The plays that helped Alabama win a national title

The Tigers have one national championship – in the 1981 season.

After Clemson pulled within 31-27, Alabama’s Kenyan Drake returned the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for a score.

It’s not right to call any part of Alabama’s 45-40 victory in last night’s national championship game fluky, but there’s no denying that they were carried to to the win by precisely the kind of wild, momentum-swinging plays that we usually see buoying an underdog’s chances.

“Championship football is a game of a few plays, and that’s what this game came down to, just a few plays”, Swinney said. “We felt like we had to win special teams in this game”. He was pleased that all of the juniors who were interested in having their draft status analyzed chose to wait until after all Bama games had been played before exploring the situation. In the two playoff games, Coker was a combined 41 of 55 for 621 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Did that game whet your appetite for the 2016 season opener against Alabama in Arlington, Texas?

On a lighter note, Saban also addressed the fact that offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin missed the team bus back to the hotel after the game.

Moments later, the game was pretty much controlled by Alabama as tight end O. It would be interesting to hear the argument against Watson, who had never lost a game he had finished at Clemson until this one.

Howard finished with five catches for 208 yards, the first 100-yard receiving game of his career. The success of the kick was crucial in keeping Clemson’s dynamic quarterback, Watson, off the field for what would prove to be a valuable possession.

Behind the Tigers in second is Alabama at 7-to-1.

Another result of the playoff, at least this year, may be a change in perception of the ACC. While the SEC may be superior from top to bottom, it’s clear the ACC’s team at the top, in this case Clemson, can compete with the likes of Alabama. Going into the fourth quarter, the two teams were tied with a score of 24-24. He even told his kicker, Adam Griffith, before the game that he’d likely attempt an onside kick at some point during the title game.

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

A brilliant performance by superb sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson wasn’t quite enough to save the Tigers in a 45-40 loss to the Crimson Tide on Monday night. Coker threw a 51-yard pass to O.J. Howard, who ran in for a touchdown. Between the onside kick and kickoff return, Alabama did.

He completed 30-of-47 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns, and he ran 20 times for 73 yards. Alabama managed to stop the two-point conversion, and Clemson still trailed by a hopeful five points.

For about three-and-a-half quarters, Alabama-Clemson looked like it was destined to finish as one of the all-time great national championships.

“O.J., quite honestly, should have been more involved all year long”, Tide coach Nick Saban said.