If the game does come down to field goals Alabama will be able to trust he will make them.
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But the Crimson Tide sealed the win after Coker located Howard yet again on another pass completion, setting up a Derrick Henry 1-yard touchdown with a minute left.
Still no word on top cornerback Mackensie Alexander’s hamstring injury and whether or not he will be in the game tonight.
Alabama’s offense clearly implements a run-first team mentality, but their senior quarterback Jake Coker has proven down the stretch of this season that he can get it done with his arm if needed.
The sophomore, who finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, had 478 total yards against a loaded Tide defense that was the toughest in the country and bested Young’s 467 yards against the Trojans. Just had a little more time than you normally do, and this is kind of the next game from a prep standpoint, had a couple extra days, but I think it’s good, good as it can be.
The 2016 College Football Playoff national championship.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m CST. Alabama head coach Nick Saban is looking for his fifth National Championship, and his fourth since arriving in Tuscaloosa in 2007. But this strategy opened up the passing game, and Alabama took advantage.
Originally, there were six seconds remaining in the half when the timeout was called, but the officials added three seconds, setting up a first-and-10 from the 26 with nine seconds to go.
In another intriguing storyline, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney will be competing against his alma mater. The keys for the Tigers will be figuring out how to get quarterback Deshaun Watson and running back Wayne Gallman going in the running game. Watson was one of three Heisman finalists this season (along with the trophy victor, Alabama running back Derrick Henry).
The defense will also need to get pressure on Deshaun Watson as much as possible. He rushed 50 yards for the game’s first score in the first period and leapt 2 yards for another in the second quarter. Last year’s title game between Ohio State and OR – the first under the new college football playoff – had a final average ticket price of $807. John Ourand of Sports Business Daily told NPR’s Audie Cornish that although ESPN was “spinning [the rating numbers] furiously… this is about as worst a case scenario as ESPN could have come up with”. Another 9 percent were sold to residents of Arizona, where the game is being held. To make up for the low viewership, ESPN is reportedly negotiating with advertisers to the tune of million.
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Both teams will enter tonight’s matchup coming off of impressive wins in their CFP Semifinal games.
