Yes, there’s a Jesus angle — and a Chick-fil-A one — in Clemson’s national title

By Bobby Ross Jr. | GetReligion

Regardless of which team prevailed in the College Football Playoff national championship Monday night, Jesus was going to get some credit.

Both Alabama’s Heisman Trophy runner-up quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, and his Clemson counterpart, Trevor Lawrence, are known for giving the glory to their Lord.

As it turned out, Clemson cruised to a 44-16 win, putting the focus on the team’s coach, Dabo Swinney, as well as its heralded freshman QB, Lawrence, neither of whom is shy about emphasizing his strong Christian faith.

Coverage of Clemson’s national title run that ignored that fact missed an important angle.

But I was pleased to see a number of reports that caught the relevance of Swinney’s mention of God, including this one from the Sporting News:

Read the full column.

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All of my GetReligion columns (January 2019):

• An Episcopal priest bolts for the Catholic Church, but will news story answer the obvious questions? Published Jan. 1.

• USA Today gets one right: Story on African-Americans found in unmarked graves notes religion. Published Jan. 3.

• Friday Five: Pastor suicide, religion of Congress, Catholic sex wars, frugal philanthropist, cow holiday. Published Jan. 4.

• Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs: So ‘God-given’ talent and ‘faith’ drive Amari Cooper? Published Jan. 7.

• Yes, there’s a Jesus angle — and a Chick-fil-A one, too — in Clemson’s national championship. Published Jan. 9.

• Washington Post story on unhappy Jews in a small Alabama town draws praise — and criticism. Published Jan. 10.

• Friday Five: What Wuerl knew, Opus Dei, Tim Tebow fiancee, Cyntoia Brown, Knights of Columbus. Published Jan. 11.