It was the unexpected call Saban had to make if he wanted to win a fifth national championship to tie ‘Bama legend Paul “Bear” Bryant.
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When watching film in advance of last night’s college football championship game, Alabama head coach Nick Saban noticed tendencies he thought his team could exploit if Clemson lined up a certain way on kickoffs. That’s why Clemson (14-1) should be more than excited about its prospects next year.
“That was my concern when we started all this”, the coach said. “But just to put this in perspective, and these guys will kick me for saying this, but if this was the first game of the season instead of last, what would we be talking about now?”
But with Watson in control, the Tigers will have a chance to be legitimate contenders. It wasn’t the first time Howard was left uncovered in the game either, as Alabama took a 21-14 lead early in the third quarter when it was apparent that Green was the culprit in allowing Howard run down the field uncovered for a 53-yard score. Like Clemson’s Deshaun Watson, Texas QB Vince Young piled up over 400 total yards, but his Longhorns came out a victor when he scored on fourth down in the closing seconds.
Heisman Trophy victor Derrick Henry had a monster game statistically.
Jake Coker was 16 of 25 for 335 yards and two touchdowns. His throws were accurate – save for the interception -and Clemson pushed Alabama to the limit with big plays in a fast pace offense.
Watson gave the Tide all it could handle, throwing for 405 yards and four touchdowns. In the case of the second College Football Playoff championship game the answer was both.
Alabama’s potential underclassmen losses include Henry (a near lock), tight end O.J. Howard, defensive lineman Jonathan Allen, linebacker Reuben Foster, safety Eddie Jackson and defensive lineman A’Shawn Robinson. “Special teams did a great job making plays”.
Watson and walk-on Hunter Renfrow connected for two touchdown passes to give Clemson a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Henry tied it up with a 1-yard plunge.
Birmingham earned a 59.2 overnight, the market’s third-best overnight for a postseason college football game on ESPN. Howard was the offensive player of the game with 5 catches for 208 yards, including the 63-yarder that set up Alabama’s final score.
Smart has a lot of work to do, but he could not have had a better apprenticeship than his time in Alabama.
“We practice it every week, once a week”, Griffith said on the field following the victory.
As Howard still tries to wrap his head around a career performance in the biggest game of the season, he must also ponder a future that looks much brighter now.
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Saban even talked about the potential financial gain for players without mentioning Howard’s name, but certainly sending a message for him digest. According to Coach Swinney,”We stand toe-to-toe with everybody in the country”.
