TIDE WINS #16 THE OLD FASHIONED WAY, THEY EARNED IT

       Clemson is an excellent football team that played its absolute best game of the year. If you want to know the difference between the two teams, here it is. Alabama didn't play anywhere near its best game of the year and still found a way to win. Clemson almost won because they played a great game. Alabama won because they made great plays. The Crimson Tide had so many explosive plays I thought the roof might blow off the University of Phoenix Stadium. While it appeared that Clemson quarterback was the brightest star on the field, it was an underutilized junior tight end named O.J. Howard who became a supernova. Five times Jake Coker found his tight end open and two times Howard was dancing in the endzone. The real Hard Luck Kid, Kenyan Drake,  returned a kickoff 95 yards for his biggest touchdown as a Crimson Tider. It was a combination of skill and flat-out speed. It also was a message about never giving up. 

            The other kickoff play that mattered was a chip shot kick from Adam Griffin to Marlon Humphry. That wasn't an onsides kick. It was a designed play. It didn't require a crazy bounce or one bit of luck. Griff kicked the ball at a precise spot and Marlon Humphrey caught the ball in the air. We may never see another play like that one in our lifetime.  It took a lot of guts for Saban call the play, but the Tide knew it could work. It did, and the direction of the game changed. The momentum flipped a light switch and the evening got a lot brighter for Alabama. 


GREAT PLAYS BEAT A GREAT PLAYER

       In the last post, I suggested that DeShaun Watson would make a lot of good plays, but he wouldn't make enough. That's what happened.  For all the accolades afforded Watson, and he deserves them, it was Jake Coker who walked off the field as the winning quarterback. Let's not forget that. It was remarkable watching Coker progress from where he started last season to where finished his career is storybook stuff. He was this season's Blake Sims plus a better ending. I doubt anyone predicted the number of points scored. What most thought would be a wrestling match turned into a track meet. It ended up a great night for 'Bama and for Clemson as well.  And once again, the Tide coaching staff under Nick Saban, adapted and continued to win. I'm not talking Birmingham Bowl stuff. I'm talking NCAA College Football Championship stuff. Four titles in seven years may never happen again in my lifetime. You think five in eight years is possible? With Alabama, it's all possible.

CLEMSON IS AN SEC TEAM STUCK IN THE ACC

           Clemson is an SEC type team playing in the ACC because crimson blood runs deep in Dabo Sweeny. Sweeny had his team well prepared, and he a had a superstar at quarterback. That's a deadly combination. Despite all the talk about Alabama being able to handle the dual threat that Watson brought to the table, they couldn't shut him down;  but they slowed him down enough to win. In the long run, the Crimson Tide had enough defensive talent to tip the scales. What a luxury for teams like Clemson and Florida State to have such little competition within their conference. As long as Sweeny coaches at Clemson, you can count on the Tigers returning to the playoffs at some point the future. Alabama doesn't have that advantage. The SEC is a tough conference. Kudos to the entire SEC for winning nine out of eleven post season games. 

A long run fulfilled

        It would be unfair to say that winning the National Championship was uneventful. Alabama played for its life after the Ole Miss game. They never wavered, they never panicked, they didn't rely on luck in their run to the flag. They did it the old-fashioned way, they earned it. The Tide won it in the trenches and with a stout running back named Derrick Henry. They won because a couple of freshmen turned into great receivers, and throw in one old head from Oregon State to give them time to develop. They won because of quarterback who turned the team's season around even as he turned his personal season around as well.  They won it in the final game because the Tide used a little used tight end with so much talent and speed the Tigers had no answer. Coaching, talent, and heart were the hallmarks of #16. This national championship is one where it was a team effort. Saban said so, and I believe it.