On ESPN’s College Football Live on Wednesday, ESPN analyst Trevor Matich was asked how close he believes the margin is between No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Clemson.

“I think it’s extremely narrow because of the progress of true freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence at Clemson,” Matich said. “I think now, it’s not a matter of talent that will separate these teams if they play in the playoffs – it’s a matter of execution. They’re that close.”

Added Matich: “And that Alabama offense, which is still fantastic… The last two games against LSU and Mississippi State, they scored in the 20’s. Now, the defense shut them out, but the offense scored in the 20’s when they ran up against defenses that had a bunch of NFL guys on it. This Clemson defense has a bunch of NFL guys on it as well, and I think it will be a fair fight with that Bama offense and Tua will have to actually worm his way through a really difficult scenario in order to be able to score a lot of points versus Clemson.”