The national championship race is down to two

Clemson defeated Oklahoma 37-17 to adv… The last made it 38-0 halfway through the fourth quarter.

But Clemson is undefeated because of the surprising amount of depth that has been developed around Watson.

UNDATED (AP) – There are some good matchups in today’s five bowl games.

Nick Saban said he saw something in his team coming into the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, that he had never seen before.

The Tigers’ unit is a group that early on didn’t look like it could anchor a national championship run.

The national championship game will be played at 8:30 p.m. ET on January 11 in Glendale, Ariz., and broadcast on ESPN.

The Tigers would tack on another touchdown to win it 37-17 and the Tigers advance to the National Championship game January 11th in Arizona.

So, as you might expect, Dabo was dancing in the locker room after the game.

There’s another story line to the title game.

“They played more physically than we did”, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said.

Clemson’s 13-game unbeaten streak this season seemed in jeopardy early in the week when Swinney announced that three players had been suspended from the team and sent home.

That was also a pivotal year for the Tigers.

Swinney, who became the Clemson head coach in 2008, wears his faith on his sleeve and has been accused of coercing his team to wear it as part of its spiritual armor.

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. “It was just a matter of when”. 1 Alabama was taken down in the semifinals by Ohio State. “This year, we really wanted to make a statement and do something special”.

For the second year in a row, the Sooners (11-2) ended their season with a loss to Clemson.

All five of members of the offensive line received honors on one of the three all-Atlantic Coast Conference postseason teams. Sportsbook operator CG Technology opened the Crimson Tide as 4.5-point favorites. That allowed Oklahoma to retain a 17-16 lead at halftime.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson turned in another stellar all-around performance, beating Oklahoma with his arm and his legs. Clemson’s defense shut out the Sooners in the second half, forcing star quarterback Baker Mayfield into throwing a pair of interceptions. Deshaun Watson scored a touchdown, giving the Tigers a 10-7 lead. Eventually scoring their second touchdown of the game with 1:34 left before the break, OU took the lead 17-16.

“It’s tough to beat us when we’re all on the same page and have each other’s back”, said Watson, who gives Clemson a double-edged threat. And that was with ACC Defensive Player of the Year Shaq Lawson on the sideline for nearly the entire game.

Mayfield wasn’t the only Sooner undone by the Tigers’ muscle.

What Lawson wasn’t sure of was the severity of the injury. He was diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament. “I’ll be the first one to say that was my mistake”. If Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart dedicates his game plan to stopping the tandem of Gallman and Watson, it will enable Scott to blow the top off the defense.

It was scoreless in the second quarter when Alabama’s Jake Coker throws downfield to Calvin Ridley, a 50 yard pass to the one yard line. Freshman Calvin Ridley was brilliant, streaking by defenders on deep throws and outfighting them on jump balls. Dalvin Cook was held to only 33 yards on 18 carries, and with the defense taking care of their end of the deal, Greg Ward Jr. with a touchdown pass and two rushing touchdowns didn’t have too much work to do.

Now comes an even greater challenge for Watson and Clemson, the nation’s only unbeaten team. “They made a great play”.