The time has finally come. The much anticipated College Football Championship is now here. In the 2020 championship, two powerhouse schools in LSU and Clemson will square off on January 13th to declare the national champion. Both squads have had very different roads to get here. LSU opened up the season as a top 10 team, however, not many people had many expectations for this team because of the loaded SEC. With teams such as Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Auburn being in the same division as LSU, many people believed that LSU would be middle of the pack this year in College Football. LSU exceeded expectations, going 8-0 in conference play with huge wins over Georgia, Alabama, and Auburn. Led by senior quarterback Joe Burrow, this LSU team came to play this year, entering the championship with a record of 14-0 after handily beating Oklahoma in the College Football Playoff National Semifinal. Clemson, on the other hand, opened the year at number 1 in the country and they have stayed atop ever since. Following an early upset scare against North Carolina, Clemson routed the ACC, beating Virginia in the ACC championship by 45 points. Clemson went 13-0 in the regular season, also finishing 8-0 in conference play this year. Last weekend, Clemson was up against a tough opponent in Ohio State, a team that cruised to a Big 10 Title for the third year in a row. After falling behind 16-0, Clemson, led by Sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence, came back and beat Ohio State 29-23. 

Going into the National Championship game, Clemson and LSU are the final two undefeated teams in all FBS. One team is going to have to win and remain unbeaten in order to win the national championship. Looking towards the game, there are some X-factors on both teams that I would like to point out. For LSU, on offense, Joe Burrow must continue shocking people if LSU wants to win this game. Joe Burrow has led his team to a 14-0 record, already proving many doubters wrong winning the 2019 Heisman Trophy as well. But Burrow must continue his high-level play if LSU wants to win. Junior wideout Justin Jefferson of LSU must have a big game for LSU to win as well. In the semifinal game against Oklahoma, Jefferson went OFF, finishing the game with 4 TDs and 227 yards. He doesn’t need to do that much for LSU to win, however, he will be a different maker for LSU’s offense if they want to maintain the level of play that they are at right now. Going over to Clemson now, sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence needs to remain clutch in big-time games for Clemson to pull off this win. Lawrence has been in this situation before as he is 3-0 as a starting quarterback in the College Football Playoff. He has been here before, and he must contain remain calm and collected under the big lights. Whether it be through getting a first down with his arm or his legs, Lawrence must come ready to play for Clemson to knock off LSU. Another key X-factor for Clemson is junior running back Travis Etienne. Etienne has been one of the most efficient running backs this year, with 1,932 scrimmage yards entering the game against LSU. Etienne has been an efficient runner his whole career at Clemson as well, where he needs just 6 yards in the game against LSU to be the all-time leader in rushing yards in a career at Clemson. Etienne must continue to gain yards, both rushing and receiving, if Clemson wants to win this game against LSU, much like he did against Ohio State in the semifinals where he had 134 scrimmage yards and 3 TDs. 

This game is going to be one of the best College Football games in the next couple of years. Two powerhouse teams face off against each other in the battle of the 2020 College National Championship. My prediction for the game is a 42-38 LSU win. Joe Burrow has been playing on another level this year, and I think he continues this level of play even against Clemson’s top tier defense. I think that this quarterback battle will be one for the ages; however, I think that Burrow will slightly outplay Lawrence, giving LSU their first championship since 2007.