Alabama football team lands in Tuscaloosa

The Tigers didn’t play a flawless Orange Bowl game – not even close – but they got the win and will be playing for their second National Title on January 11. Watson, a Heisman Trophy finalist, threw for 187 yards, one touchdown and an interception, and ran for another 145 yards and a touchdown in a 37-17 win against Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.

While held in prime time, the game between No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Michigan State was overshadowed by New Year’s celebrations around the country; in fact, the Tide’s 38-0 rout ended just minutes before the crystal ball dropped in Times Square.

And the selection committee’s idea of the chalk differs greatly from the view of Las Vegas oddsmakers, who favored the Sooners over Clemson in the Orange Bowl and have established Alabama as a strong 6 1⁄2-point favorite in the title game.

“I knew that we would be here”, said Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, an Alabama alumnus who played on the Tide’s 1992 national championship team. He said he suffered the injury on the first series, but went back out for another series in an effort to play through the pain.

The last team to go 14-0 was Florida State, which brought a national title back to the ACC in 2013.

Now Watson is better than Cook, more mobile, but Alabama is more athletic on defense than a season ago and has players like Tim Williams, Rashaan Evans and Anderson who can get after Watson far better than Oklahoma could. Eventually scoring their second touchdown of the game with 1:34 left before the break, OU took the lead 17-16.

College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock said he was still awaiting the results of the New Year’s Day games.

“I tried to go back out there and after the sack, I felt like I couldn’t go 100 percent, it was just nagging me, so I just put it down and let my teammates handle it, and that’s what they did”, Lawson said.

Alabama was methodical. Clemson was stale. The undefeated Tigers were four-point underdogs to the Sooners.

Like the rankings, the F+ Ratings have Alabama and Clemson as the top two rated teams.

They also have links for more information. They took exception to the Sooners’ disparaging pregame remarks and to their confident quarterback, Baker Mayfield.

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

This one claimed its first outright Big 12 title since 2010.

The semifinals rotate through six bowl games – the Sugar, Rose, Cotton, Orange, Fiesta and Peach.

Just as he did with Amari Cooper last season, Kiffin will get Calvin Ridley in a favorable 1-on-1 matchup and make the defense look as if it badly blew coverage.

Said cornerback Marlon Humphrey of his team, “We have good everything on this team”.

Coach Nick Saban said the players drew inspiration from those previous two bowl losses.

Deshaun Watson might not be the second coming of Johnny Manziel or Cam Newton, but he’s an accomplished passer and a unsafe runner. Punter Andy Teasdall flipped a 31-yard pass to Christian Wilkins, a 315-pound freshman defensive tackle. “This is year seven, and we were able to kind of knock the roof off of it, win another ACC Championship, and when you win our league, you’ve got a chance to play for it all, and so here we are”. He finished with 75 yards but did score two touchdowns. It’s uncommon. That’s what I tell them all the time.

“He is unbelievably talented and a great leader”, Smart said.