An Alabama Victory

Special teams. That’s what coach Nick Saban talked about after Alabama’s 45-40 victory over Clemson on Monday night in Glendale, Arizona, for the NCAA’s college football championship.

In claiming its fourth title in seven years, Alabama established itself as truly a special team. Saban earned his fifth crown – he won one with Louisiana State University – but the special team reference dealt with the players on the field on Bama’s kicking teams.

Alabama partially blocked a Clemson field goal try just before halftime, keeping the score tied. In the fourth quarter, with the score 24-24 after a Crimson Tide touchdown, Saban called for an onside kick. Kicker Adam Griffith popped the short kick into the air and Marlon Humphrey caught it at midfield, turning the tide in the Tide’s favor.

“We were tired on defense and weren’t doing a great job of getting them stopped and felt like if we didn’t do something or take a chance to change the momentum of the game that we wouldn’t have a chance to win,” Saban said.

Moments later, Clemson’s shaky secondary lost deep coverage on tight end O.J. Howard for the second time and he hauled in Jake Coker’s 51-yard pass for a seven-point lead.

After a Clemson field goal, Kenyan Drake returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown and a 38-27 advantage. That was simply too much for the Tigers to overcome as they absorbed their first loss of the season and failed to become the first team to win 15 games in a season. They will be back. Brilliant quarterback DeShaun Watson, who passed for 405 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 73 yards, will be a junior next season and may be college football’s outstanding player.

Saban, so famously dour, kept pointing out after the game that he was smiling and enjoying the accomplishments of his latest championship team. He seemed sincere. But you may be assured he will be back to work shortly, ensuring that Alabama’s dynasty does not end any time soon.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman