God never plays favorites.
He likes underdogs.
So He will be supporting Clemson (+5.5) to defeat LSU two weeks from tonight in New Orleans.
And the reason is obvious.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney accepted Jesus Christ into his life at age 16 and he's been invoking the name of the good Lord ever since.
The well-preserved 50-year-old leader of the Clemson flock wears his faith on his sleeve.
"All the credit, all the glory goes to the good Lord," recites Swinney.
Swinney never misses a chance to praise the Lord for his good fortune, recruiting prowess, fast athletes and brilliant assistant coaches.
Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy, still alive at age 94, once delivered a funny line about combining faith and football.
Levy cracked, "Great football coaches have the vision to see, the faith to believe, the courage to do -- and 25 great football players."
Swinney himself admits to "recruiting the best football players, not the best Christians."
But many Clemson players, including former star quarterback Deshaun Watson and current star signal-caller Trevor Lawrence, are buying what Swinney is selling.
In the national title showdown against LSU, viewers will see Clemson players marking their faces with crosses, wearing wristbands with religious messages and kneeling together to pray in small groups.
Watson found Jesus Christ in the ninth grade and discovered Swinney at Clemson one year later.
The current quarterback of the Houston Texans finished his college career with a 32-3 record and a national championship at the end of the 2016 season.
Lawrence tells the story of "being saved" in the summer of 2018 during a religious retreat in Florida.
His Twitter profile picture is an image of the word "Jesus" and his account biography reads, "Pursuing Him at all costs."
The brilliant Lawrence, a virtual cinch to be the #1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, is 25-0 as Clemson's starting quarterback and seeks his second national title in as many years.
And if Watson and Lawrence are not enough, consider the top quarterback of the 2020 recruiting class committed to Clemson last May.
The recruiting tale will not surprise a soul.
DJ Uiagalelei, a 6-4 quarterback from Bellflower, California, committed to Clemson with a tweet that read, "This is all God's work and God's timing, I am blessed to say that I AM 100% COMMITTED!!!!"
Uiagalelei will follow in the footsteps of Watson and Lawrence and look to continue Clemson's run of recent dominance.
Alabama's Nick Saban can claim four national titles over the past nine seasons but Swinney is now looking for his third crown over the last four years.
If Saban unseated the legendary Bear Bryant as college football's greatest coach, then Swinney is on a trajectory to upend Saban.
The charismatic Swinney is not the first coach to embrace Christianity, but he is the most visible.
Is the merger or marriage between faith and football a good thing?
Does the discipline and dedication of your faith translate to discipline and dedication on the football field?
Skeptics disregard the notion, but the culture of Christianity promotes a lot of the same values critical to athletic success.
Should sports bettors assign extra credit to a Clemson team that wraps the grace of God with the game of football?
A check of Clemson's pointspread record over the past five seasons (44-28-1) shows Lawrence's brilliance to be a more important factor than Clemson's culture of religion.
The Tigers are an amazing 19-6 against the spread in games started by Trevor Lawrence and 25-22-1 in all other games.
The underdog appears live in the national championship game not because of divine intervention, but rather due to the ability of a dynamic offense led by a 6-6 gunslinger with big-play abilities.
I'll pray that I cash.
He likes underdogs.
So He will be supporting Clemson (+5.5) to defeat LSU two weeks from tonight in New Orleans.
And the reason is obvious.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney accepted Jesus Christ into his life at age 16 and he's been invoking the name of the good Lord ever since.
The well-preserved 50-year-old leader of the Clemson flock wears his faith on his sleeve.
"All the credit, all the glory goes to the good Lord," recites Swinney.
Swinney never misses a chance to praise the Lord for his good fortune, recruiting prowess, fast athletes and brilliant assistant coaches.
Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Marv Levy, still alive at age 94, once delivered a funny line about combining faith and football.
Levy cracked, "Great football coaches have the vision to see, the faith to believe, the courage to do -- and 25 great football players."
Swinney himself admits to "recruiting the best football players, not the best Christians."
But many Clemson players, including former star quarterback Deshaun Watson and current star signal-caller Trevor Lawrence, are buying what Swinney is selling.
In the national title showdown against LSU, viewers will see Clemson players marking their faces with crosses, wearing wristbands with religious messages and kneeling together to pray in small groups.
Watson found Jesus Christ in the ninth grade and discovered Swinney at Clemson one year later.
The current quarterback of the Houston Texans finished his college career with a 32-3 record and a national championship at the end of the 2016 season.
Lawrence tells the story of "being saved" in the summer of 2018 during a religious retreat in Florida.
His Twitter profile picture is an image of the word "Jesus" and his account biography reads, "Pursuing Him at all costs."
The brilliant Lawrence, a virtual cinch to be the #1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, is 25-0 as Clemson's starting quarterback and seeks his second national title in as many years.
And if Watson and Lawrence are not enough, consider the top quarterback of the 2020 recruiting class committed to Clemson last May.
The recruiting tale will not surprise a soul.
DJ Uiagalelei, a 6-4 quarterback from Bellflower, California, committed to Clemson with a tweet that read, "This is all God's work and God's timing, I am blessed to say that I AM 100% COMMITTED!!!!"
Uiagalelei will follow in the footsteps of Watson and Lawrence and look to continue Clemson's run of recent dominance.
Alabama's Nick Saban can claim four national titles over the past nine seasons but Swinney is now looking for his third crown over the last four years.
If Saban unseated the legendary Bear Bryant as college football's greatest coach, then Swinney is on a trajectory to upend Saban.
The charismatic Swinney is not the first coach to embrace Christianity, but he is the most visible.
Is the merger or marriage between faith and football a good thing?
Does the discipline and dedication of your faith translate to discipline and dedication on the football field?
Skeptics disregard the notion, but the culture of Christianity promotes a lot of the same values critical to athletic success.
Should sports bettors assign extra credit to a Clemson team that wraps the grace of God with the game of football?
A check of Clemson's pointspread record over the past five seasons (44-28-1) shows Lawrence's brilliance to be a more important factor than Clemson's culture of religion.
The Tigers are an amazing 19-6 against the spread in games started by Trevor Lawrence and 25-22-1 in all other games.
The underdog appears live in the national championship game not because of divine intervention, but rather due to the ability of a dynamic offense led by a 6-6 gunslinger with big-play abilities.
I'll pray that I cash.
Last edited:
