Alabama punches ticket to College Football Playoff title game

Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) poses with the Orange Bowl trophy following an NCAA college football semifinal playoff game against Oklahoma, Thursday, Dec. 31, 2015, in Miami Gardens, Fla.

Unable to get anything going on the ground left the high-powered Oklahoma offense one dimensional and vulnerable to the Clemson pass rush, which had Baker Mayfield in their sights and scrambling for his life a good part of the game and especially in the second half when the Sooner offense became way too predictable.

Clemson may not have had Shaq Lawson for most of its College Football Playoff semifinal, but the star defensive end said he should be back in time for the championship.

Watson played like Heisman finalist.

Alabama is looking for its third national title in six seasons under coach Nick Saban while Clemson is out for its second ever and first since 1981.

Defensive coordinator Brent Venables thought the key to his group’s success was shutting down Oklahoma’s running attack, something that could be key against an Alabama team that features the nation’s best running back in Derrick Henry. He was named the offensive MVP.

If Watson was flustered by that pick, he sure didn’t show it after the break.

The national championship might come down to this: Whether Clemson can find weak spots in Alabama’s defensive armor with its quick-strike offense, or whether the extra time to prepare will give the Tide time to develop a scheme capable of stopping Watson and the Tigers.

Oklahoma came into the Orange Bowl rushing for an average of 299.9 yards per game in their previous seven contests.

It wasn’t the play that decided Clemson’s 37-17 Orange Bowl victory over Oklahoma on New Year’s Eve, but the decision by Tigers coach Dabo Swinney to run a wild fake punt early in the second quarter was both an expression of confidence in his No. 1-ranked team and a message that he will do whatever it takes to win a national championship. Michigan State certainly had one of the four best resumes coming into the Cotton Bowl, which is why it was selected for the CFP.

Just what are you supposed to do with that defensive line? “I just threw it up to him”. The first semifinal last season, the Rose Bowl with OR and Florida State on New Year’s Day, earned a 15.5. The undefeated Tigers were four-point underdogs to the Sooners.

Coker completed 25-of-30 passes for 286 yards. This is, after all, a team whose signature moment from 2015 was the defense stuffing Notre Dame’s two-point conversion at the end of a 24-22 win in October.

This season was a huge upgrade, but it ended with the same result: a dismal loss to Clemson at bowl time. “We’re just little ol’ Clemson”, coach Dabo Swinney said.

Mayfield, who threw for 311 yards but was picked off twice, wobbled off the field in the closing minutes after taking a shot to the head. The Crimson Tide were national champs in 2009, 2011 and 2012, after having not won a title since 1992 before that.

“I think the players learned a lot from what happened in the game previous year”, Saban said after Thursday’s convincing win over the outmatched Spartans.

The coach insisted that it wouldn’t be a distraction.