Clemson-Alabama Is the Perfect 'Good vs. Evil' National Championship Matchup

Superman vs. Lex Luthor. Road Runner vs. Wile E. Coyote. Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader. Clemson vs. Alabama. It's time to pick a side, then sit back and enjoy the fight.

The College Football Playoff was created to give us the best possible matchup for the national title each year, hopefully one that will appeal to both diehards and casual fans. The Clemson Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide will do just that, and it's not just because they're the two highest seeds and both won their semifinals on New Year's Eve in dominant fashion.

They also represent good vs. evil, a scrappy newcomer—albeit one that's unbeaten and riding a 17-game win streak—matched up against a longstanding power that everyone loves to hate.

It's Little Red Riding Hood against the Big, Bad Wolf. Batman against the Joker. Dabo Swinney against Nick Saban.

Which side are you on?

Do you like the underdog story, that of Clemson and the "aw shucks" approach Swinney projects even while oozing with confidence? Or do you prefer to go with the one that has gotten it done before, making it seem so easy sometimes?

It's an Alabama program that under Saban will be making its fourth trip to the national title game in the past seven seasons (and has won convincingly in the previous three visits).

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This is just perception we're talking about, of course. There's nothing better or worse about either program or either coach, unless you take umbrage with the fact Saban's squad seems to have a standing reservation on the final list for every top recruit, while whenever Clemson signs a 5-star prospect it's breaking news.

Swinney helps his cause by pushing the "nobody believed in us" agenda, while also throwing pizza parties and renting out amusement parks. Seems silly, sure, but it's produced 56 wins in the past five seasons.

Saban doesn't have time for such nonsense; he has a business to run, and as a result he comes off as unlikeable. Unless you're a 'Bama fan, and then you'd want nothing less from your coach.

It's more because of the path each team has taken to get to this point, diverging routes that lend themselves to taking on different personas. Call them their origin stories.

Swinney, the Alabama alum who spent the first eight years of his coaching carer in Tuscaloosa, was a heck of a recruiter who had never been a head coach. But midway through the 2008 season, Tommy Bowden resigned after a 3-3 start (that included a 34-10 loss to Alabama) and the Tigers' job was suddenly his.

No one knew if he could actually develop talent on top of acquiring it, yet now Swinney is arguably one of the top coaches in FBS.

Saban, on the other hand, is at a level that only he and Ohio State's Urban Meyer are associated with, and with such achievement comes a reputation borne of others' jealousy.

Swinney has long been mentioned as an eventual replacement for Saban at Alabama whenever he decides to call it quits (or go somewhere else). That'll be one of many storylines discussed between now and Jan. 11, and in terms of the good vs. evil theme, it adds a pro wrestling-like crossing of the aisle. Might the hero someday turn heel?

Clemson and Alabama play a different style of football. The Tigers are among the many schools that like to spread the ball out and maximize the athleticism of their quarterback, the masterful Deshaun Watson. Alabama flips its nose at new-fangled uptempo attacks, preferring to ram its Heisman Trophy-winning running back down the throats of opponents enough to make them forget the Crimson Tide can throw the ball deep.

And lastly, this matchup provides another opportunity to take a position in the conference supremacy debate.

Are you an SEC backer, wanting the self-proclaimed best league in the world to again lay claim to its place atop the college football mountain? Or are you part of the "anything but the SEC" camp, Clemson fan or not, that wants to see that conference fail to win a title for a third straight year?

Whichever side you're on, know this: Whatever happens, we'll all be winners. The semifinals were for the blowouts; the championship game will be the real deal.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter, @realBJP.