“As much as we hit him, when you hit them enough, they become inaccurate and get antsy and want to leave and escape the pocket”. Even Smart was surprised at the level of dominance of Michigan State, saying of the shutout, “I did not see that coming”. The game was very reminiscent of the beating that Alabama put on Michigan State in 2010 in the second half.
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Alabama opens as 7-point favorite vs. Clemson in Playoff Championship
It’s also notable that Swinney was raised in Pelham, Alabama , and is a former receiver and assistant coach at Alabama . In the first quarter, the senior committed an unforced fumble while scrambling 13 yards back from MSU defenders.
Alabama Crimson Tide advances to the College Football Playoff National Championship in Glendale, Arizona.
Mariota’s right knee injury not believed serious
Fantasy Impact: There was some concern about Brady after he was listed as questionable with an illness going into Sunday. In 12 games, Mariota threw for over 2,800 yards with a 62% completion percentage, 19 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions.
Every year I keep thinking, “Okay they have lost too many players to come back and make a run this year”.
Singer Natalie Cole, star and daughter of legend, dead at 65
In 2010, the Society of Singers awarded her the Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Award for her contributions towards music. Her top-selling album was the 1991 record Unforgettable … with Love, in which Cole paid tribute to her father’s biggest hits.
“I think he might do a little Dab”, Evans said. Down the stretch this season, the Tide leaned so heavily on Henry.
Alabama finally broke through by going not to its Heisman victor but to its star freshman receiver. Jake Coker played the game of his life, completing 25 of 30 passes for 286 yards and a pair of well-placed touchdown passes to Calvin Ridley.
Views: There’s always a chance there is a prospect somewhere watching that might have been swayed, but that is likely someone not in the next class. For the group that will sign their national letters of intent in February, the more likely scenario is they see how close the team is to playing for a national championship and see themselves as missing pieces. Alabama (13-1) looked like a team with no weaknesses against overmatched Michigan State (122). Ridley was brilliant streaking by defenders on deep throws and outfighting them on jump balls. They held Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Derrick Henry to 75 rushing yards, his third-lowest output of the season, and placed the burden of moving the offense nearly entirely on Coker’s arm. The last made it 38-0 halfway through the fourth quarter. Alabama’s defensive front was so good – against a pretty good offensive line – that it got pressure on Cook despite often rushing only four. It burned Alabama so badly to be beaten in the College Football Playoff semifinals previous year that the Crimson Tide was determined to handle its business differently this time around.
Deshaun Watson turned in another stellar two-way performance, running for one touchdown, passing for another and accounting for 332 yards to lead top-ranked Clemson to a 37-17 victory over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl on Thursday.
Lawson suffered a knee injury on the opening drive of the game.
He’s only had two other 100-yard receiving games, against Arkansas and Florida, but was able to meet the goal he set before the season began: have more than 1,000 receiving yards. Whether the semifinals were on or not, I’d still spend my New Year’s Eve at home with the lady and the dog watching bowl games, and waiting to count down to the new year. “It was just a matter of when”.
The Clemson Tigers defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 37-17 Thursday afternoon to win the 2015 Orange Bowl. The Sooners (11-2) matched their lowest-scoring game of the season as Baker Mayfield was sacked five times and intercepted twice, finally getting knocked out of the game when he took a blow to the head trying to make a tackle after his second pick.
Before we get to breaking down that game, though, let’s go over some things we learned, or were just reminded of, while watching both of the semifinals on Thursday. “Everything we saw on film was out there”. Running behind defensive linemen A’Shawn Robinson and Jarran Reed, Henry punched it in for his SEC-record breaking 24th touchdown, and with 5:36 left in the first half it was 7-0 Tide. They won with the better defense. Bring your own guts isn’t just a catchphrase for Dabo Swinney. “We scored on special teams”. At the end of the first half, with Alabama beginning to overwhelm the MSU party goers with its 10-0 lead, Henry only had 39 yards on 11 carries.
Ridley has 83 catches for 1,031 yards and seven touchdowns.
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If Watson was flustered by that interception, he sure didn’t show it after the break.
