Florida had minus-5 yards for the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter before a late touchdown drive by the Gators with 5:02 left in the fourth gave them an offensive touchdown for the first time since overtime against FAU two weeks ago – 114:58 of game time, 139:24 of regulation time.
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But the only way this season will be considered a true success is Alabama claiming another national title. “I think the shock and awe of the size and speed might have got to them a little bit, but we settled down, and it didn’t kill us”.
“Now, I’m sure there are other coaches out there who are going to lobby for their team being in it, but I would be surprised if anybody has a lot of of doubt about whether we should or shouldn’t be in the playoff”. Official bowl pairings will be announced Sunday. Unbeaten Clemson, rated No. 1 and atop the playoff rankings, beat No. 8 North Carolina 45-37 Saturday night in the ACC championship game.
Baylor was in line to be the Big 12’s representative in the Sugar Bowl, with the expectation that league champ Oklahoma (11-1) will get into the College Football Playoff. The last team to do it was Tennessee in 1997-98.
Henry certainly didn’t do anything to lose the award in his final game before bowl season, and here are his stats from the clash to prove it: 189 rushing yards and one TD.
WACO, Texas – Tyrone Swoopes threw for 151 yards and a touchdown and ran for a score in his first Texas start since the opener to help the Longhorns eliminate Baylor from Sugar Bowl contention. Florida defenders swarmed from all angles and forced a fumble on the first play of the second quarter, but Henry came back. Alabama took a 2-0 lead on a blocked punt in the first quarter and then blocked a Florida field goal attempt to maintain that lead into the second quarter. Saban said if a team wins the SEC, “you should deserve the opportunity to be in a playoff”. “He wasn’t happy when I told him he wasn’t going to play anymore”, Saban said.
The expected defensive slugfest both teams were among the nation’s leaders in numerous categories played out in the first half, though Alabama clearly had the superior team.
But the Crimson Tide special teams did plenty right on Saturday: They blocked a punt for safety, blocked a 40-yard field goal, made a 30-yarder, executed several effective punts and allowed just 44 yards on kick returns.
But the Gators, likely to settle for a spot in the Citrus Bowl, simply couldn’t muster enough offense to make a game of it. There were dropped passes, wobbly passes and not even the hint of a running game. There was the 55-yard pass to Calvin Ridley to set up Henry’s touchdown in the second quarter.
It was another hard game for Harris, who completed only nine of 24 passes for 165 yards, threw an interception and was sacked five times.
The Gators gained just a single yard in the second quarter.
“We’re a program on the rise”, coach Jim McElwain said.
“I don’t think there were a lot of people around the country that thought we would be playing in this football game”.
The Tide complemented its pound-and-ground offense with a couple of huge passing plays. Florida’s extremely talented front seven limited Heisman Trophy favorite Derrick Henry to just 65 yards at the half, so offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin turned to somewhat enigmatic quarterback Jake Coker.
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“We knew this was going to be a tough game today and it would take sort of our best focus, our best mental and physical toughness”, Alabama coach Nick Saban said.
