Alabama is one of the greatest college football teams ever assembled, and has a chance to become the first team in modern history to go 15-0 tonight with a second straight College Football Playoff championship over Clemson.
That chance at history is as big of a reason why the Crimson Tide won't win tonight as it is a reason that it will.
Alabama has won 26 straight games and has crushed just about everybody in it's path during this season's 14-0 run, winning just one game by less than double digits all season, a 48-43 comeback win at Ole Miss back in September.
The Tide defense has been so dominant it has allowed just 15 touchdowns in 14 games this season and scored 11 touchdowns themselves.
Alabama is the Golden State Warriors, a team so dominant it's hard to imagine anyone beating them until they actually do it.
But as we saw last June with the Cavaliers, the right team directed by a star player can be capable of knocking them off.
Golden State, like Alabama, was the reigning champions on the verge of a historical season (after winning a record 73 games in the regular season). The Warriors had the MVP in Stephen Curry and a high-powered offensive attack. They even led 3-1 in the NBA Finals.
No one gave the Cavs a chance.
But as good as Curry is, Lebron was still the best player on the court in that series (and any other time he steps on a basketball floor). He put together three legendary performances in a row to lead the Cavs to three straight wins and deliver Cleveland it's first professional sports title since 1964.
Can DeShaun Watson channel his inner-Lebron James and lead the Tigers to their first national championship since 1981?
Watson will be the best player on the field tonight in Tampa. A quarterback that's thrown for 4100 yards in back to back seasons while guiding the Tigers to a 27-2 record and two trips to the national championship game.
If the Heisman Trophy was handed out after the postseason, Watson likely would have won it over Louisville's sensational dual threat quarterback Lamar Jackson. But the trophy he really wants is the one given to the College Football Playoff champion.
Like Lebron, Watson won't back down. He nearly led them to a win over the Tide in last year's title game, throwing for 405 yards and four touchdowns in the 45-40 defeat. We saw that night that Watson and his stable of quality receivers are capable of attacking a secondary that is the weakest link of an outstanding Alabama defense.
Throw in the addition of leading receiver and likely top 10 pick Mike Williams, who missed nearly all of last season with a broken vertebrae in his neck, and the Tigers should be brimming with confidence.
Alabama has been the best team in the country from the opening kickoff this season, and may be Nick Saban's most dominant team ever. But Clemson is playing it's best football right now led by the best player in college football.
And as we saw in the NBA Finals last summer, even historically great teams can meet their match.
