After Ohio State defeated Alabama in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Crimson Tide defensive coordinator Kirby Smart reached out to then-Buckeyes offensive coordinator Tom Herman to gain insight into how the Ohio State offense was so successful against Alabama's defense in the Buckeyes' 42-35 win.

Following the Buckeyes' national championship victory over Oregon, Herman -- now Houston's head coach -- obliged and made a trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to meet with Smart and head coach Nick Saban to discuss how his offense compiled 537 yards against Alabama.

In a radio interview on 680 AM The Fan in Atlanta last week, Smart mentioned the meeting and said it was "very valuable."

"It makes you look at everything," Smart said, according to AL.com. "I'll tell you the best thing we did -- and I give coach Saban a lot of credit -- we went directly to [Herman]. ... We said, 'Hey, we want to meet with you. You know us better than anybody. You spent four weeks getting ready for us. What's our tendencies? What do we do wrong? What do you think? And he was just honest with us. He told us what he thought, and it was very valuable for us."

That's definitely a wise move by Smart and Saban.