Alabama vs. Clemson: TV Schedule, Start Time for 2016 CFP Championship

After a long and mostly unexciting bowl season, the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship is here. The Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers will square off Monday night at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The contest that's set to decide this year's national champion will kick off at 8:30 p.m. ET. ESPN will televise the game, and fans can stream it on WatchESPN. If you're taking a road trip, you can also listen to the contest on ESPN Radio.

Heisman Trophy-winning running back Derrick Henry will lead the Alabama offense against a stout Clemson defense. As Sam Cooper of Yahoo Sports reported, star defensive end Shaq Lawson expects to play Monday night despite a knee injury, which is good news for the Tigers.

But with or without Lawson, Clemson is confident it can slow down Alabama's all-world runner.

Tigers safety Jayron Kearse told John Talty of AL.com the Tigers saw ways to bottle up Henry in Alabama's game against Michigan State: "I know he can be stopped," he said. "We watch film and we see weaknesses. We watched the Michigan State game and they held him to 60-something yards, so it can be done. [Defensive coordinator Brent Venables] has to put us in a position to do that."

Should the Tigers render Henry ineffective, it will be on Alabama quarterback Jake Coker to lead the Tide offense downfield. Coker, to his credit, did throw for 286 yards and two touchdowns against Michigan State. If he can put up similar numbers against Clemson, Alabama will be in good position to win the game.

On the other side of the ball, the Alabama defense will have the difficult task of slowing down Clemson signal-caller Deshaun Watson, who can make plays with his arm and his legs. Also a Heisman finalist, Watson can be difficult to corral once he escapes the pocket.

Both teams won comfortably in their semifinal games on New Year's Eve, but don't expect that to be the case Monday night. This game will likely be close throughout, and as Venables told Talty, "The most physical team is going to win."