Clemson vs. Alabama: Key Storylines for College Football Championship 2017

Storylines abound in Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship between the Clemson Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide.

The most notable, of course, is simple—revenge. This is a rematch of last year's epic game, one fans wouldn't dare complain about after the Tigers looked like the closest thing to a program capable of dethroning the Nick Saban-led Crimson Tide in years.

For Alabama, the storyline is simply continuing the dynasty while churning out league-shifting pro prospects and reloading with more. Clemson and Heisman Trophy candidate Deshaun Watson have the ambitious goal of securing a semblance of revenge while going down in history.

It's never so simple, though. Those are the overarching storylines, with some of the more intricate ones worth a closer look.

CFP Championship 2017

Date: Monday, January 9

Time (ET): 8 p.m.

Location: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Watch: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Alabama's Kryptonite

Remember when Saban appeared on live television and called Watson the best college player since Cam Newton?

Saban knows from firsthand experience. Watson made the Crimson Tide look silly in last year's title game. Alabama escaped with a 45-40 victory, but Watson threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns and added another 73 yards on the ground.

A player totaling almost 500 yards and four touchdowns against Alabama is almost unheard of—and one could argue Watson looked even better this year. 

For their part, the Crimson Tide sound rather happy about a rematch with the player who made them look lost at times last year. Defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick led the way in this regard, according to the Decatur Daily's Alex Byington (via NCAA.com):

"

I'm real excited to get another chance because I didn't play real well against them. The whole defense really didn't play that well...they didn't see the real 'Bama last year. They just a little flash of it. Hopefully this year if we go play right, they're going to get a little taste of the real 'Bama.

"

One can see why the Crimson Tide don't sound too afraid—the defense allowed more than 16 points in a game twice all year and in the CFP semifinal shuttered an incredible Washington offense in a 24-7 win.

Still, Watson's ability to tuck the ball and take off could once again give Alabama fits. Don't forget he now enters with the confidence and understanding he can move the ball against the unit. In his own semifinal game against Ohio State, a 31-0 rout, Watson dropped three total touchdowns before leaving the game early.

There's no leaving Monday's game early, but Watson's past dominance against Alabama creates one of the biggest storylines in years.

A Major Shake-up on Short Notice

Usually it is Alabama's opponent struggling to shuffle things around in preparation for a Crimson Tide team almost unfairly stacked with talent. 

Now, though, it is Alabama that's forced to mix it up on short notice.

This one came out of nowhere, but Alabama announced offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin wouldn't serve in his post for the title game after agreeing to become head coach of Florida Atlantic University, the new vacancy filled by Steve Sarkisian.

"We made the decision because it was in the best interest of our players, our program and for Lane for him to assume his duties at Florida Atlantic," Saban said, according to ESPN.com. "We mutually agreed that this was best for both programs."

Normally, this wouldn't seem like a big deal, unprecedented or not. This is Alabama, after all, and on paper, little should change with Sarkisian at the helm. Everything remains the same, and Saban's staff has the benefit of Sarkisian having prior experience coaching with Kiffin when they spent time together at USC.

One problem—the offense has inexperience under center with freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts. Yanking a coordinator out from underneath a first-year player could have untold effects on the offense.

Kiffin squeezed the most out of the surprising Hurts this year, as the freshman threw for 2,649 yards and 22 touchdowns against nine interceptions with another 891 yards and 12 scores as a rusher.

But going into the toughest game of his career thus far against a freakishly athletic defense capable of making his life miserable, Hurts won't have the guy who helped him get to this point.

The Intimidation Factor

Spoiler—there isn't one.

Other than better recruiting classes than almost every opponent encountered, Alabama goes into each game thriving on an intimidation factor put forth by a well-established brand.

Not Monday.

Clemson didn't just almost beat Alabama last year. It went on to lose a single game by a single point by way of a field goal with less than 10 seconds left. Remember, Clemson went on to shut out Ohio State.

“We knew ‘Bama was going to be back in the national championship,” cornerback Cordrea Tankersley said, according to FoxSports.com's Stewart Mandel. “They’ve been No. 1 all year, they deserve it. So now it’s time for us to go knock them off. It’s time for a new sheriff in town.”

Linebacker Ben Boulware echoed these sentiments, according to Gene Sapakoff of the Charleston Post and Courier:

Per Mandel, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney even went as far as suggesting this year's Clemson team is better than the one he trotted out last year.

Of course, Alabama could make the claim it is even better this year as well after going undefeated and reloading with talent at spots many programs can't fill for years. The roster also holds a simple mental advantage in knowing it won last year and can do so again.

It's not often college football spits out a championship rematch. It seems even less likely the journey would set a pair of equally matched teams against each other with neither side giving an inch in the mental warfare before the game.

The standoff makes for a fitting championship game if there ever was one. 

Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified. All betting information courtesy of OddsShark.

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.