ATLANTA — Chris Petersen chatted up Nick Saban while they waited to pose with the championship trophy, looking for any bit of insight that might help the College Football Playoff’s rookie coach.
No such luck.
“You know,” Petersen said, breaking into a grin, “he’s pretty tight-lipped.”
The four playoff coaches were all together Thursday for a nationally televised awards show at the College Football Hall of Fame, not far from the stadium where Petersen’s Washington Huskies will face Saban’s defending national champions, the top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, in the Peach Bowl semifinal game on New Year’s Eve.
The other semifinal matches Ohio State, coached by Urban Meyer, against Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers in the Fiesta Bowl.
Petersen couldn’t help but notice he was only one on the stage who hasn’t been to the playoff. Alabama will be appearing for the third straight year, having beaten Clemson last season in a thrilling title game. Two seasons ago, Meyer’s Buckeyes won the championship after knocking off Alabama in the semifinals.
“I’m the rookie up here,” Petersen said. “I’ve just got my eyes wide open and trying to echo what they say and do.”
If he learned anything from Saban, it was not to say much of anything.
Petersen guided the Huskies to a Pac-12 title and a playoff spot in just his third year on the job. He previously coached at Boise State, where his reputation for a gambling style and major upsets was established in his very first season with a 43-42 victory over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Broncos sent the game to overtime with a 50-yard hook-and-lateral touchdown in the closing seconds of regulation, and then won it in overtime with another trick play on a 2-point conversion.
Petersen might need some similar tactics to knock off the mighty Crimson Tide, which will be playing close to home after going 13-0 during the regular season, capped off by a 54-16 rout of Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game.
“I know about their offense and I know about their defense,” he said. “Then I put on their special teams, and I got more depressed. They’ve got really good players and they don’t give you anything.”
