The dream season for LSU and quarterback Joe Burrow will end about 80 miles from campus in New Orleans, which will provide the ultimate home-field advantage. Clemson will try to spoil the party, win back-to-back national titles and further cement its claim as the nation’s most dominant program.
After a longer-than-normal regular season and an earlier-than-normal set of semifinals, the College Football Playoff National Championship is set: Tigahs vs. Tigers, Coach O vs. Dabo, Burrow vs. Trevor Lawrence, Death Valley vs. Death Valley.
LSU aims for its first national title since the 2007 season, when it beat Ohio State in New Orleans.
Clemson returns to the site of its last loss — to Alabama in the 2017 CFP semifinal at the Sugar Bowl — and aims for its 30th consecutive win and its third championship in four seasons.
The only downside: We have to wait more than two weeks for kickoff.
Here’s a first look at the Jan. 13 matchup at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome (8 p.m. ET on ESPN and the ESPN App).
Quarterback spotlight
Sometimes Heisman Trophy winners coast to the finish. Burrow continues to ascend, and his best may be yet to come. His record-setting season continued in the Peach Bowl, as he tossed seven touchdown passes, all in the first half, to set the CFP single-game and LSU bowl records. Burrow lit up Oklahoma for 493 pass yards, his third game of more than 470 yards this season. He has 17 passing touchdowns and no interceptions in his last four games.
Lawrence also evolved his game in the semifinal win over Ohio State, but did so with his legs more than his arm. He led the team in both rushes (16) and yards (107), and broke off a 67-yard scoring dash shortly before halftime, as Clemson stuck with a risk-reward plan to repeatedly run its quarterback. Lawrence also proved unshakable on the game-winning drive, leading Clemson 94 yards in only four plays and 78 seconds, and finding Travis Etienne for a 34-yard score. Although Burrow won all the awards this year, Lawrence has the national championship already on his resume, and won’t flinch in the spotlight.
Who could be this year’s Justyn Ross (Clemson receiver who had 301 receiving yards and three touchdowns in last year’s CFP)?
LSU: Justin Jefferson. Overshadowed by teammate Ja’Marr Chase, the Biletnikoff Award winner, Jefferson starred in the semifinal against Oklahoma, setting a CFP record with four touchdown catches — all in the first half. Jefferson finished the game with 14 catches for 227 yards and the four scores, setting Peach Bowl records in all three categories. He and Chase are tied with 18 touchdown receptions this season, an LSU record and tied for the SEC single-season record.
Clemson: Travis Etienne. Clemson didn’t have an obvious offensive star other than Lawrence in the semifinal, and Etienne wouldn’t be sneaking up on anyone like Ross did last year. But he led the Tigers with 98 receiving yards and two touchdowns against Ohio State, to go along with 36 rush yards and a touchdown. Etienne, who grew up in Jennings, Louisiana, picked Clemson over LSU and will face his home-state school on home soil in what likely will be his final college game.
Matchup to watch
Clemson’s receivers vs. LSU’s defensive backs: Both position groups have incredible tradition and will send multiple future NFL players onto the field at the Superdome. Clemson’s tandem of Ross and Tee Higgins will line up against LSU standout cornerbacks Derek Stingley Jr. and Kristian Fulton, while safety Grant Delpit, the Thorpe Award winner, prowls the back end. Ohio State held Ross and Higgins to 10 catches for 80 yards and no touchdowns, and both Clemson wideouts were banged up in the semifinal.
1:40
Dabo Swinney reflects on the final moments of Clemson’s PlayStation Fiesta Bowl victory over Ohio State, including Nolan Turner’s game-winning interception.
Defensive coordinator showcase
LSU’s Dave Aranda ($2.5 million) and Clemson’s Brent Venables ($2.2 million) are the nation’s two highest-paid assistants, and each will have his hands full on Jan. 13. Aranda’s defense made significant strides in the past four games, and limited Oklahoma to 322 yards in the semifinal. Venables’ defense denied Ohio State from the end zone on three red-zone trips in the first half, which kept an early deficit manageable and allowed Lawrence and the offense to rally.
X-factors
LSU: LB K’Lavon Chaisson and TE Thaddeus Moss. Chaisson has fueled LSU’s defensive renaissance since a leaky performance Nov. 16 at Ole Miss. He has 4.5 sacks in the last three games, including two in Saturday’s semifinal win. His ability to pressure Lawrence will be critical for the Tigers. Moss had a season-high 99 receiving yards, highlighted by a 62-yard grab, against Oklahoma and has four or more receptions in six games. LSU’s receivers are special, but Clemson can’t lose track of the junior tight end.
Clemson: LB Isaiah Simmons and S K’Von Wallace. Simmons showed against Ohio State why he’s such a special and versatile player, who can impact games from multiple areas of the field. The Butkus Award winner picked off Justin Fields and was constantly around the ball. Although Clemson allowed 320 pass yards to Ohio State, the secondary did a nice job of limiting busts (no passes longer than 24 yards). Wallace had a sack and two pass breakups. He and his fellow defensive backs will need their best effort of the season against Burrow, who is poised to set the NCAA completion percentage record (77.6) despite operating an offense that repeatedly attacks downfield.
Prediction: I’ll stick with my selection day prediction. Burrow rallies LSU to victory and finds Jefferson for the game-winning score. LSU 38, Clemson 37