Alabama tops Clemson, 45-40, to win national championship

Here are the key plays from that second half as Alabama won its fourth national championship in the last seven seasons.

Clemson answered with a quick drive that led to a field goal, but Alabama’s Kenyan Drake took the kickoff at the 5. The Tigers also brought in five-star defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence from North Carolina as an early enrollee.

Monday’s ratings result comes after a pair of dismal semifinal games on New Year’s Eve, which college football executives had hoped would become a seminal football event in the US, like Thanksgiving for the National Football League. If you want an idea of the rarified air in which Saban finds himself, just know that the other three coaches in the graphic ESPN showed outlining most titles won, Saban was the only one not wearing a an old style fedora hat while coaching in his picture.

That last score gave Clemson the cover, and reportedly swung over million in Vegas alone.

The tight end caught five passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns Monday night vs. Clemson, emerging from the background of an Alabama offense that had leaned heavily on running back Derrick Henry leading up to the playoff.

There was just one problem (well, two problems, if you don’t like that this is what representatives discuss when the floor is open) – Sewell got the name of Alabama’s best player wrong.

However, in the process of walking and talking with reporters, Kiffin ended up staying around too long after the game and was left behind by the Alabama team bus. Another Alabama big play.

The sophomore, who finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, had 478 total yards against a loaded Tide defense that was the toughest in the country and bested Young’s 467 yards against the Trojans.

In the 50th game matching the No. 1 vs. the No. 2 team, Alabama (14-1) outscored Clemson 24-16 in a frantic fourth quarter to win and earned all 61 first-place votes from the AP panel. After wandering around the stadium looking for a ride, Kiffin managed to find a auto, which just happened to be waiting for Alabama coach Nick Saban as he was wrapping up his postgame interviews.

But Saban, whose team had rarely been challenged since losing to Ole Miss in September, made a series of brilliant calls that quickly turned a game seemingly headed toward an epic finish. Receiver Charone Peake, second on the Tigers with 44 catches this season, is also a fifth-year player.

“I thought we had it in the game any time we wanted to do it”, Saban said.

The first came right before halftime, as the Tigers got a first down but the clock didn’t stop, forcing Clemson coach Dabo Swinney to call a timeout. He destroyed a defense considered one of Saban’s all-time best, passing for 405 yards and four touchdowns and rushing for 73 yards. From there, Alabama was able to hold Clemson at bay, with the Tigers never getting closer than five points the rest of the way.