Tigers ready to play after touching down in New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS — Clemson linebacker Chad Smith wishes he and his teammates could play Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship today.

The Tigers arrived in New Orleans Friday in advance of the national title game against LSU, which will be played at the Superdome in New Orleans. When the two Tigers tangle just blocks away from the famous Bourbon Street, it will have been 16 days since the national semifinals.

“We are ready,” said Smith after the Tigers arrived at 4:03 p.m., central time at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. “We honestly wish we could play the game today, but it is a process and we still have one more day for preparation and we are looking…