Nick Saban on Clemson: One of the top programs in the country

Getting to Alabama’s level is what every college football program strives for, and Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban believes Clemson isn’t far behind.

Saban said during a press conference Sunday morning he’s impressed with the job Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has done with the Tigers. Clemson’s in the national title game for the second consecutive year and has six seasons in a row with at least 10 wins.

“I think Clemson and what Dabo has done with his program, there is one of the top college football programs in the country,” Saban said. “They do an outstanding job of recruiting. They do an outstanding job of coaching. They do an outstanding job of developing players. I can’t tell you how much respect we have for the job that they do.”

Swinney told Saban in March that Clemson and Alabama would meet for the title again, and Saban isn’t surprised Swinney ended up being right.

“It’s no surprise to me that they are where they are relative to last year’s team and this year’s team,” Saban said.

BO A LOAD

Clemson will have the task of slowing down Alabama running back Bo Scarbrough on Monday.

The 6-2, 228 pound sophomore is tough to bring down once he gets going because of his size and physicality.

Clemson linebacker Ben Boulware sees similarities between Scarbrough and last year’s Heisman winner, who also played for Alabama, Derrick Henry.

“They’re pretty close to identical. Similar size, run the same way. I think (Bo’s) probably a little bit faster than him,” Boulware said. “It’s not fun, but we’re not scared. We respect them. We respect the rest of their offense, but we’re ready for the game. We’re not afraid.”

D TO O

Alabama is the best in the nation at scoring on defense. The Crimson Tide has forced 27 turnovers and scored 11 defensive touchdowns.

Swinney said Clemson can’t afford to let Alabama score a defensive touchdown if it wants to win the title.

“They get their hands on a ball and you watch them, it’s like instant. They become offense quick,” Swinney said. “Guys are blocking quick. They expect it to happen. That’s just unbelievable when you think about it. That’s huge. If they don’t score on defense or special teams we’ve got a really good chance, but the formula for them has been scoring on D and scoring on special teams against just about everybody.”

This story was originally published January 8, 2017 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Nick Saban on Clemson: One of the top programs in the country."