College Football Playoff Semifinal Games a Couple of Duds

Quarterback Deshaun Watson did a lot of everything for the Tigers, 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. And even with what the Seminoles and Tigers have done in recent years, the ACC still believes it doesn’t get the level of respect that’s afforded to some of the other leagues — namely the Southeastern Conference, which just happens to be providing Clemson’s final obstacle this season in Alabama.

Oklahoma showed improvement this season after going 8-5 a year ago, including a 40-6 loss to Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Now, the two best teams in 2015 will play next week for the right to be called national champion.

The second half was all Clemson. Boulware leaped to make an interception at the goal line, Mayfield dove into the linebacker to make the tackle, took a knee to the head and staggered off the field.

Perine was held to 58 yards on 15 runs and Joe Mixon was a non-factor running three times for four yards. Wayne Gallman knocked off Oklahoma safety Steven Parker’s helmet fighting for extra yardage. Will they have that same success against a ‘Bama team that relied so much on a running game all year, but were forced to throw the ball more against Michigan State?

After the first drive, the Sooners became one dimensional and eventually no dimensional as they were shut out in the second half.

The defeat was the Sooners’ first since they were beaten by rival Texas in October. Then on Saturday, there will be more games.

“We weren’t good enough to finish it”, disappointed Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. “But we weren’t tonight”. The Tigers romped in the second half for a 37-17 win over No. 4 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, followed by an even more dominating performance in which the Crimson Tide thumped Michigan State 38-0 in the Cotton Bowl.

There were two big plays on the drive: a 46-yard run by Watson to start the march and a 31-yard pass from punter Andy Teasdall to defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. Bring your own guts isn’t just a catchphrase for Dabo Swinney. It was the highlight, but the real story was the unflappable foundation that Swinney and his staff have built over the last seven years, filling in the gaps around the talented skill position players to build something sustainable. “That was it. We did most of our talking on the field”.

Alabama (13-1) will face No. 1 Clemson (14-0) on January 11 in Arizona looking for its fourth national title in nine seasons under Saban.

Stoops said Clemson’s pass rush made Mayfield’s job hard.

“He gives the credit to the people around him, he gives it to the line, the beard gang”, Singleton said. “At times he was scrambling around and waiting for something to come open”.

After being evaluated at halftime, Lawson was ruled out for the rest of the game. Watson, named the game’s Most Valuable Offensive Player, finished with 24 carries for 145 yards and a touchdown, while Gallman rushed for 150 yards and a score on 26 carries.

“I knew that we would be here”, Swinney said. “We were late getting to the guy down the boundary – it was our lack of execution”.

Center Jay Guillermo said he could see a change in the Sooners’ body language after that third quarter drive.

Clemson hasn’t lost all season, coming into the College Football Playoff as the nation’s only undefeated FBS team. Perine took a direct snap, ran up the middle and was stuffed for no gain.

Its impact: Clemson stopped any momentum Oklahoma had cold, and scored just a few plays later on the ensuing drive to take a commanding lead. Later in the quarter, Watson would connect with Hunter Renfrow on a 35 yard score to make it 30-17.