Alabama Crimson Tide

The Clemson Tigers Stun the Alabama Crimson Tide in College Football Playoff National Championship

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:39 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Matthew Bartlett/FanSided via Gig Em Gazette

Jan 9, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Clemson Tigers wide receiver Hunter  Renfrow (13) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the fourth quarter in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen  Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Deshaun Watson and the Clemson Tigers beat the defending champions with a last second touchdown to with the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

Aggie fans watched the Crimson Tide hand Texas A&M its first loss of the year. It was that game in Tuscaloosa that began a downward spiral that the team would never recover from. If you can’t beat them, might as well lose to the eventual champion, right? Not this time.

The First Half

Jalen Hurts was not sharp during the first half. His longest pass in the first 30 minutes traveled just nine yards down field. That didn’t seem to matter much, because Bo Scarborough came to play. Scarborough carried the ball 12 times for 76 yards before halftime, including touchdown runs of 25 yards and 37 yards.

The Clemson offense showed some signs off life towards the end of the second quarter. Deshaun Watson led the Tigers on a seven play, 87 yard touchdown drive highlighted by a 8 yard scamper for the score by Watson himself. That would bring the score to 14-7. No more points were scored before the break.

The Second Half

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Clemson began the second half with a fumble which was oh-so-close from turning into yet another Alabama defensive touchdown. The Tide offense had begun to slow down and was held to a field goal. A Hunter Renfrow touchdown grab put Clemson within three points and got SEC fans on the edge of their seats.

Then Clemson decided not to cover OJ Howard. That ended about how you expected it would. Alabama grabbed a 24-14 lead on the 68 yard catch and run for six.

Clemson would answer with a touchdown pass from Watson to Mike Williams to bring the game within three points at the start of the fourth quarter.

With less than five minutes remaining Clemson punched one in and took a 28-24 lead. The national championship rested on the shoulders of freshman Jalen Hurts. He didn’t disappointed. The true freshman, 18 year old quarterback led Alabama 68 yards down the field, finishing the drive himself with a 30 yard touchdown run to give the Tide a 31-28 lead.

Then Deshaun Watson became a legend. With one second remaining Watson hit former walk on Hunter Renfrow in the front corner off the endzone to take down the Tide in Tampa Bay with ONE. SECOND. REMAINING.

Jan 9, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Clemson Tigers wide receiver Hunter  Renfrow (13) catches a touchdown pass against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the fourth quarter in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Rapid Reaction

When these two teams met in 2016 both sides aired it out. Watson passed for 405 yards and Tide quarterback Jake Coker threw for 335 yards. There were points a plenty.

This year’s game was supposed to be lower scoring, and it was. Both offenses were less effective than they had been a year ago. Alabama converted just 2 of 15 third downs while Clemson wasn’t much better, converting 7 of 18. But that didn’t mean there weren’t any fireworks. Five of the nine touchdowns in this game were longer than 20 yards.

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Alabama did the majority of their damage on the ground. It sure seemed like new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian didn’t trust freshman Jalen Hurts to throw the ball down field. He took a deep shot midway through the third quarter that fell incomplete, but beyond that his passes stuck close to the line of scrimmage. Without a downfield threat, Clemson was able to dig in to the trenches and keep this game close with their defense.

Deshaun Watson was abused. Reuben Foster and Ryan Anderson wrecked havoc in the Clemson backfield all night. The Tide collectively tallied four sacks and forced two Watson fumbles in the process.

At the end of the day the difference was simply that there wasn’t anyone in a red jersey that could cover Mike Williams. The senior Clemson wide receiver hauled in eight passes for 94 yards and a touchdown. The numbers don’t do it justice, as Williams made highlight worthy catch after catch in the fourth quarter.

Jan 9, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver ArDarius  Stewart (13) runs past Clemson Tigers linebacker Kendall  Joseph (34) in the second quarter in the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Implications of The Alabama Loss and Clemson Win

People were starting to throw around the “D” word – Dynasty. With a victory on Monday night Nick Saban would have won FIVE national championships in the last SEVEN years. Instead the Crimson Tide have only won FOUR titles in the past SEVEN years. The three years in which Alabama failed to win the title? 2013 when they lost to Auburn on the infamous Kick Six, 2014 when Urban Meyer and Ohio State beat the Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff, and this year.

This year, in a “down SEC”, Alabama beat No. 19 Ole Miss, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 9 Tennessee, No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 13 LSU, No. 13 Auburn, and No. 15 Florida.

They also opened the season with a win over then No. 20 Southern Cal that will finish the season as a top 10 team. Talk as much conference smack as you like, that’s an impressive resume. And they did it without a blemish.

Texas A&M made a jump up in prestige when it joined the SEC in 2012. Unfortunately for the Aggies they stepped in at the same time that Saban was just getting started. As long as Saban is at Alabama the Aggies are going to have a hard time making a championship run – no matter who they hire as defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator, or head coach. Championship or not, Alabama is ridiculously talented.

Dynasty talk will have to wait another day. 2017 will be the year of the Tiger as Dabo Swinney bests Nick Saban in the College Football Playoff National Championship. Hats off to Clemson, they deserve it.

***Stats from ESPN, Sports Reference***

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