What made Nick Saban smile? A game-changing onside kick

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said after his team’s 45-40 loss to Alabama in Monday’s national championship game that the Tigers will be back in the College Football Playoff final.

The Crimson Tide (14-1) became the second team in college football’s poll era, dating back to 1936, to win four titles in seven seasons.

College football’s bowl- and playoff-system just created the path that led Nick Saban to his fourth national championship trophy, but he Alabama coach said Tuesday he’s not sure the system is right for college football as a whole.

“I made the decision to do it because the score was [tied] and we were exhausted on defense and we weren’t getting them stopped”, Saban said.

Clemson’s impressive numbers against Alabama’s tight defense were mostly contributed by Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson, who passed for 405 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 73, tallying 478 total yards, the most ever recorded in a national title game.

“Hey real talk, we’re going to meet Obama”, Alabama safety Hootie Jones said after the game at University of Phoenix Stadium. Henry pounded out 128 yards on 20 carries and scored twice, on a 50-yard run for the game’s first score and a 1-yard dive that tied the game back up after Clemson’s fast start. They scored a touchdown with 12 seconds left and tried an onside kick. But despite the Tigers’ inexperience in the title game, the moment was clearly not too big for them. 16 of 25 for 335 yards and two touchdowns, both to Howard. In fact, Clemson’s defensive front was so physically overwhelming that Alabama struggled to protect quarterback Jacob Coker, who was sacked five times, and run the ball in the second half. They pulled within a point with less than a minute left, but instead of kicking the extra point that would have ensured them of a championship, coach Tom Osborne chose to go for the win with a two-point try.

The fourth quarter was a wild one, starting with Adam Griffith making a 33-yard field goal to tie the score.

Yes, that’s what qualifies as a drought for the Nick Saban-built dynasty, which has now won four of the last seven national championships. The Tigers are in good hands, and Watson didn’t have to say what we’re already thinking. He made big play after big play.

I’m in Sky Harbor, watching Clemson and Alabama fans – way more Clemson fans, though, as was evident last night at the game – walk past.

Watson had two scoring passes to Hunter Renfrow in the opening half, the first coming as he sweetly dropped the ball into his receiver’s arms between two Alabama defenders. Thanks to Alabama’s win over 14-0 Clemson, all 253 have now lost games.

“I just wanted to get the win and do something that we haven’t done in 34 years”, Watson said.

As a result of the Tide winning this year’s title game, Sports Illustrated has put Alabama on the cover of it’s latest issue – which seems more than fitting.

Alabama’s explosive offense was just enough to offset a superb performance from Clemson’s Watson, who showed off not only his passing but also his running game. And with Alabama leading by five at 38-33, Howard took a swing pass for 63 yards to the Clemson 14.