GLENDALE, Ariz. – Alabama coach Nick Saban has built a powerhouse that takes prides in being prepared to overcome anything and everything.
Maybe the greatest testament to that came Monday, when it managed to even get the better of Clemson Deshaun Watson.
Alabama (14-1) captured its fourth national title under Saban, beating Clemson and its brilliant quarterback 45-40 using the third phase of the game, special teams, to assure itself status as a truly special team.
"We have a lot of great competitors on this team," Saban said after the game. "We didn't play our best game tonight but they did what they needed to do to win. I'm smiling."
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Alabama's Kenyan Drake, right, breaks away for a 95-yard TD return in the fourth quarter. (AP)
The momentum of the game changed dramatically with the score tied and 10:34 remaining in the game. That’s when the often-conservative Saban called for an onside kick, which the Tide executed perfectly against an unprepared Tiger defense. It was enough for the Alabama coach to crack a rare sideline smile.
Two plays later quarterback Jake Coker hit a wide-open O.J. Howard for a 51-yard touchdown, Alabama’s third big play score in the game.
The next time Alabama touched the ball, leading 31-27, its gifted return man Kenyan Drake ripped off an outrageous 95-yard kick return touchdown, diving for the pylon at the end to break the game open.
The championship gives Saban five career titles, including one at LSU. He is second all-time for the most national championships, trailing just Alabama legend Paul "Bear" Bryant, who has six.
Rather than a slow grind-em out and ride the defense win, this one came courtesy of big plays.
In the third quarter, Coker hit an uncovered Howard on a 51-yard touchdown pass. He later got Howard for a 63-yard gain in a critical late game drive that salted the victory away. Meanwhile,Derrick Henry opened the scoring with 50-yard touchdown.
The big plays helped offset what was actually often a frustrating night offensively for Alabama, which struggled to deal with Clemson’s stout defensive front. Coker was sacked five times and despite the big plays, Henry was often stuffed.
For much of the game it was the Deshaun Watson Show, the sophomore quarterback displaying a magical combination of running and throwing. The vaunted Alabama defense was incapable of containing him whether it was on a designed run, a bullet pass or a scramble to avoid the rush.
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Clemson's Deshaun Watson tries to get away from Alabama's Jonathan Allen during the CFP title game. (AP)
Watson twice hit wide receiver Hunter Renfrow for first-half touchdowns, one a 31-yard dime and another, an 11-yard rip, both perfectly placed. Renfrow, who is redshirt walk-on from Myrtle Beach, spent much of the regular season as a third receiving option. He broke out in the semifinal game against Oklahoma and then became a legend in the first half against 'Bama.
Watson finished with 405 yards and four touchdowns passing and another 73 yards rushing as he tried to deliver Clemson (14-1) its first national title since 1981. In the end he fell just short.
Saban likes to remind that there are three phases of game: offense, defense and special teams. It was the last one that won it for him this time.
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