Clemson seeks redemption against Alabama

Glendale, Ariz. – To comprehend why this coming Alabama-Clemson rematch isn't stale or blasé, it helped to study the faces of Ohio State football players Saturday night as they exited both the Fiesta Bowl field and the calendar year 2016.

They play for the kingdom of Ohio State, which does not go around losing 31-0, yet their faces carried a dose of shock and hint of haunt. They had become that rare case of manhandlers getting manhandled, taking that 31-0 beating from Clemson in a College Football Playoff semifinal.

An unforeseen night in Arizona set up a loud backdrop for the College Football Playoff finale come Jan. 9 in Tampa, Fla. It embodied something Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said back in August, as Clemson prepared to follow its 45-40 loss to Alabama in last season's national championship game.

"This team has an experience to draw on," Swinney said. "They've made a national-championship run. They've been in a playoff.

"As I've said many times around here, it's one thing to think you're good enough, it's another thing to know you are."

The Clemson Tigers clearly know they are. "This year, our motto was 'Embrace The Target,' " defensive tackle Carlos Watkins said. "We knew we were going to get everybody's best shot. If they beat us, it makes their season."

Pitt actually defeated Clemson, 43-42 on Nov. 12, a singular achievement for the Tigers' 2016 foes.

"I mean, first of all, we were just confident all week that we would be able to do our job," defensive end Christian Wilkins said.

Now, they've injected major oomph to the curious equation of this rematch. There's evidence Alabama is better than last year — 14-0 with not a single fourth-quarter scare worth shuddering about — but that's true of Clemson, too. Swinney sees "more competitive depth" and said: "We have more guys that can go play winning football. Last year we were very top-heavy. We had a very good first group, but we were a lot of freshmen behind them. And now we're just more experienced, more guys that can go play good, functional, winning football. That's the biggest difference."

They also bring back Deshaun Watson, the quarterback who will try to solve Alabama's great defense, one year after solving Alabama's great defense. Alabama's defense had just shut out Michigan State 38-0, but Watson made the unit look misshapen, throwing for 405 yards and rushing for 73, and since then from time to time, Alabama coach Nick Saban has called him the toughest quarterback for whom to prepare since Auburn's Cam Newton, the 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player.

Told of Saban's view on Saturday night, Watson said: "Appreciate Nick Saban for the compliment and the comment. I just try to play my best and win games. And my job is to make good decisions whenever adversity hits, make sure all my guys are poised and calm and make sure that I am poised and calm, because they go the way I go."

Here it comes again, then, only with more mustard: the Alabama defense that hasn't allowed more than 16 points in a game since Oct. 8 against Arkansas, against the Clemson quarterback who practices a clear, calm mastery.