If you were raised in the South, chances are you grew up on two things: country music and college football. And if you particularly hail from the great states of Alabama and South Carolina, you know that college football is up there on the priority list, right next to God, Family, and Ford trucks. Because in those states, unless you go for Auburn and Carolina, you either Roll Tide or you Bleed Orange, no matter if you actually attended the school or not. And even though children grow up and so often leave the comforts of home to pursue careers in other cities, the tie to their team of choice cannot be broken. We can’t say the same for boot soles and guitar strings, at least not here in Nashville. Our world may revolve more around honky tonks and cowboy hats than 100 yard fields and helmets (except when the Titans play of course!). But for many of our artists who are true fans, the nationally respected cultures of Clemson and Bama will always find their way to the spotlight, even when seasons tickets are traded in for tour dates.
So it’s a good thing nobody’s going on tour tonight! The only stage that matters tonight for most of the country is the one out in Santa Clara, California as #1 Alabama takes on #2 Clemson for the third time in four years. The game doesn’t officially kick off til 8 eastern/7 central, but it has already set records as it marks the first time two undefeated teams will play for the CFP title! Don’t worry if you can’t be there—ESPN won’t let you miss a minute. And we have a feeling, neither will half of Nashville. It’s no secret that part of the strong brotherly bond between Lee and Lewis Brice is the roar of the Tiger. (Check out Lee’s “Orange Empire” video here.) It’s also no secret that Sara Evans is a Bama fan by marriage (just check out her CMT Country on Campus episode here.) But who else proudly wears crimson or orange in the Music City?! And what do they think about this game? We asked! They answered in our special Take 5 edition of Nashville Goes Natty!
1. CN: What do you respect most about your COACH? (Alabama-Nick Saban; Clemson-Dabo Swinney)
Doug McCormick: I ADMIRE DABO’S ABILITY TO INSPIRE YOUNG ATHLETES TO RALLY TOGETHER BEHIND A COMMON GOAL. HOWEVER, WHAT I RESPECT MOST ABOUT DABO IS HIS COMMITMENT TO DEVLOP CHARACTER IN HIS PLAYERS. THE WAY DABO USES HIS PLATFORM TO SHINE A POSITIVE LIGHT OUT INTO THE WORLD ENCOURAGES ME TO DO THE SAME WITH MY ARTISTRY.
Cody Webb: I have a tremendous amount of respect for both coaches, but if I were fortunate enough to have a son that played football at that level and was able to choose between the two, I’d have to go with Coach Swinney. I got to meet Coach Swinney the year he took over as head coach, while I was a student at Clemson. I was impressed with how he’s dealt with adversity throughout his life, and how he coaches. He is really big on building character in the players he coaches and what he does as a coach is so much bigger than winning football games. I feel like he truly cares about each player, develops personal relationships with the players, and gets the best out of each individual. I feel like this translates to life after football for these young men.
Ashton Shepherd: I respect the fact that Nick Saban not only understands the tremendous importance of team work, he enhances it with play by play action schemes and ball practices that program the Alabama team to fight for the win by every yard and not just with an awesome play every now and again.
Bridgette Tatum (Songwriter, “She’s Country”; Jason Aldean): Our coach (Swinney) is not only trying to make good football players, he’s helping our guys be good men.
Stewart Holcomb (The Springs): What I respect the most about Nick Saban is the way he coaches the same way, no matter what the score may be. He yells (and breaks headsets) when the 1st string is in at the beginning of the game and when the 3rd string is in at the end of some games.
Jake Bartley from The Jake Bartley Band: I think Dabo is a true player’s coach. He likes to win, but I think he views his job as being as much about preparing the players for life after college as well as preparing them to play each game. . . .plus, he wins a lot! Haha!
Jeremy Bussey (songwriter, “Girl Goin Nowhere”; Ashley McBryde) : Saban. His demand for excellence.
Marty Brown: legendary hit singer/songwriter and 2013 America’s Got Talent finalist): Nick Saban because he used to coach pro football, several teams. He’s good with the players and he coaches with passion.
Nick Hickman: I respect Nick Saban’s ability to recruit and develop players. No one gets the most out of players like saban does. He also maintains discipline very well.
2. CN: What makes Alabama and Clemson consistently the top two teams in the nation?
Justin Addis: I think it has a lot to do with coaching and conferences.
Southern Halo: Well, that’s a long dissertation! Great coaching and great recruiting are at the top of the list!
Ashton Shepherd: Not so sure about Clemson, I know they’re obviously a good team and a strong team. I know that Alabama is like a machine, a trained machine that only gets tougher as the game goes on and that resilience keeps them persistently on top.
