Alabama routs Michigan St., joins Clemson in football final

First time all year that that’s happened to us.

No. 2 Alabama (13-1) convincingly punched its ticket to the CFP title game by dismantling No. 3 Michigan State 38-0 on New Year’s Eve in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium.

With the victory, Alabama advances to the CFP National Championship Game against the No. 1 Clemson Tigers set for Monday, January 11, 2016, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Saban didn’t have any doubts about his team keeping the focus over an extended break, as he told Paul Newberry of the Associated Press: “Clemson is a great team, undefeated, a great program”.

If they keep the greatness going into the first game of 2016, it would be historic. “They got up and made plays and made me look better than I should have”. The Tide seemingly avoided the injury bug again and goes into the National Championship Game against the Clemson Tigers as healthy as you could hope. The Crimson Tide has won the last 12 games in the series, the last 34-10 in the 2008 regular-season opener in Atlanta. The big tailback was just a role player against a Spartans defense stacked to stop the run.

Coker was an efficient 25-for-30 passing for a career-high 286 yards and two touchdowns.

Not only does Nick Saban smile…he dances too!

Several young players got into the game late.

Just more than a minute later, Coker found a wide-open Calvin Ridley for a 50-yard touchdown pass and the Tide continues to roll along 31-0. “We had great practices every day”.

The Spartans (12-2), who handed Iowa its first loss in the Big Ten title game, weren’t able to figure anything out when they had the ball. Tide cornerback Cyrus Jones made a huge play at the end of the first half. Clemson got a ton of pressure on Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and sacked him five times.

“It felt like they were playing some good defense out there”, Cook said.

Cook also brushed aside any speculation that he was less than 100 percent.

Contact between Hall and Alabama coach Nick Saban was steady up until a couple weeks ago, which was due to the Crimson Tide’s preparation for their Cottom Bowl matchup with Michigan State. And any time you have a team that could accomplish a first of that magnitude, it’s truly something special.

All season long, Michigan State struggled running the ball, as it averaged only 3.97 yards per carry during the regular season. The faithful had painfully little to cheer after Iowa fell behind in the opening seconds, putting a daylong damper on Kirk Ferentz’s first Rose Bowl after 17 years as a head coach. Cook, under a heavy rush, finished only 19 of 39 for 210 yards with two picks. Adam Griffith drilled a 47-yard field goal that split the uprights and had plenty of leg to spare.

Watson, a sophomore, showed all of his varied skills against Oklahoma, rushing for 145 yards and a touchdown in 24 carries and passing for 187 yards and a touchdown, with an interception.

McCaffrey then took a return through the heart of Iowa’s coverage unit, juking Iowa linebacker Josey Jewell on the way to his first TD on a punt return this season. The Spartans took it inside the Alabama 45 only once in six possessions, with that trip reaching the red zone before an interception. Score: Alabama 38, Michigan State 0Prediction: Alabama 26, Michigan State 20, Line: Alabama -9.5, o/u: 48 And You Care Because… He also got a late-game highlight, stiff-arming Michigan State All-American defensive end Shilique Calhoun while bouncing outside for his second touchdown. They are longtime friends, as are Izzo and current Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio.