and the opportunity is in our hands and we have to earn it. >> man: we want to be the best so let's go play the best team out there and see if we can get it done. >> stay right where you are, we've got your ticket to the university of phoenix stadium. we are live in glendale, arizona, with the players and tiger fanatics to give you everything from the x's and o's to the growing pandemonium that you won't see anywhere else. chasing a championship starts right now. >> and good evening, everyone, thank you so much for joining us for this special, live from columbia, chasing a championship. >> i'm joe gorge. we're nearly an hour away from kickoff between clemson and alabama. >> here's yours first live look outside of university of phoenix

>> just over an hour ago, clemson arrived at the stadium, looking to lead the tigers to the first national championship in years. a picture with his family prior to kickoff. here's a little bit of nick saban on this championship title belt. >> man: how you play the game is how you prepare and how you think. that's really what matters. >> man: our focus and attention is to play the best game that we can which is what we're going to need to have success. >> time to take a look at the big stage clemson and alabama are on. kevin has fan reaction from glendale and joe is in the official watch party. >> first, let's go to michael live inside of university of

leading up to this showdown. >> reporter: well, i can tell you the energy in this stadium is absolutely contagious. we just had the teams come out on to the field. you can see everyone is ready. this victory is coming down to clemson's offense and alabama's defense. you can see the warmup happening right now with the game and kickoff starting just under an hour from now. the and folks here to help them do that are the fans. you can see alabama verses clemson, both of them cheering on their respective team and the energy in this stadium is incredit incredible. we have the alabama band and the clemson band. both of them keeping the fans cheering and letting the players know they're here to support them no matter what happened. rick, how is it looking out there? >> reporter: we still have fans

as i said earlier, plenty of orange making their way in the university of phoenix stadium. swinney tells his us, they approach every game the same. there are some victories that carry more weight than others. right now, let's take a look at some of those victories that prepared clemson for where they are tonight. host number six no tre dame. they beat them and jump to number six on the rankings. >> man: we did it. meals and a place to live, we give you nice uniforms, i can't give you gut and heart, but tonight, bring your own gut. >> reporter: just over one month later, clemson is now the

the tigers survive another tough challenge, they beat 15th ranked florida state 23-13. clemson improves to 9-0 and they claim the atlantic division title for the first time since 2011. clemson beats the tart hills, 45-37, the win pushes the tigers to 13-0, they also secure the number one seat in the college football playoff. clemson faces oklahoma in the finals and the tigers led by the quarterback and running back out score them 27-17, earning the tigers tigers a seat in the national championship game. >> man: it's it. the biggest game of the year.

can you imagine the post game comments if they win the game. it's also a big night for clemson fans. we've been following around some of those fans. kevin, what you got out there? >> reporter: yeah, thanks so much, rick and welcome back inside the stadium, we're now less than an hour away from kickoff as clemson faces alabama with a national championship on the line. the action outside the stadium has been going on for a long time. cars full of fans started lining up around the stadium around 10:30 this morning and they were ready to take part in the excitement. >> man: go tigers! my wife said if i don't come out here, i'm

my life, so here i am. (cheering) >> woman: go tigers. (cheering) >> reporter: and we talked to tigers fans that made the trip here from columbia, charleston, the upstate, very excited clemson fans coming in from sacramento. that's going to do it for now. rick, let's go back over to you. >> reporter: thanks, kevin.

over the world coming here to glendale for the big national championship game. >> thanks so much. excitement there, certainly for a chase for the championship is just heating up. >> when we return, we go one-on-one with clemson's dabo swinney. >> man: the same thing for the last 14 games, we have to apply for this game. >> dabo talking about his opportunity to win in tiger town. >> we head to clemson's official watch party, as tiger fans are gearing up for the game.

and welcome back to chasing a championship. >> here's another live look outside of university of phoenix's stadium. >> tigers head coach dabo swinney has one national title on his resume. he won one as a player in alabama in 1992. >> he's now ready to face his alma maerd. rick caught up with him. >> reporter: what do you tell your guys going into the game? >> man: really to just have fun

the same things that won those last 14 games. the same thing you have to apply to win this game and just focus on each and every play doing the best you can do. >> reporter: wasn't too long ago since you shared a two bedroom apartment with your mom who has a dog named clooid. have you had a chance to step back and see how far you've come? >> man: it's amazing. people tell me sometimes that there's not a god. and i'm like there's a god you can't see and i'm like i see him, all i have to do i i look back and i see him clearly, where he's been all throughout my life. it's just a blessing to be here and to compete at this level. we worked really hard at clemson and to be consistent in the country. but to have the opportunity to compete against alabama who has

blessing. >> and what a joyous moment it could be tonight if dabo can lead clemson to victory. >> not all tigers fans could make it to arizona for the game. so we welcome in joe who is in greenville at the official clemson watch party. i know the excitement level out there has got to be great. >> reporter: it certainly is right now. you know, the clemson basketball team just got a big time win on this floor just yesterday. now fans gatheroping for an even bigger win and of course, we're talking about a national championship. clemson has not been in this spot for some time so the fans are truly relishing this moment. we should tell you though, campus pretty calm today. let's just hope the anticipation continues to grow for the tigers as the kickoff draws closer.

their side has been positive with trying to pick a winner this evening. >> woman: definitely a w, i don't know if it's going to be a huge blowout w like the oklahoma game. it will be a good game. we'll come out with a win. >> woman: of course, i think we're going to win. i think clemson is going to come out with the w. >> reporter: of course, clemson the top ranked in the country but the underdog in this game. however, everyone we ran into today is very optimistic when the tigers come home tomorrow, they'll be having a national championship party. >> i can only imagine what that celebration would be like. >> no doubt. thanks, joe. when we return, we examine the key match ups to watch for in tonight's show down. >> we're going to take a closer look at how one clemson shop owner creates clemson memories

after the break. welcome back to chasing the championship, it's time to size up the match up between clemson and alabama. the player of the year, alabama running baba, derek henry. by the numbers, he's been sensational this season. 25 touchdowns this season. he knows how to find the end zone. and clemson quarterback dashawn watson, 33 touchdowns. watson will lead the tigers against one of the best defenses in the nation.

defense and rank number one in other defensive categories including sacks. the crimson tide will try to make watson one dimensional. as f f the coaches in this game, we have two great ones. alabama's nick saban and clemson's dabo swinney. for more on the coaches and their winning personalities, we welcome back in rick henry live from arizona to share insight of tonight's leaders on the side lines. >> reporter: one thing i realized over the past few days, dabo swinney and nick saban are pretty much alike. of course dabo is more outgoing with his personality, saban a little more reserved.

they have defined vision of what they want to do, where they want to go, they hired great assistant coaches, they're able to go out there and recruit, and they're able to get everyone on board for their plan for success. >> thanks so much for that, rick. for fans in clemson, royalty goes back generations, call it a family tradition. >> man: my grandfather went to school here, my dad went to clemson and i went to clemson. >> leonard keller runs the keller store. it's the same job his grandfather and dad had. the last time clemson played for a national title in 1981. >> man: there's a whole lot more tiger stuff on clemson than there was back then.

practically go tigers. we all seem to do well. it's a significant difference than it was in '81. >> he said the one thing that hasn't changed over the years is that students and faculty are passionate about football. conner shows us one clemson shop owner is giving fans a unique way to record the championship race. >> reporter: just down the hill from downtown clemson, alan has created a clemson fans paradise. >> man: 34 years, we were on the sports illustrated cover. >> reporter: he will give you a history lesson. >> man: the frames are made out

>> reporter: he's just as excited about the history being made now. >> man: this is a once in a lifetime thing no matter what people think about the future. >> reporter: he's helping fans remember 2016 just as they remembered 1981. >> man: that's the one that's really popular. here's another one from a notre dame game. that's a real popular one this year also. we havee orarage coins and the national champs coin and then hopefully a national championship coin also. >> reporter: he said the coins will be a main stay in his shop. >> man: these are the national championship coins from 1982. >> reporter: and expects the demand to go up for years to come. >> man: hopefully it will be a nice thing for the future when we come back, the tigers talk about the biggest game of their lives. >> we're looking at what players

return. the tigers look to become the first team ever in college football to finish 15-0. >> let's bring back in rick live and the tigers are going all along to make history and now they have the opportunity to do

>> reporter: it takes a lot of hard work all yearlong. in the winter with conditioning, you also need a little pinch of luck and of course, some confidence. confidence is no problem with the clemson tigers. back on july 15th of last year, clemson safety tweeted this picture with a caption that tigers will be in arizona on january 11th. be sure to get your tickets asap don't be late. we asked other tigers if they knew this was a team capable of winning it all. most of them said they knew it during summer workouts. >> man: i knew the type of team we had and we were motivated and knew we could play with anybody. we knew we were one of the top two teams in the country. we worked for it and take it one game at a time and now we're

>> man: i realized we coull be here in the last game. we're just excited. >> man: if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. they've proven that they are the best in the country year in and year out. i think if we want to take that -- we have to beat them because they've proven they're the best in the country. you have to beat the best. >> reporter: and i predict that clemson will be the best team tonight. they'll take the lead late in the fourth quarter and hang on to beat alabama 24-21. that's going to wrap it up here in glendale. >> enjoy the night and enjoy the game. we asked some of our colleagues for their predictions on the game. here's how they see the game between the tide and the tigers. >> reporter: i'm joe in myrtle beach and i don't see any early jitters from either side.

national championship 34-30. >> reporter: this is paul in columbus, georgia. i think the tide win 31-14. >> reporter: hey, everyone, i'm kevin with wcst in charleston, for my prediction, i'm taking the tigers. clemson will win their first national championship beating alabama tonight. 23-21. >> reporter: greetings from arizona. my score prediction for the title game, alabama 27, clemson 17. >> reporter: hey, guys, jeff in alabama, when you get to this stage, experience a huge plus, that's why i'm going to give my bid to alabama, the tide has been there before, but it's going to be a close one, tide

clemson is going to win tonight. >> good luck, tigers, thanks for joining us, everyone, for this special report, chasing a championship.

at tonight's title finale. - whoop-whoop! - what are you doing? he's so peaceful. just let him be. - man, if i got to be awake, he got to be awake. [shouts] yo! old white dude! black people taking over! ooh. that usually wakes 'em up. he's not... - no, he couldn't be. hey. hey, pop-pop. hey--ah! - ohjonah touched a dead guy! jonah touched a dead guy! [upbeat music]