MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Clemson co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott knew before halftime his offense was going to dominate the second half in Thursday’s 37-17 victory over No. 4 Oklahoma.

It was early in the second quarter and the Sooners’ defensive players already had their hands on their hips.

“I knew then they were tired and we could really wear them out in the second half,” he said. “I knew then we could take over the football game in the third and fourth quarters.”

He also knew he had Wayne Gallman in the backfield. For the second straight game the Clemson running back did most of his damage in the second half as he and the Tigers’ offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage.

Gallman rushed for 111 of his 150 yards in the second half, while also scoring both of his touchdowns. His third-quarter run—a one-yard score—gave the Tigers the lead for good, while his fourth quarter touchdown—a 4-yard run—put the game away.

“The coaching staff trusts me,” the sophomore said. “They know when they give me the ball I can take over when we needed it. I’m just glad we had such a great day. You don’t get days like this when it is 80 degrees on green grass.”

Clemson ran for 312 yards overall, the second straight game and the third time this year they eclipsed the 300-yard mark on the ground. Against North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 5, Gallman ran for 168 of his 185 yards in the second half.

Thursday’s performance got the Tigers (14-0) in the National Championship Game where they will face No. 2 Alabama on Jan. 11. Gallman, like Elliott knew the game was theirs for the taking, early in the second quarter.

“I recognized it at the start of the second quarter,” he said. “They were wearing down and had their hands on their hips. They just could not take it.”

Oklahoma (11-2) kept Clemson in check in the first quarter. The Tigers had just 47 total yards after the first quarter, but when quarterback Deshaun Watson broke off a 46-yard run to start Clemson’s first touchdown drive, the running game opened up and subsequently the rest of the offense did too.

“I believe we could have done it in the first quarter, but that’s how things work out,” Gallman said. “Starting the game off, they were really key on stopping me, which allowed Deshaun to really get going. That’s why I’m glad we have the versatility we do have because we can run, we can pass, we can do either or.”

Elliott said it was not intentional in the way they ran Gallman in the second half, it was just the way the flow of the game went.

“We were having a little success throwing the ball and we were having success running it, but Deshaun was carrying the load. We found something schematically where we could exploit his talents running the ball,” Elliott said. “Yes, we were sort of trying to make sure we had Wayne fresh, but it was really about how the game was flowing.”