ESPN mock tournament sends Tigers to national championship

A college basketball-like tournament in college football would produce some interesting matchups in ESPN's projection.

Brandon Rink - Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer - Tuesday, March 18 2025

ESPN did its yearly exercise of examining what a basketball-like-sized tournament would look like in college football, and it has Dabo Swinney's Tigers going deep.

The 64-team bracket features Clemson taking on Alabama in the national championship and falling to the Crimson Tide there.

"It's not the first time Swinney has gone up against his alma mater in the national championship game," ESPN's Chris Low writes of a Buckeye battle. "It happened in 2015 with Alabama winning, again in 2016 with Clemson winning and then in 2018 with the Tigers claiming their second national title under Swinney. So, now, welcome to Part 4. All the gnashing of teeth in Tuscaloosa over Kalen DeBoer's first season as coach when he lost (gasp) four games has quieted. Alabama is playing its best football of the season with some of its younger players and veterans stepping up in key roles. But it's the most electrifying player on Alabama's roster, receiver Ryan Williams, who wins it for the Tide, their 19th "claimed" national championship. After Antonio Williams gives Clemson the lead with a 46-yard touchdown catch down the right sideline, Ryan Williams caps a 77-yard drive for Alabama with a 2-yard touchdown catch on a pick/rub play. Sound familiar? With Clemson fans cursing the play the same way Alabama did back in 2016, DeBoer breaks through in his second season. His statue on the Walk of Champions is up by the start of the 2026 season."

Clemson's path to the title game is littered with B1G and SEC foes.

The Tigers top 15-seed Mississippi State, 7-seed Auburn, 3-seed Ole Miss, 1-seed Georgia and then 1-seed Ohio State in the Final Four.

"The first time these teams played was back in 1978, with Clemson winning 17-15 in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida," Low writes. "It was a blah game until legendary coach Woody Hayes punched Clemson's Charlie Bauman on the sideline late in the fourth quarter after Bauman intercepted a pass. Hayes was fired the next day. This national semifinal game doesn't include any extracurricular fireworks that rise to that level, but Klubnik and Ohio State's Julian Sayin provide plenty of fireworks on the field. They both pass for more than 300 yards, but freshman running back Gideon Davidson delivers the winning 24-yard touchdown run for the Tigers."

Swinney is a noted hoops fan and gave his message to the men's basketball Tigers last week ahead of March Madness action: