National Championship Game Day Blog: Alabama wins
By: will-vandervort January 11, 2016

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Alabama wins 45-40. We will have more game coverage later.

 

It’s not over yet. Watson throws a 15-yard touchdown pass to Artvais Scott with 4:40 to play in the game. The scoring drive was 8 plays, 75-yards and took 2:51. Alabama leads 38-33.

 

Alabama just stunned this Clemson crowd as Kenyan Drake took the kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown with 7:31 to play in the game. The Crimson Tide lead 37-27.

 

With 7:47 to play in the game, Clemson’s Greg Huegel kicks a 31-yard field goal to make the score 31-27.

The scoring drive: 6 plays, 61 yards, 1:58. Clemson had a 25-yard pass to Renfrow and 34-yard Wayne Gallman run.

 

The officials blew that call on the onside kick. If the ball does not touch the ground then the return team has first rights to touch the ball before the kick team can touch it. The ball did not touch the ground.

 

Alabama uses a surprised onside kick to get the ball back and then Coker throws a 51-yard touchdown pass to Howard to give the Crimson Tide a 31-24 lead with 9:45 to play in the game.

The Alabama scoring drive: 2 plays, 50 yards, 0:49

 

Alabama’s Adam Griffith kicked a 33-yard field goal with 10:34 to play in the game. The big play was a 38-yard pass from Coker to Ardarius Stewart to the Clemson 18-yard line on third down and 11.

The scoring drive was: 8 plays, 64 yards, 2:33

 

Clemson regained the lead 24-21 on a one-yard touchdown run by Wayne Gallman.

 

Clemson answered the Alabama touchdown with a 37-yard Greg Huegel field goal to cut the lead to 21-17 with 10:10 to play in the third quarter.

Watson found Artavis Scott for what looked like a 21-yard touchdown pass on third down, but Alabama safety Ronnie Harrison broke the pass up as Scott was going to preserve the lead.

 

Alabama comes out in the second half and forces a three-and-out, and then quarterback Jake Coker found tight end O.J. Howard down the sideline for a 53-yard touchdown pass to give the Tide a 21-14 lead with 12:53 to play in the third quarter.

The Alabama scoring drives was: 3 plays, 64 yards, 0:53

 

Alabama’s D.J. Pettaway gets a hand on Clemson kicker Greg Huegel’s field goal attempt with five seconds left in the half, keeping the game tied at 14.

Clemson had 219 total yards in the first half against the Tide’s second-ranked defense as quarterback Deshaun Watson completed 12 of 18 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdowns went to wide receiver Hunter Renfrow – one from 31 yards out and the second from 11 yards out.

Running back Derrick Henry scored two first-half touchdowns and rushed for 128 yards on 20 carries. He opened the scoring with a 50-yard touchdown in first quarter, and then went over the top from a yard out in the second quarter to tie that game at 14.

Clemson’s defense had four sacks in the opening, while holding quarterback Jake Coker to 9 of 13 passing for 77 yards. Kevin Dodd and Shaq Lawson had two sacks each.

Alabama held Clemson running back Wayne Gallman to 8 yards on 8 carries, but Watson rushed for 45 yards on nine carries. Clemson has rushed for 57 yards on 18 carries.

The Tide had 195 total yards in the first half and held the ball 5:02 longer.

The Tigers biggest concerns are to Mackensie Alexander, who left the game in the second quarter in what looks like a severe hamstring injury. Linebacker Ben Boulware also went to the locker room early to look at his left shoulder.

 

Following a Watson interception, Alabama needed seven plays to tie the game at 14 as Henry dove from over the top from a yard out. The scoring Drive: 7 plays, 42 yards, 2:23.

 

Clemson took the ball 73-yards on seven plays and took 2:17 off the clock. On the last play of the first quarter, Watson found Renfrow in the back of the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown.

The Tigers lead 14-7 to start the second quarter.

 

Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson throws a 31-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow as the Tigers tie the game with  5:18 to play in the first quarter.

The Scoring Drive: 6 plays, 54 yards, 2:29

 

Alabama grabs the lead as Derrick Henry broke through the line and rumbled 50 yards for a touchdown. It was third and one at the time from midfield. The scoring drive was 3 plays and went 59 yards.

With 7:55 to play in the first quarter, Alabama leads 7-0.

 

 

Here we are it’s game day – National Championship Game Day that is.

It’s crazy to think the Tigers are playing for the national championship. It has been a long journey, but in just a little while we will see how the Tigers do and if they can get it done.

Just to give you a heads up, Hale and I went down on the field to watch Mackensie Alexander and Shaq Lawson during warm ups. Alexander seemed okay. He was jogging back and forth and did not appear to favoring his hamstring at all.

From this video, easy to say the Tigers are focused. This is from when they got off the bus.

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As for Lawson, we did not see him. He stayed in the locker room and was perhaps receiving treatment.

About Alabama: Alabama comes into the National Championship Game having faced one of the toughest schedules in the country. The Crimson Tide played 11 teams that qualified for a bowl game this year, more than any team in the country. Alabama is coming off a 38-0 victory over Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl.

Alabama’s offense: Running back Derrick Henry leads the nation with 2,061 yards. He also leads the country in touchdowns with 25 and ranks second in rushing average per game with 147.2. Quarterback Jake Coker has improved through the course of the season, including a 25-of-30-night for 286 yards against Michigan State. In the last 10 games, Coker has completed 73.1 percent of his passes for 1,703 yards and nine touchdowns compared to four interceptions. Freshman wide receiver Calvin Ridley has become Alabama’s top target. He has 83 catches for 1,031 yards and seven touchdowns, including one for 81 yards. He had eight grabs for 138 yards and two touchdowns in the Cotton Bowl win over Michigan State.

Alabama’s defense: During its 11-game win streak, Alabama’s defense has forced 21 turnovers – 16 interceptions and five fumbles. They have forced 26 turnovers overall, which leads the SEC, while the Tide’s 18 interceptions also leads the SEC and ranks 11th nationally. Alabama leads the nation in scoring defense (13.4 points) and in rushing defense (70.8 yards.) The Crimson Tide lead the country in sacks with 50. They rank second in three-and-outs behind Clemson.

Records: Clemson 14-0, Alabama 13-1

Series record: Alabama leads the all-time series 12-3

First meeting: Clemson won 35-0 in 1900

Last Meeting: Alabama won 34-10 in 2008

Last Clemson win: 25-0 in 1905

Streak: Alabama has won 12 straight games in the series

Stat worth noting: Alabama has scored nine non-offensive touchdowns this season – four on interceptions, four on punt returns and one on a blocked kick.

Second stat worth noting: Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson has 3,699 yards passing and 1,032 yards rushing for a total of 4,731 yards of total offense. Those numbers set a new ACC record for total yards in a season. He needs 301 passing yards against Alabama tonight to become the first player in FBS history with 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards.

Third stat worth noting: If the Tigers should win tonight’s game, they will become the first team in the history of College Football to beat Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Alabama in the same season. Those three schools make up three of the top 6 winningest programs of all-time.