While the first round of the playoffs were more like controlled scrimmages with Alabama blanking Michigan State 38-0 and Clemson pounding Oklahoma 37-17, the championship game was exciting nearly to the end, and the Tigers late touchdown beat the point spread. He never stops pushing, never stops growing, and this program is all the better for it, which is why the Alabama Crimson Tide are the national champions of the 2015 season.
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With Alabama’s 45-40 victory over Clemson for the national championship on Monday night, another college football chapter has officially come to a close. The Alabama Crimson Tide captured its fourth title under head coach Nick Saban. Henry ran 36 times for 158 yards and three touchdowns, including a 50-yard romp to start the scoring.
Heisman Trophy-winning running back Derrick Henry sealed the outcome with a one-yard touchdown run with 1:07 remaining, stretching Alabama’s lead to 45-33. Benched earlier this season, Jake Coker gets the vindication award after throwing for 335 yards and two touchdowns.
Watson closed the drive with his second TD pass, this one an 11-yard strike to a sliding Renfrow. Saban’s gutsy call to go for an onside kick, the “pop kick”, with 10:34 left in the contest – after Alabama had just tied it up at 24-24 – was stuff of genius. The swoosh also took flight to enter the end zone with a diving Kenyan Drake crossing the pylon on a 95-yard kick return in the fourth quarter.
Clemson didn’t flinch. Dual-threat quarterback Deshaun Watson threw four touchdown and had 478 total yards – 403 passing.
Though Swinney’s team fought brilliantly all night, it could not overcome the loss of star cornerback Mackensie Alexander, who left the game in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and whose absence was felt as Alabama completed long pass after long pass.
In a game marked by huge chunk plays offensively (Alabama had three touchdowns on offense of greater than 50 yards apiece), it was two special teams plays that allowed the Crimson Tide to seize control of the game. Behind Danny Ford, an Alabama native and former Tide player for Bryant, the Tigers won the title in 1981 by beating favored Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.
This game came down to big plays. “I think it changed the momentum of the game, and the guys finished”.
Ten players couldn’t pass the ball before Griffith kicked it. No one did.
Deshaun Watson certainly did his share for Clemson.
“We stand toe-to-toe with everybody in the country”, coach Dabo Swinney said. He has won national titles at Alabama with Greg McElroy, A.J. McCarron (twice) and now Coker.
Not only did Watson break Vince Young’s record for yardage in a national title game, ESPN noted, but he became just the third player ever to put up at least 400 against a Nick Saban defense. Howard had two touchdowns on his career coming into the game, but by midway through the fourth quarter he added two more to his name.
With the score tied, Saban called for an onside kick. I thought we needed to do something that was going to change the momentum of the game.
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“Well, we had the same play against SC a year ago, and we caught the ball and they took it away from us, said that we didn’t have an opportunity, didn’t give them – no matter what, they have to have an opportunity to catch the ball”, Swinney said.
