Nothing speaks to the compelling tension and rare allure of Monday’s national title game more than a Clemson program riding a 29-game win streak entering as a 5.5-point underdog.

Clemson is the defending champion, the most dominant program in the sport and features a generational quarterback prospect. Yet, the Tigers are entering a College Football Playoff title game at the Superdome in New Orleans facing a road game against a top-seeded LSU program that boasts a quarterback that’s having perhaps the most dominant season in the history of the sport.

Last year, I picked Clemson to upset Alabama in the national title game. My belief came from speaking with a flurry of coaches who’d played both teams and believed that Clemson’s embarrassment of defensive line talent would carry them.

Having watched Clemson dominate the past two seasons, I wanted to find a reason to pick them again. They have moxie, toughness and an aura that showed up when they toppled a more talented Ohio State team in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. Then I got on the phone and spoke to 10 coaches and assistants who’d played the teams this year. The idea of picking a Clemson upset in back-to-back years eventually passed.

Here’s what the coaches said to convince me that LSU wins the game, 41-38.

LSU quarterback Joe Burrow celebrates a touchdown against the Oklahoma Sooners during on Dec. 28. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) More

A blueprint emerges — let’s get physical

One ACC assistant coach came away impressed with the way that Ohio State’s corners played press coverage on Clemson’s wide receivers at the line of scrimmage in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

Clemson has one of the most talented duos in all of college football in sophomore Justyn Ross, who is 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, and Tee Higgins, who is 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds. Both were held under 50 receiving yards in the Ohio Sate game.

“When I watched the Ohio State game, the corners really hammered the wide receivers at the line of scrimmage,” the coach said. “LSU has the talent and size to do the same, as it’s their M.O. to play press coverage on every play.” (He didn’t add the obvious — most ACC teams don’t.)

LSU has a pair of future NFL defense backs in Kristian Fulton (6-foot, 200) and resplendent true freshman Derek Stingley Jr. (6-foot-1, 190). They’ve seen the way that Ohio State’s gameplan put Clemson off-kilter, forcing the Tigers to rely on the screen game and quarterback run game to manufacture points.

LSU has the blueprint. Are their corners physical enough to follow it?

Not your average Joe

We’ve run out of hyperbole to explain the historic season that LSU’s Joe Burrow is having. He’s on track to break the NCAA completion percentage record, as he’s hit on 77.6 percent of his passes. He’s thrown 55 touchdowns and just six interceptions. (He even proved a prolific fundraiser for hunger issues in Southeast Ohio after his epic Heisman Trophy speech.)

New LSU pass game coordinator Joe Brady won the Broyles Award for the nation’s top assistant coach for essentially throwing the LSU offense into a time machine, taking a Flintstones offense and turning into a Jetsons operation.

“The beauty is in the simplicity,” said a head coach who faced LSU this year. “There’s not a whole lot of formations and plays. They have a really, really good offensive line and a really good tailback [Clyde Edwards-Helaire].

“But the quarterback is just silly.”

What could be overwhelming for Clemson is that the Tigers haven’t seen a group of wide receivers as talented as that of LSU. The synergy between Burrow and receivers Terrace Marshall (12 touchdowns), Justin Jefferson (18 touchdowns) and Ja’Marr Chase (18 touchdowns) is a sight to behold at field level. “Those guys are freakazoids,” a coach said. “They’re making plays left and right and turning 50-50 balls into 80-20 balls.”

Story continues