Alabama vs. Clemson: National championship game exceeded expectations

With one big play after another – by both teams – Alabama beat Clemson 45-40 on Monday night in the College Football Playoff title game.

They earned a spot in the second-ever College Football Playoff and knocked off a favorite Oklahoma team in the Orange Bowl before falling just short to Alabama 45-40 in the National Championship. Writing for Sports on Earth, Will Leitch said that while it’s Alabama’s opponents who usually are willing to try unconventional tactics to topple the mighty Crimson Tide, this time it was Saban who “pulled a huge David-thwarting-Goliath move with his most stunning, batsh!t-crazy, evil-genius call in recent memory”. It wasn’t the first time Howard was left uncovered in the game either, as Alabama took a 21-14 lead early in the third quarter when it was apparent that Green was the culprit in allowing Howard run down the field uncovered for a 53-yard score.

“I think as long as he’s in Alabama, Alabama is going to be up at the top”, Coker said of his head coach.

After Watson and walk-on Hunter Renfrow hooked up for two touchdowns to give Clemson a 14-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, Henry tied it up with a 1-yard plunge.

Two plays later, Coker had Howard an easy, wide-open strike over the middle; his second long touchdown catch of the half against a coverage bust in the Clemson secondary.

Watson then led Clemson to a field goal to make it 31-27 before Kenyan Drake came up with another big play for Alabama, breaking free and streaking down the sideline for a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown. Coker’s 63-yard pass to Howard set up the 1-yard touchdown run by Henry that finally sealed the victory with 1:07 to play. While Clemson’s Jordan Leggett managed to catch a 24-yard touchdown pass from Watson with 12 seconds left in the championship game, this final touchdown was too late for the Tigers.

The Tigers failed to become the first team to go 15-0 in a season despite a strong game by Deshaun Watson, who completed 30 of 47 passes for 405 yards, four touchdowns and one interception.

Physically, I thought Clemson could hang with Alabama, and that proved to be the case.

Its Alabamas fourth consecutive win over a No 1-ranked team in the Associated Press poll, a streak that dates back to 2011. “I felt like if we didn’t do something or take a chance to change the momentum of the game that we wouldn’t have a chance to win”. “So I was really nervous”.

“We thought we could do a better job than we did against their quarterback”, Saban said.

Alabama is celebrating its fourth college football national championship in seven years, and despite the desire to add a fifth at its earliest opportunity, the celebration will continue for weeks. He finished with 158 yards on 36 carries. “But I also knew that we would be able to make some big plays against them because of the way they played, and I think that was really big in this game”.

Some want Saban to go back to the NFL. He scrambled nine times that produced six first downs and kept Clemson in the game with 207 yards rushing and passing.

For much of the night the game was a highlight reel battle between Deshaun Watson of Clemson and Alabama’s Derrick Henry, two of the three Heisman Trophy finalists this season.

Alabama kicked a field goal to tie the score at 24 with 10 minutes remaining and Nick Saban went to his bag of tricks, calling an onside kick that was executed perfectly. “He did a fantastic job”, Saban said of Watson.