk focused on that being the best Buckeyes team in program history.

Hearing about how great their opponents are isn't unchartered territory for this Clemson team. This group has been doing whatever it takes to silence its critics all season, and there's no reason to believe they won't be prepared for the challenge of facing the explosive LSU offense.

“Well, I mean, very similar to what we saw last week,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said of LSU. “A very balanced, very complete football team. Their quarterback is playing at an incredibly high level. Incredibly efficient, accurate. Very smart decision maker...He creates with his legs, very good running back, their offensive line, big, strong, physical. 1-2-6 are elite wideouts, great tight end. There’s really no weakness there."

Red zone defense was one of the biggest factors in the Tigers 29-23 Fiesta Bowl win over Ohio State. The Buckeyes came into the game having scored 59 touchdowns in 72 red zone opportunities. Against the Tigers, they were forced to settle for field goals on each of their three red zone trips, all coming in the games first 23 minutes.

If the Tigers are to get by LSU and win their third national title in the last four seasons, red zone defense could be another big factor. LSU comes in averaging 49 points and over 550 yards of offense per game, with 397 of those yards coming through the air. Like Ohio State, they have been very successful in the red zone, converting 55 of their 70 red zone trips into touchdowns.

Expecting the Clemson defense to shut the LSU offense down is somewhat unrealistic. It's explosive and led by a quarterback in Joe Burrow, who is playing as well as anyone in the country. They have two receivers in JaMarr Chase and Justin Jefferson that make plays all over the field.

If the Tigers are to win this game, it will be imperative to limit the big passing plays, and for the secondary to keep things in front of them. If they can do that, it makes LSU have to earn points by relying on extended drives, and that's where the Tigers stingy red zone defense comes into play.

In 28 trips inside the red zone, Clemson opponents have converted just 10 of those into touchdowns. If Clemson can make LSU drive the field and keep playing the kind of red zone defense they have played all season, their chances of coming out on top increase dramatically.