-
Tips for becoming a good boxer - November 6, 2020
-
7 expert tips for making your hens night a memorable one - November 6, 2020
-
5 reasons to host your Christmas party on a cruise boat - November 6, 2020
-
What to do when you’re charged with a crime - November 6, 2020
-
Should you get one or multiple dogs? Here’s all you need to know - November 3, 2020
-
A Guide: How to Build Your Very Own Magic Mirror - February 14, 2019
-
Our Top Inspirational Baseball Stars - November 24, 2018
-
Five Tech Tools That Will Help You Turn Your Blog into a Business - November 24, 2018
-
How to Indulge on Vacation without Expanding Your Waist - November 9, 2018
-
5 Strategies for Businesses to Appeal to Today’s Increasingly Mobile-Crazed Customers - November 9, 2018
Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers play in the College Championship
There was hype, and there was hoopla, and then there was humiliation.
Advertisement
It’s halftime at the Orange Bowl, Oklahoma leading Clemson 17-16 after Zack Sanchez intercepted a pass from the Tigers’ Deshaun Watson in the end zone to keep the Sooners on top in the final seconds.
The Michigan State-Alabama Cotton Bowl drew a 9.9 rating for ESPN compared to 15.3 for Ohio State-Alabama in the Sugar Bowl last January 1. Which may explain why no one bothered to watch.
But the saving grace of these clunker semifinals is that they undeniably accomplished one thing: They brought us the national championship that we’ve been waiting for.
Assuming the Spartans would be keying on Henry, Kiffin was like a poker player still bluffing while holding a handful of aces. It’s a matchup that pits Alabama’s superpower against its only kryptonite. But even that statistic doesn’t sum up what the other team’s offense stares down.
But the biggest difference was the day the games were played.
Ever since the 2012 afternoon that Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel walked into Tuscaloosa and scrambled his way to a shocking upset, Saban’s teams have struggled against the athletic signal-callers that have started to revolutionize college football. Pinnacle Sports has Alabama opening up as a six point favorite while Westgate has the Crimson Tide favored by seven. Alabama’s troubles can be traced directly to its defensive secondary-which happens to be Saban’s area of personal expertise. The Sooners also can’t count on having the good fortune again of playing Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma State without their starting quarterbacks.
There’s just one problem with Saban’s plan. The Tigers needed nine plays to drive just 19 yards, but they were already in field-goal position when they got the ball, thanks to a short punt – 24 yards – by Austin Seibert.
Ryan Anderson isn’t envisioning an easy time with Clemson in next week’s national championship game.
Alabama ran to a 34-10 win behind the two-headed running beast of Glen Coffee and Mark Ingram, and freshman receiver Julio Jones hauled in his first career touchdown.
Alabama showed more of an explosive offense in the Cotton Bowl than we have seen all season.
Coach Bob Stoops shook up his staff and guided the Sooners within two victories of their first national title since 2000.
And, boy, they both look impressive. Swinney comes off as the loosest coach in the country. Lawson said Thursday, however, that the alleged altercation did not happen and that Oklahoma initiated the war of words between the two teams. He dances in the locker room and doesn’t understand why that’s weird. In Swinney’s scheme, the team goes good on good for 20 minutes in its two toughest midweek practices.
Fans are invited to welcome them as they return. That would be impossible.
“We’ve been able to stay relatively healthy, and that’s always a key part of a season like this”, Swinney said. “If we win, he’s happy”, said Alabama lineman Cam Robinson.
The last team to go 14-0 was Florida State, which brought a national title back to the ACC in 2013.
Advertisement
“I feel great, just hurting in the knee a little bit”, Lawson said.