For the last five years, the college football landscape has essentially consisted of Alabama and Clemson, then everybody else.
Sure, Ohio State won the inaugural College Football Playoff national championship back in 2014, and Georgia came up just short against the Crimson Tide in the 2017 CFP title game.
But the simple fact of the matter is Clemson and Alabama have met in three of the last four national championship games. And after three weeks, it’s starting to look like the Crimson Tide and Tigers are destined to meet again this coming January on the sport’s biggest stage with all the ‘chips’ on the line.
Until a program (or a handful of programs) can come along and knock ‘Bama and/or Clemson off of their respective throne, the college football food chain will continue to look a lot like the cartoon above.
With Nick Saban running the show in Tuscaloosa, and Dabo Swinney manning the home sidelines in ‘Death Valley,’ it’s hard to imagine either program dropping off any time soon. If anything, the Tide and Tigers will likely continue to separate themselves from the pack. One quick glance at ESPN’s class of 2020 recruiting rankings will reaffirm this.
Karl F. Wimer is an award-winning cartoonist and illustrator of sports, business, and all things random, published in books, magazines, and newspapers across five continents. His experience as a two-sport college athlete and youth coach provides unique perspective on the world of sports. Years of work in the trenches as a marketing executive inform his visual commentary on the business world. A favorite recurring role with a strong fundraising element is his annual effort detailing the adventures of the mascot of the US Paralympic Ski and Snowboard team. See more of his work at karlwimer.com and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
