Are you picking the Tigers to win Monday’s national college title game? I am, too. 
The big question is, which Tigers from which Death Valley, Clemson or LSU?
If you’re from South Carolina, as most of us are, you want Clemson to win. But based on LSU’s runaway game against Oklahoma, you have to be a little concerned. I am, too.
Both teams are coached by former interims – Dabo Swinney at Clemson and Ed Orgeron at LSU – after their bosses were sacked.
Both teams are led by NFL caliber quarterbacks. Both have high-scoring offenses and stingy defenses. 
LSU’s defense held the Oklahoma offense, which averaged 554.2 yards a game, to 322 yards.
Clemson’s defense limited Ohio State to 3 field goals inside the red zone
That’s Burreaux
My friends in Ohio are, of course, pulling for LSU. That’s because LSU’s quarterback Joe Burrow – or Burreaux, as they spell it in Louisiana – is a former Ohio State bench warmer.
Burrow led LSU’s 63-28 thrashing of Oklahoma in the elimination game. 
Why a player with his kind of Heisman-quality talent had to transfer suggests LSU has better coaching.
This season, Burrow set college football’s all-time record for completions at 77.9%, led all QBs with 48 touchdown passes, helped LSU beat 5 top-10 teams, beat Oklahoma with 515 yards on offense, set 5 NCAA records and won the Heisman Trophy.
Burrow said after the Oklahoma victory he wants to play “the perfect game.” 
“We think we need to score every time we touch the ball,” he said.
This is Lawrence
Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence remains undefeated as a starter in 25 college games with a 29-23 comeback victory over Ohio State. 
He led Clemson to the national title last year as a true freshman, sending former starter Kelly Bryant to Missouri to get playing time.
Clemson clearly played weaker teams in the ACC than LSU did in the SEC. 
Only twice this season did Clemson trail by a TD but came back to win. 
It had to be a shock for Clemson to trail Ohio State by 16 points in the 1st half. 
Clemson briefly took the lead in the 3rd quarter but scored the winning touchdown in the Fiesta Bowl with 1:49 left in the game.
In the huddle before the final scoring drive, Swinney said his quarterback told his offensive colleagues, “Let’s go win this thing.”
In lofty company
Clemson has won 29 straight games and aims for its 3rd national college title in 4 years. In winning, they will join Alabama and Nebraska as the only colleges to win the title 3 times.
The bookies have made LSU a 5-point favorite. 
I like those odds. If anything more is needed to fire up Clemson, it’s to be rated as underdogs.
I’ll stick my neck out and predict Clemson wins in a high-scoring game 42 - 38.

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