His performance was reminiscent of Vince Young’s dramatic effort in leading Texas past USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl for a national title.
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“I made the decision to do it because the score was (tied) and we were exhausted on defense and weren’t doing a great job of getting them stopped and felt like if we didn’t do something or take a chance to change the momentum of the game that we wouldn’t have a chance to win”, Saban said.
However, when you watch a game like we saw on Monday night from Alabama and Clemson, that one question always pops into your mind as you’re trying to process what you just consumed on the television: Was this the best college football game that we have ever seen contested for a National Championship?
Those on the West Coast who haven’t seen much of Alabama’s Heisman Trophy-winning tailback this season were treated to the Derrick Henry Show on Monday night.
The Tigers, who suffered their first loss of the season and finished 14-1, came back with a 15-yard touchdown pass from DeShaun Watson to Artavius Scott to cut the Alabama lead to 38-33. Howard had five catches for 208 yards. He rushed 50 yards for the game’s first score in the first period and leapt 2 yards for another in the second quarter.
After Watson and walk-on Hunter Renfrow hooked up for two touchdown passes to give Clemson a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, Henry tied it up with a 1-yard plunge. The Tide pushed their lead to double digits on Kenyan Drake’s 95-yard kickoff return touchdown. Two plays later, Coker threw his second TD, a 51-yard bomb to Howard. Several times Alabama’s highly lauded defense had him trapped, absolutely.
“There were a few plays we didn’t really capitalize on, and I missed some throws”, Watson said.
Alabama seized control on special teams, first with an onside kick that two plays later, led to a 53-yard TD pass from Jake Coker to O.J. Howard.
In a game this tight and on a stage this big, the Tigers needed to match Alabama in all three phases of the game.
It marked the first game between the teams since 2008.
In the end, the Tigers (14-1) just couldn’t keep up with the huge chunks of yards Alabama gained throughout the evening, especially in the final quarter.
The Crimson Tide used a quartet of scoring plays that covered 50-plus yards and set up the go-ahead touchdown by recovering an onside kick with 10:34 to go in the second half.
Watson finished with 405 yards passing, the most any quarterback has hung on the Crimson Tide this year.
Still refusing to quit, Watson again marched Clemson down the field for another answering touchdown – but by the time the Tigers struck pay dirt only twelve seconds remained on the clock. But Tigers running back Wayne Gallman was held to 45 yards on 14 carries.
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Marty Smith talks to kicker Adam Griffith about the fourth quarter onside kick that turned the tide in Alabama’s favor during it’s 45-40 win over Clemson. “Just some little things like that is going to really force yourself in a hole, and it’s hard to beat a team like Alabama if you make those mistakes”. It was his 20th consecutive game with a rushing touchdown.
