Clemson vs Alabama for college title

“It’s like we can’t even enjoy this one”, Venables said after Clemson’s College Football Playoff semifinal victory over Oklahoma.

Alabama battles Clemson for the National Championship on January 11th, 2016.

Next: vs. No. 1 Clemson at College Football Championship Game, Jan 11.

Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio walks the sideline against Alabama during the first half of the Cotton Bowl NCAA college football semifinal playoff game, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015, in Arlington, Texas.

Nick Saban, Alabama coach: “I think that Michigan State’s program has improved and kept growing”. “We’ve had a tough schedule this year”.

Those games represented the biggest cable TV audiences ever, until the first playoff championship game with Oregon-Ohio State topped it with 33 million viewers.

Unlike the Tide, the Big Ten champ Spartans (12-2) weren’t able to figure anything out when they had the ball. Coker, the Florida State transfer who sat the bench most of last season, was almost ideal. He completed 25 of 30 attempts for 286 yards with two touchdowns.

“There’s going to be a number of times where they throw the ball deep”, Tressel added. He earned his keep, catching five passes for 120 yards and a touchdown in that win. Now Calvin Ridley helped him out with his touchdown catch in the end zone over a defender and the defense loaded up to stop Derrick Henry left the Spartans vulnerable to the pass, but Coker doesn’t make the plays he made Thursday night a year ago.

Clemson ran for over 300 yards, with Wayne Gallman carrying 26 times for 150 yards and two scores.

And it’s a game against an offense that not only has the Heisman Trophy victor at tailback, but is surging in the passing game and is no longer one-dimensional.

The ‘Bama fans were having fun, though, breaking out the “S-E-C!” chant and singing along to “Sweet Home Alabama” with that familiar “Roll Tide Roll!”

“You remain focused on being positive, and you take the next step in life”, Dantonio said.

Last season Alabama couldn’t get past the semifinals, upset by Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.

“Our players learned a lot from what happened in the game previous year”, Saban said. Ward passed for 238 yards and ran for 67 yards as Houston scored the most points allowed by the Seminoles this season. In chilly Dallas there was nothing to do but practice and that was fine by them.

“This is no surprise”, Allen said. I think he did a great job of reading it. And that was effective for us early in the game. “We’ve got to finish”. Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook was under constant duress, and the running game was nonexistent. The Spartans offensive line watched video of the 1971 Ali-Frazier fight to prepare for what it expected to be a 15-round heavyweight bout.

Instead it was a knockout. “So it was going to take time”, Kiffin said.

Clemson vs. Alabama. One game. Alabama was locked in for the month leading up to the Cotton Bowl, the next challenge is carrying that through another week-plus.

Connor Cook went 19/39 for 210 yards and two interceptions in his final game for the Spartans. Scoring grabs of 50 and 6 yards by Ridley were sandwiched around cornerback Cyrus Jones’ 57-yard punt-return touchdown. Watson carried the running load in the early going, finishing with 145 yards on 24 carries and scoring the Tigers’ first touchdown on a 5-yard run.

Adam Griffith’s 47-yard field goal made it 10-0. The last time Michigan State had been shut out was in a 14-0 loss at Michigan in October 2000. This was done to soften Michigan State up for a big throw down the field and it worked to perfection. After McCaffrey’s opening TD, Hogan rushed for an 8-yard score and Quenton Meeks returned an interception 66 yards for another TD in the first 11 minutes.

Clemson trailed by a point before outscoring Oklahoma 21-0 in the second half of a 37-17 rout of the fourth-ranked Sooners.

No. 5 Stanford (12-2) beat No. 6 Iowa 45-16, Rose Bowl, Jan. 1.