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Yahoo Sports lists two B1G teams that could ‘break up’ Clemson-Alabama title game in 2019
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Monday night will be college football’s fourth installment of Alabama-Clemson. It’s the third time the two teams have met in the national title game in the last four seasons.
Based on the talent that’s returning and the incoming recruiting classes, there’s a good possibility that Clemson and Alabama occupy two of the College Football Playoff spots next season, too. Could we see the fifth straight meeting between the two programs?
We’ll have a year before that question is actually answered, but there’s a pretty good possibility that it happens. So, who could potentially derail that potential meeting next season?
Yahoo! Sports’ Pat Forde created a list of eight teams that could throw a wrench into the annual Alabama-Clemson matchup we’ve become so accustomed to seeing. Two of those teams are from the B1G.
To no surprise, Ohio State and Michigan were the two teams listed from the conference that could put an end to the regular Alabama-Clemson game. Other teams included Georgia, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Notre Dame and Stanford.
On Ohio State:
We’ll see how Ryan Day does replacing a legendary winner in Urban Meyer, but he at least starts from a position of strength in terms of available talent. Assuming Dwayne Haskins goes pro, the eligibility of transfer quarterback Justin Fields becomes paramount. J.K. Dobbins has rushed for nearly 2,500 yards in two seasons, and a deep receiving corps should continue to be well-manned even with several departures. A defense that was young and vulnerable in 2018 should get better in ’19, led by monster rush end Chase Young. There is always ample talent in Columbus.
On Michigan:
Even with three early entries in the NFL draft on defense, the Wolverines return a lot of parts from a 10-win team. Quarterback Shea Patterson, his top two receivers and basically the entire offensive line are back. While the defensive losses are appreciable, there are several returning impact players. The 2017 recruiting class, which ranked fourth nationally, should be fully integrated into the ’19 on-field product.
To see the full list from Forde, you can visit Yahoo! Sports.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB