Clemson, Alabama coast into CFP title game

Jake Coker played the game of his life, completing 25 of 30 passes for 286 yards and a pair of well-placed touchdown passes to Calvin Ridley.

“Last year we sort of just participated in the game”, he said. And the last thing I want to do is look at the down side and say our last game as Spartans, we lost.

The Spartans dream season ends on a sour note, while the Crimson Tide are set to play the Clemson Tigers on January 11th in Glendale, Arizona for the National Championship.

The Tide showed few weaknesses on offense or defese against Michigan State (12-2).

Defensively, Alabama allowed just 29 yards on 26 carries, really trying to force the pass. By forcing the pass, they got Spartans quarterback Connor Cook to make mistakes, and he threw a pair of interceptions as a result, according to CBS News.

Michigan State’s only trip to the red zone ended with Cyrus Jones intercepting a pass at the goal line late in the first half.

Derrick Henry (2) runs for a touchdown against MI during the fourth quarter.

As easy as Alabama made it look in drumming Michigan State in the College Football Playoff semifinal game in Arlington, Texas, Anderson expects the Tigers (14-0) to present a more formidable challenge.

Lane Kiffin’s play calling can be hard to read because he goes out of what you think Alabama should do.

Coker relaxed and picked apart the Spartan defense by completing 83 percent of his throws which included two throws going for touchdowns.

It’s not that the Spartans aren’t a good team – they’ve proved otherwise on multiple occasions this year against ranked opponents – but it wasn’t their night and Alabama was just that good. After their dominance against Michigan State last night in the Semi-Final Game you would think Clemson has no chance. Coker delivered the best performance of his career in Alabama’s biggest game of the season to date. The Tigers, however, believe they can slow down the Crimson Tide so Watson and Gallman can make the plays they’ve made all season.

The 10-0 halftime deficit was not insurmountable, but as Mark Dantonio noted before halftime, Sparty was going to need some good breaks to get back in the game.

The national championship race is down to two. It was called an incomplete pass, but after review, it was ruled a touchdown.

The loss brought back memories of the only other meeting between the teams in the 2011 Capital One Bowl, a game that resulted in a one-sided, 49-7 win for Alabama. Alabama plays No. 1 Clemson (14-0), which handled Oklahoma 37-17 in the Orange Bowl earlier in the day. Oklahoma’s first possession was the exact opposite: three straight yards-losing plays forced the Sooners to punt, setting the tone for the struggles they would face the rest of the game.

Mullaney 3-53, Drake 3-5, Henry 1-(minus 6).

“No. 16 [Burbridge], their best receiver, he has around 40 more targets throughout the year than anyone else, so there were a lot of times that we were doubling him, playing coverages where they couldn’t get him the ball and eliminating him”, Humphrey said. He ran for 75 yards and two TDs. Alabama was also superior on offense as Michigan State’s defensive backs couldn’t keep up with Calvin Ridley and ArDarius Stewart.

Jack Conklin, Michigan State left tackle: “We thought we could handle those guys”.