Can Alabama-Clemson IV bail out the college football playoff again?

Over the last three years, only one of the six semifinal games of the College Football Playoff was worth all the fuss – Georgia’s 54-48 double-overtime win against Oklahoma. And the fact that the Bulldogs wound up playing an SEC rival for the national title caused other problems that the CFP committee has had to address.

So here we go again. Monday night, the two best teams in the country will square off to decide the championship and try, once again, to make everyone forget what a dud the football Final Four has become. Despite a contract that runs through 2026, the hue and cry for an expanded playoff has grown louder than ever.

It bothers some fans that Alabama and Clemson are playing for the fourth straight year, a third time for the Dr. Pepper trophy. But if it is like the last three championship games, it will erase another day of sorry semi- finals that saw Clemson embarrass overrated Notre Dame and Alabama lead Oklahoma by four touchdowns in the first half.

Think about it. No two NFL rivals have met in the playoffs for four straight years. And two teams that are separated by only the state of Georgia with the oldest and youngest glamour coaches in the game. The Crimson Tide of Nick Saban and the Tigers of Dabo Swinney are almost mirror images – wide-open offenses and bruising defenses.

Both are also coming off quarterback controversies over the last year. Alabama rallied to beat Georgia last season when freshman star Tua Tagovailoa replaced starter Jalen Hurts and won it for the Tide in overtime. Tua earned the job this season but left the SEC title game against Georgia and was rescued by Hurts in dramatic fashion.

Swinney made a controversial and courageous decision when he replaced two-year starter Kelly Bryant with freshman passer Trevor Lawrence early this season, because Clemson needed a more explosive offense to play with Alabama. So the QB battle should be the spectacular highlight of the game at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara.

Ticket prices for the game in Northern California have cratered to face value because both deep South fan bases live so far away. Despite whoever wins, some empty seats are another problem that may plague the CFP selection committee when it reconvenes at the conference table.

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