Bridgette Tatum: Defense!
Doug McCormick: IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL, RECRUITING IS KING. ALABAMA HAS UNDENIABLY BUILT A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM THAT CONSISTENTLY COMPETES AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL EVERY YEAR. IT’S AWESOME TO SEE CLEMSON HEADING IN THAT DIRECTION AS WELL.
Matt Miller of The Jake Bartley Band: No question. . . . one word. . . RECRUITING.
Stewart Holcomb (The Springs): Alabama and Clemson are the two best teams for 3 reasons. #1 Over the past few years they have each been in the top #10 or #15 in recruiting classes so they are bringing in the talent to replace the players that go pro #2 Each team trains very well, so each team has very few injuries. #3 The coaches are both great and pulling the best out of their teams, and prepare them well for each game.
Jeremy Bussey: They both have the most complete teams in the country.
Marty Brown: Bama is one of the top teams in the Nation because of the Alabama football tradition and is a deeply-rooted football legacy team.
Cody Webb: Both of these teams have built a winning program over years and years of hard work. I feel like Alabama has been a respected and elite program for a long time. They have great funding and support from the university as well as fans.
I have been through the good and bad with Clemson. I just know that when I was a sophomore there and Coach Swinney took over as coach, a lot of things changed. I believe we ended up going like 7-6 that year, but man the students were on fire for Clemson Football. We just all knew it was the start of something great back then. Coach Swinney was so involved on campus and just recruited so well. Again he really brings out the best in people and he and the rest of his staff were able to create something contagious that everyone wanted to be a part of. To sum it all up, I’ll have to say recruiting, coaching, and atmosphere.
Nick Hickman: Clemson and Bama are elite programs because both coaches are great recruiters and great at in game adjustments and development.
3. CN: Who do you think will be going pro after this? Who will most likely be MVP of the game?
Southern Halo: By far Alabama’s quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, and running back, Damien Harris will be drafted. Clemson’s quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, and defensive lineman, Dexter Lawrence will also surely go pro. We believe the Player of the Game will be Tua; however, if Clemson wins, it will likely be Trevor.
Justin Addis: Both teams are stacked with pro ballers and MVPs. My MVP though is Hunter Renfrow.
Andrew Crawford (The Jake Bartley Band): I can’t speak of all the guys who will go pro this year or in the near future on the two teams because there are so many; however, as an avid and lifelong fan of both teams, I can tell you that it’s the guys who don’t always make the headlines that have proven to be critical parts of both programs. The first is 6’4” 295 pound defensive lineman Quinnen Williams for Alabama. Outland Trophy winner and in my opinion, the best defensive interior in the country. He along with Christian Wilkinson of Clemson will be soon starters in “the league.” And next, Hunter Renfrow! Nothing else needs to be said about this Titan of the playbook. He will play pro.
Cody Webb: Hunter Renfrow– I feel like a pro team would be crazy not to give this kid a shot. He’s got that “it factor” like no other and he’s just a baller. I’m gonna go with the true freshman Trevor Lawrence winning player of the game.
Nick Hickman: I think Tua or Josh Jacobs will be MVP of the game. Damian Harris, Q Williams, Raekwon Davis, Christian Miller, Anfernee Jennings, Dionte Thompson, And Jonah Williams will for sure be drafted. If they all go.
4. CN: Why you are a fan of your team and how long have you been a fan?
If you have ever been to a game, describe the atmosphere!
Bridgette Tatum: Death Valley is exactly that. Get ready to “meet our maker” when it comes to football! We take our orange and purple and SC very seriously. As Dabo signed a football to me—ROOLLLLLLL TIGERS!!!!!
Stewart Holcomb (The Springs): I have been a fan of Alabama since 9 months before I was born, LOL. My mom grew up watching Alabama play (when the games were on TV), and my dad went to college there. With both parents loving the University of Alabama, I was bound to love it too (even in the Mike Shula days of my childhood when we weren’t so good). I love gameday, especially in Bryant-Denny Stadium!! There is something special about walking into the stadium that you have watched games played in your entire life, with a bunch of strangers who feel like they are lifetime friends because you love the same team. It’s truly an amazing experience, win or lose, to be inside Bryant-Denny!
Jeremy Bussey: I was born into it. Every Bama fan is born into it. Ha! We have season tickets so we go often. It’s unbelievable. Nothing else like it.
Justin Addis: I am a CLEMSON fan and have been my whole life. Grew up close to the school and it’s in my blood. GO TIGERS!
