Crimson Tide shuts out and moves on to national championship game

The only team to make the College Football Playoff each of its first two seasons will play in the final game for the first time.

The Crimson Tide didn’t make a shot from inside the 3-point line until forward Jimmie Taylor’s dunk 6:46 into the contest gave them a 14-8 lead.

“I’m really, really proud of our team”.

Which is exactly how Alabama crushed Michigan State 38-0. “And the last thing I want to do is look at the downside and say, ‘Our last game as Spartans we lost.’ We want to be positive people”.

Michigan State embraced its role as the underdog and came in expecting to slug it out with the Tide and it smothering defense and hammering Heisman victor. While this was a defensive performance, Coker completed 25 of his passes for 286 yards and threw two TD’s to Ridley. Las Vegas released its’ opening odds on the match-up last night just a little after Alabama dominated Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl.

“So we knew that we would have to throw the bubbles and the smokes and the outside perimeter stuff and try to get them blocked on the perimeter to be able to move the ball effectively”. In the receiving end, Calvin Ridley had 138 yards and two touchdowns in eight receptions while OJ Howard added 59 yards in three receptions.

The Tide defensive front sacked Connor Cook four times and allowed the Spartans only one trip into the red zone – which ended with Cyrus Jones’ interception at the goal line in the final minute of the first half.

Alabama running back Derrick Henry, the Heisman Trophy victor, banged out 75 tough yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.

After the Tide’s 38-0 Playoff semifinal win over the Spartans, Alabama cornerback Marlon Humphrey said Tide defensive players felt like they knew what was coming thanks to Saban, Smart and others, including defensive analyst Glenn Schumann, who will be part of Smart’s staff at Georgia.

Alabama isn’t interested in style points.

Of the two returning starters from last season, center Ryan Norton was slowed by an injury and tackle Isaiah Battle left the team for the National Football League supplemental draft in the summer.

During a Cotton Bowl in which neither side got much of an early offensive foothold, the Southeastern Conference champions pulled away behind big plays from quarterback Jake Coker and a suffocating defense.

Alabama, the first two-time CFB playoff participant, is playing for its fourth national championship under Saban. “It was just a matter of when”.

It was the Spartans’ first shutout loss since MI blanked them 14-0 in 2000. The Sooners (11-2) actually came into the game as favorites but the Tigers showed their flawless record was no fluke.

“We’ve always been a question mark around here”, Tigers center Jay Guillermo said. Despite the fact that I had this as a close game, it wasn’t surprising to see the Crimson Tide perform like this.

The Tigers also might have the antidote to Alabama’s defense in Watson, who rushed for 145 yards and passed for 187 against OU, a combination that opened lanes for Wayne Gallman to rush for 150 yards.

“The pass rush was there”, he said. “It’s just that simple”, Swinney said.

Can the top-ranked team in the nation really be disrespected?

The game went back and forth through the first half, the Sooners jumping ahead on an impressive first possession that culminated with Samaje Perine’s 1-yard drive. The scoring play was a 6-yard pass from Coker to Ridley that was originally ruled out of bounds but overturned by replay.