National title race is down to Alabama vs Clemson

Led by quarterback Deshaun Watson, top-ranked Clemson defeated Oklahoma 37-17 in a College Football Playoff semifinal Thursday in the Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium. Oklahoma went to the locker room with a 17-16 lead after Mark Andrews hauled in an 11-yard touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield with 1:34 remaining, and the Sooners defense came up with a pick in the end zone on an ill-advised throw by Watson into triple-coverage. With the victory, the Tigers will move on to the National Championship in Glendale, Arizona where they will face the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The Michigan State-Alabama Cotton Bowl drew a 9.6 rating for ESPN compared to 15.2 for Ohio State-Alabama in the Sugar Bowl last January 1 – a 36.8 percent drop.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Lawson sprained his medial collateral ligament (MCL), but did not believe the injury was very serious.

College football has changed quite a bit since the ’48 Gator Bowl against Missouri, when, “As coach Howard said we humiliated them 14-13”, Prince said. “I’m proud as hell of them to get where they are”.

Now, he’s going against the greatest coach of this generation. To the Tigers, 15-0 would be absolute. “I’ll be back”, boomed the most important Clemson player not named DeShaun Watson. It would be such an accomplishment. “Now here we are, seven hours away”. He’s telling his team to embrace this chance.

College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock said he was still awaiting the results of the New Year’s Day games. “And this team is uncommon in everything that they do”. The offensive line also got demolished by Clemson, though the freshman tackle duo of Orlando Brown and Dru Samia at least gives the Sooners a foundation. Saban has won three national titles in the last six years at Alabama, to go along with a BCS title at LSU.

Swinney, whose top-ranked, undefeated team routed Oklahoma in a national semi-final in Miami Gardens on Thursday, said that was easy to answer.

There simply wasn’t the sort of buzz one would expect from a game of that stature, which surely had a lot to do with a 3 p.m. starting time, when many people were wrapping up their final work day of 2015. And any time you have a team that could accomplish a first of that magnitude, it’s truly something special.

Travel update – The Tigers are ringing in the New Year in Miami and will return to the WEZ in Clemson approximately 5pm tomorrow! They’ve outgained opponents by 2,946 yards – roughly 1.7 miles – this season. The Sooners were the first to score, though, with a touchdown by Samaje Perine in the beginning of the first.

The FBS conference commissioners who put together the College Football Playoff in 2012 said they wanted to create a new tradition by playing the semifinals on New Year’s Eve twice every three years over the course of a 12-year contract with ESPN.

“You’ve got to be a great team to be able to do that”.

Clemson running back Wayne Gallman (9) runs with the ball in the fourth quarter. And the Tigers are embracing the stakes.

“For the last seven years we’ve been dreaming about that moment”, Scott said. “No one’s ever done it. So we would be the best ever”.