Alabama, Clemson advance to championship game

Cook completed 19 of 39 passes for 210 yards in his final collegiate game. Coker went 16/20 for 177 yards in the first half, while Cook went 9/18 for 133 yards and an interception.

The spot had party goers in formal wear, balloons, college mascots and celebrities – but no one watching a football game. The Sooners looked quicker and more physical in the first quarter of play, but the Tigers rang up over 250 yards of offense in the second quarter, and despite Deshaun Watson’s interception at the end of the first half Clemson went into the locker room knowing it was the better team.

Earlier in the day, undefeated and number 1 ranked Clemson overpowered Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, delivering a 20 point win, 37-17.

Not to dwell on the unpleasant, but a year ago in the CFP semifinal game at the Sugar Bowl, Alabama played a disappointing game and had a disappointing result, losing to eventual national champion Ohio State, 42-35.

The national title game January 11 in Glendale, Ariz., is a Southern dream matchup. Alabama extended its streak just before the new year with a 67-59 overtime victory against Jacksonville State on Tuesday.

The Crimson Tide have been favored in 80 of their past 81 games, including all three national championship game appearances under head coach Nick Saban. Surprisingly, Clemson has not been good at holding onto the ball this year, with the Tigers’ 26 giveaways ranking 104th nationally.

Clemson shouldn’t starved for motivation. I mean, the whole time we were here, it was total focus on winning the game. Spartan QB Connor Cook was beat up all night long with a hellacious pass rush from the Tide defensive line and Alabama did it the majority of the game without having to blitz which was huge for pass coverage down the field. That’s a bad sign for any opponent. Part of the reason is the threat that the Clemson offense poses to Alabama. Sportsbook operator CG Technology opened the Crimson Tide as 4.5-point favorites, but the line quickly climbed to Alabama minus-6.

The onus falls on Jonathan Allen and Tim Williams, who’ve combined for 22.5 sacks so far this season, to get consistent pressure in the Clemson backfield. “It makes things easier on me”.

The intangible of the week was “focus”, and Alabama’s coaching staff had its players at laser levels.

And when Alabama added three touchdowns in the third quarter, it was time for the Spartans to face an uncertain future.

The teams combined for eight punts through the first two quarters.

That’s going to take one more win – one more game against Alabama and the best defense in the game, the best running back in the game, and a suddenly hot quarterback.

It’s probable that Alabama has seen nothing this season like Watson, and Watson has seen nothing this season like Alabama.

Swinney said in his postgame press conference the immediate plan was simply to enjoy the moment, soak in the accomplishment along with the ringing in of a new year. We were still in a quarterback situation, rotating guys and figuring that out. Saban watched Dantonio’s coaching career progress, always impressed. That might be his greatest accomplishment of all. Since then, Saban has at least partially embraced the revolution: He hired disgraced USC coach Lane Kiffin as his offensive coordinator, and Kiffin has employed elements of both the spread and the hurry-up offense. There are a lot of things I could’ve done better.

Hollis had his eye on Dantonio, who was the Cincinnati coach at the time, and called Saban for a recommendation.

“He made a move on the safety and got vertical and got by him”, said Coker.

And ultimately, Alabama will get a chance for another national title.