College Football Championship 2019: Picking Winner for Alabama vs. Clemson

The two titans of college football converge on Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, for the latest chapter in their rivalry Monday night. 

The No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide and No. 2 Clemson Tigers are familiar bedfellows, but a few of the stars on each roster haven't experienced the rivalry yet. 

Quarterbacks Tua Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence weren't on the field for the 2018 Sugar Bowl, but they'll be able to make their respective marks on the National Championship from the first snap. 

Since the dominant programs are evenly matched, it's hard to predict a winner, and there's a good chance the title bout comes down to the final few possessions.

National Championship Prediction

Clemson 37, Alabama 34

In two of the three playoff meetings between the Crimson Tide and Tigers, they totaled more than 60 points with the exception being Alabama's 24-6 win in the Sugar Bowl a year ago. 

Clemson is an improved team on offense because of the addition of Lawrence, who proved he's more than capable of playing well on the sport's biggest stage in the Cotton Bowl. 

What makes Clemson's offense more of a threat than the last showdown with Alabama is it has a quarterback who can sling the ball downfield to a handful of difference-making wide receivers.

Justyn Ross, Tee Higgins, Hunter Renfrow and Amari Rodgers all caught at least four passes in the 30-3 victory over Notre Dame, with Ross and Rodgers both hauling in six catches. 

Richard Shiro/Associated Press

In Clemson's two games against ranked opposition in ACC play, the Tigers spread the ball around with ease through the air. 

In the win over NC State, 12 different Clemson players caught a pass, with Higgins, Ross and Renfrow leading the group with five or more receptions. 

The Tigers did the same thing to Boston College, as Renfrow, Rodgers and Higgins combined for 18 of the team's 29 receptions.

Of course, the well-oiled Clemson passing attack hasn't faced a secondary like Alabama's, but there are ways to exploit Alabama's defensive backs due to the number of weapons Clemson has. 

While Clemson hasn't faced a defensive backfield like Bama's group, Nick Saban's team hasn't faced a collection of wide receivers like the Tigers have. 

Clemson can spread out the Alabama secondary with four-receiver sets, and if the Crimson Tide players stick to their coverage, there could be holes in the middle of the field for running back Travis Etienne to plow through for large gains. 

In an ideal game, Lawrence will spread the ball out early to force Alabama to pressure him with the blitz, which would in turn set up draw plays for Etienne to burst through the gaps and catch the Crimson Tide off guard. 

But Clemson isn't the only team taking the field at Levi's Stadium Monday that can sling the ball around to multiple talented targets. 

Tagovailoa has plenty of weapons at his disposal, including Jerry Jeudy, Jaylen Waddle, Henry Ruggs and DeVonta Smith.

Butch Dill/Associated Press

Smith and Jeudy both caught touchdown passes in the Orange Bowl victory over Oklahoma, while running back Josh Jacobs hauled in the third out of the backfield. 

Tagovailoa spread the ball out as evenly as he could throughout the season, as Jeudy, Ruggs and Waddle combined for 142 receptions, 2,630 yards and 29 touchdowns. 

Smith, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the 2018 National Championship, sits fifth in Alabama's receiving stats, but he still recorded 524 yards and five touchdowns.

The same game plan we suggested for Clemson's offense can be applied to Alabama as well, as the Crimson Tide are more than capable of stretching out Clemson's secondary and driving down the field in a hurry. 

Given all the talent on both offenses, it's hard to imagine the National Championship won't be a high-scoring affair. 

The title game could come down to which team gets the ball last, but there's also a way for a team to pull ahead through its pass rush.

Clemson's defensive line chock of potential first-round picks finds a way to get to Tagovailoa in the second half to hand Lawrence and the offense an opportunity to create separation. 

Dabo Swinney's team takes advantage of the opportunity and goes ahead by double digits in the third quarter. 

Alabama fights back in the fourth quarter, but it falls one possession short of repeating as national champion. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.