CFB playoff notebook: Can QB Hurts carry the Tide?

Jalen Hurts helped take Alabama to the national title game as a true freshman quarterback, and his experience in that game is one he can’t forget.

That’s by design.

A day after a 35-31 loss to Clemson on Jan. 9, Hurts changed the picture on his cell phone screensaver, using a picture of the Tigers’ postgame celebration. He talked in the spring about using that image as daily motivation, a habit he has kept up all the way to Monday’s rematch in a College Football Playoff semifinal in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

“I kind of hold myself accountable to that, kind of dedicate it to trying to get back to the top and lead the team back to where we want to be,” Hurts said last week at a press conference, talking about last season’s loss to the Tigers, in which he completed only 13 of 31 passes for 131 yards.

“Just putting it as a screensaver I guess was a humbling yet friendly reminder that I’ve got to go get it.”

Hurts is better than last season, more efficient, although that hasn’t always been obvious in Alabama’s run-heavy attack behind one of best offensive lines in the nation and running backs Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough.

So questions still remain if the dual-threat Hurts — he has rushed for 1,722 yards in two seasons — can shoulder the load in the passing game, especially against a Clemson defense that has the NFL talent up front to plug the Tide’s ground game.

The sophomore has done what Alabama has asked him to do, completing 135 of 222 passes for 1,940 yards, with 15 touchdowns and just one interception. He is 11th nationally with a passing efficiency rating of 155.6.

If Alabama can’t run, can Hurts pass the team to victory?

“I think Jalen has improved dramatically from last year to this year,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said Saturday.

“His consistency and performance throughout this past season was a lot better, especially in the passing game. Jalen has always been a guy that, because of his athleticism and his ability to run the ball, has made a lot of plays with his feet. But I also think that we’ve been able to help him develop as a quarterback in terms of his decision-making in the pocket.”

–Georgia senior running back Nick Chubb will wrap up a storied career in the Rose Bowl as the Bulldogs take on Oklahoma in a semifinal playoff game in Pasadena, Calif.

Chubb enters the Rose Bowl with 4,599 rushing yards, making him the second-leading rusher in school and SEC history behind Herschel Walker. He, senior Sony Michel and freshman D’Andre Swift, who has the look of a future Heisman Trophy candidate, power the running game.

Georgia used that stable of backs behind a solid offensive line to rush for at least 290 yards in five of nine SEC games.

That has taken pressure off true freshman quarterback Jake Fromm, who has been an effective game-manager, having completed 145 of 230 passes for 2,170 yards and 21 touchdowns. He’s been picked off only five times.

“Everybody tries something different,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said of defenses trying to rattle Fromm.

“The big thing he has to rely on is an ability for our offense to run the ball. As long as you have some run game, it makes things a little bit easier on him. But people pressure him, people drop eight, they try to disguise coverages. He’s a bright kid. He watches a lot of tape.”

–Oklahoma is the team in the playoff that is unlike the three others. The Sooners are an offense-first squad, averaging a national-best 583.3 yards per game and led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Baker Mayfield.

On the flip side, Alabama is first in total defense, Georgia is fourth and Clemson is fifth. Oklahoma is 59th in that category. Oklahoma, the logic goes, has to win via a shootout.

“We get the narrative — we understand what it is,” Sooners All-American offensive tackle Orlando Brown said.

“As a team it’s hard to hear that because those guys that play defense are my brothers, so, man, it’s obviously hard hearing that narrative. But, man, our defense continues to work here these past few weeks, and we’re hoping, and we know, they’re going to be able to come out and play their best.”

–Clemson wide receiver Hunter Renfrow is a former walk-on who has turned into a cult-hero star, hauling in six postseason touchdown receptions amid his 14 career touchdowns. He made the game-winning catch with one second left against Alabama last season.

“Hunter Renfrow is a pain in the you know what,” Saban said.

Renfrow doesn’t look that dangerous at 5-foot-10 and 180 pounds, but Saban called the junior “very quick, very instinctive” and added, “very crafty … very smart.”

Renfrow has a team-high 55 receptions for 571 yards this season, followed closely by Deon Cain (52-659) and Ray-Ray McCloud (46-502).

Renfrow has four touchdown catches against Alabama in the past two national title games.

“They’ve been special,” Renfrow said. “That’s part of my legacy that I will leave behind.”

On Monday, he could be matched in coverage by Alabama All-American safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

“I’m anxious to see that matchup. Obviously, Minkah is the bigger, more physical guy,” Clemson co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott told reporters this week. “But Renfrow, he’s a technician. Now you’re going to see technique vs. athletic ability.”