TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Even though this will be his last game with the University of Alabama, national championship games have become familiar for defensive coordinator Kirby Smart.
This will be his fourth as Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator, and thanks to the BCS and College Football Playoffs, all have seen matchups of No. 1 vs. No. 2.
While statistically Alabama is pretty similar to its national title teams of 2009, 2011 and 2012, the opponents have been as different as the venues. Should it defeat Clemson in Arizona on Monday (ESPN, 7:30 p.m. CT) it’ll have a clean sweep of what used to be the four BCS title sites, Pasadena, New Orleans and Miami being the others.