Lane Kiffin left behind by team bus after Alabama’s title victory

Though Swinney’s team fought brilliantly all night, it could not overcome the loss of star cornerback Mackensie Alexander, who left the game in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and whose absence was felt as Alabama completed long pass after long pass.

Watson’s play, though, could not make up for Clemson’s mistakes on defense and special teams against Alabama. Young’s 467 total yards – 200 rushing, 267 passing – represented a seminal effort for dual-threat QBs and Watson was better.

In handing top-ranked Clemson (14-1) its only defeat of the season, Saban showed why he is a master, especially on the big stage. Howard was the offensive player of the game with five catches for 208 yards, including a 63-yarder that set up Alabama’s final score. J Howard. Oh, and Kenyan Drake returned a kickoff 95 yards for another score.

Saban had him tap a surprise onside kick, which Tide corner Marlon Humphrey was able to pluck out of the air before anyone on the Tigers’ return team. Despite the seeming inevitability of Crimson Tide football, it was a pretty thrilling back-and-forth contest that featured the most combined points in a national title game.

Facing the stout Alabama defense, Watson threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns, adding 73 more yards on the ground. “I’ve never been prouder of a group of players”.

“Going into this game, I was expecting to win”, said Watson, who became the first NCAA Division I quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards (4,104) and rush for 1,000 yards (1,105) in a season. This is a team that just has incredible will to win and heart, and I think they gave us everything that they had. Clemson came right back with a 55-yard drive to a 37-yard field goal by Huegel with 10:10 left in the third quarter, narrowing the Tide lead to 21-17. Deshaun Watson’s 31-yard pass to freshman Hunter Renfrow tying the game 7-7. You nearly got the sense that if the game had gone on for just a little bit longer, Watson’s individual brilliance would have eventually overcome whatever dark magic Nick Saban was conjuring on the sideline.

Howard finished the season third on the team in receiving yards with 602 and tied for third in catches (38) with Richard Mullaney.

The Tide hit Clemson early with Henry, who scored the game’s first touchdown on a 50-yard burst through the middle.

Clemson ranked in the top 25 in the major defensive categories and got dominant performances from defensive end Kevin Dodd in the last two games.

Further reading: Is Nick Saban the greatest college coach ever? Two plays later, Jake Coker connected with tight end O.J. Howard for a 51-yard touchdown, and suddenly the Crimson Tide led 31-24.

In the end, Alabama would salt away the win with help from the Heisman Trophy victor and All-SEC selection Derrick Henry.

“We got ahead, which allowed us to play differently because we weren’t playing great on defense”, Saban said Tuesday. He said ratings were down about 35 percent from last year when the games were held on New Year’s Day. “There’s a lot of things we can learn, and that’s what we’ve got to do with this”, Swinney said.