Alabama’s Nick Saban wins his fifth national title.
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Clemson has had the breaks go their way this season – a fumble out of bounds against Oklahoma, stopping Notre Dame on the goal line at the end of regulation, stopping Dalvin Cook late in the fourth quarter against Florida State – but the little things didn’t go the Tigers’ way Monday night in the College Football Playoff National Championship.
In the 50th game matching the No. 1 vs. the No. 2 team, Alabama (14-1) outscored Clemson 24-16 in a frantic fourth quarter to win and earned all 61 first-place votes from the AP panel. Tight end O.J. She caught some flack for it on Twitter but ended up apologizing.
Once the Tide got rolling, it was almost impossible to stop.
The game was tied up at 24 with 10:34 left to play.
He called for a popup onside kick that Alabama defensive back Marlon Humphrey caught over the shoulder at midfield. This was Clemson’s first shot at a national title since 1981, and the ACC’s second appearance in a title game in three years.
The defeat prevented Clemson from being the first Football Bowl Subdivision team to finish a season 15-0.
Saban’s own players agree the decision was a brilliant one: “Desperate times call for desperate measures”, said Alabama center Ryan Kelly. In many ways they did and they still out-gained Alabama 550 yards to 473, as Watson accounted for 478 yards (405 passing, 4 TDs and 73 rushing).
The Crimson Tide (14-1) won their three previous championship game appearances in runaways.
It could go down as one of the great, gutsy gambles in one of the greatest college football title games ever. He only threw for 335 yards and had two touchdowns.
A daring onside kick with the score tied at 24 led to an Alabama points explosion, with quarterback Jake Coker throwing for two long touchdowns to tight end O. Drake responded with a fantastic kickoff return, finding the corner on Clemson’s kick coverage team.
“Look, I felt pretty good about our chances of getting the onside kick because Griff kicks it well”, Saban said.
“It is so exciting and we’re so happy for the players on this team because they work so hard and they’ve just made us really, really proud”, said Libby Shaw, a 62-year-old University of Alabama School of Law graduate who lives in Tuscaloosa with her husband, Bob, also a graduate of the university’s law school. Did team X win the game or did team Y lose it?
Alabama and Clemson will likely be toward the top again. TCoker completed 66.9 percent of his passes for 3,110 yards, 21 touchdowns, and nine interceptions, while running for two scores as well. Drake dealt with hamstring issues early in the year and, just when he started to gain some momentum after a 100-plus all-purpose yard game against LSU on November 7, he broke his arm against Mississippi State the following week and missed the next two games.
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“We stand toe-to-toe with everybody in the country”, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said.
