Last year, Alabama entered the College Football Playoff against an Ohio State team that the football world thought had little chance of going toe-to-toe against an SEC power team.
That contest ended in an upset loss that the Crimson Tide have used as inspiration to fuel this season's title campaign.
The motivation to prevent a repeat of last year is a big part of why Alabama is considered a prohibitive favorite over Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T. There is a feeling that this team simply won't let this sort of upset happen again.
The irony is, much as Ohio State turned out to be a surprisingly unfavorable matchup for the Crimson Tide last season, Clemson's strengths and Alabama's weaknesses make the Tigers exactly the type of team the Crimson Tide would not want to face right now.
(Note: Unless otherwise specified, the metrics referenced below are from games against Power 5 opponents and the rankings indicate placement among the 65 Power 5 teams or qualifying players from those teams.)