Ashton Shepherd: I’ve been a fan all my life since I was a child. Family, tradition, legacy, and pride is stood for when I was raised in south Alabama cheering on tThe Crimson Tide. The University of Alabama is an incredibly amazing school from research to the amount of intense good that comes from the advancements in medical science and healing that Alabama is hailing at accomplishing as o e of the best colleges in the nation to receive an education from. And I guess you could say it’s just a great big ole bonus and plus that this mighty University of Alabama have and have had a nearly unstoppable football team that only allows them and their overall reputation to excel to even further accomplishments. It’s #RollTideRoll in #AshtonShepherdCountry
Mike McGuire (Shenandoah): I’m a Bama boy all the way—went to college there. We already beat some orange Tigers earlier this year so it won’t be a problem! Roll Tide Roll!
Marty Brown: I’ve been a fan for about 20 years now. I started liking them because my buddies from Selma and Clanton, Alabama, Robbie Autery (Drug Task Force Agent) and Big Boy Shane Farmer (Police Chief of Jemison) would have me come down and watch the games with them and I found out how serious Alabama football fans really are. They made an Alabama fan out of me.
Jake Bartley: I’ve been a Clemson fan as long as I can remember. I’ve been to a few games and I’ve taken my kids to a few. The atmosphere is ALWAYS electric!!! One year, I got to go onto the sidelines during one of the Clemson vs. Carolina games. I swear. . . you could feel the vibration from the stands and it was so loud, you literally couldn’t hear the person beside you. Clemson (Death Valley) is intense!!!
Cody Webb: I’ve been a Clemson fan for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, one of my dad’s friends gave me a South Carolina Gamecocks bean bag and for whatever reason I just never liked it. I wouldn’t even sit on it after I was probably 5 years old and knew better. My parents were pretty neutral, but for whatever reason my blood has always run orange. I just love the atmosphere at Clemson. It’s literally like you dropped a big ole University out of the sky and it landed in the middle of nowhere in northwestern South Carolina. It’s just a beautiful campus and full of great people. I seriously had no close seconds for where I wanted to go to college. I’ve been to more games than I can count. The atmosphere in Death Valley is just electric. When the lights come on, the tigers run down the hill, and that cannon blasts you can just feel the stadium rumble from fans screaming and cheering. Definitely a tough place to play for their opponents.
Doug McCormick: AS A GRADUATE OF CLEMSON UNIVERSITY, I BECAME THE FIRST FROM BOTH SIDES OF MY FAMILY TO GRADUATE WITH A FOUR YEAR DEGREE. I’M A FAN OF THE CLEMSON COLLEGE EXPERIENCE. I GET CHILLS EVERY TIME I GO TO A CLEMSON GAME. THE ATMOSPHERE IN DEATH VALLEY ON GAME DAY IS UNREAL. EVERY TIME I SEE CLEMSON ORANGE, IT STIRS UP INCREDIBLE MEMORIES THAT WERE MADE TO LAST A LIFETIME. GO TIGERS!!!
Nick Hickman: I have been a fan of Alabama since I was 6 years old, my grandfather was a huge fan so I grew up watching all of my life. I have seen the worst (losing to Louisiana Monroe at home) and the best 6 national championships in my life. It is a point of consistency in a life that never seems consistent. Every Saturday in the fall Alabama will field a team for me to watch and root for, win or lose. I know I can count on that every year. I have been to more games than I can count, we went to 2 this year. It is one of the most prestigious venues in all of college football. So much history and tradition and a great fan base, whether you love em or hate em. I bleed the university of Alabama!
And then of course. . . . we have the SCORE predictions. . . .
| Artist | Clemson | Alabama |
| Cody Webb | 38 | 31 |
| Ashton Shepherd | 21 | 45 |
| Mike Mcguire (Shenandoah) | 24 | 35 |
| Doug McCormick | 31 | 28 |
| Justin Addis | 24 | 21 |
| Jeremy Bussey | 24 | 35 |
| Stewart Halcomb (The Springs) | 28 | 35 |
| Jake Bartley Band | ||
| Jake Bartley | 21 | 17 |
| Matt Miller | 24 | 20 |
| Andrew Crawford | 28 | 35 |
| Southern Halo | 27 | 35 |
| Ricky Young | 17 | 38 |
| Marty Brown | 24 | 35 |
| CJ Solar | 31 | 35 |
| Nick Hickman | 21 | 34 |
Do you agree with these Nashville talents? Who do you think will dominate the National Championship and will you be watching? You probably shouldn’t worry if you somehow missed it—we’re pretty sure these passionate football fanatics and Nashville artists will be belting out their college chant song so loud, you’ll be able to hear it from wherever you are!
Congrats to both Alabama and Clemson on their undefeated seasons and here’s to the NATTY!