MIAMI GARDENS – A seemingly competitive national title game early on turned into a blowout as No. 1 Alabama surged past No. 3 Ohio State in a 52-24 win last night (Jan. 11) at Hard Rock Stadium.
En route to the 2020 national championship, The Crimson Tide (13-0 final record; nation’s only unbeaten team) set several records in this one.
For starters, they got head coach Nick Saban his seventh national title, which surpasses the late legendary Bear Bryant (six titles) as the most all-time in the Associated Press poll era dating back to 1936.
Saban gave plenty of props to Bryant for paving the way at Alabama.
“I think Coach Bryant is sort of in a class of his own in terms of what he was able to accomplish, what his record is, the longevity that he had and the tradition he established,” Saban said. “If it wasn’t for Coach Bryant, we would never be able to do what we did. I mean, he’s the one that made Alabama and the tradition at Alabama a place where lots of players wanted to come. We’ve been able to build on that with great support. His family has always supported us in a tremendous way that has helped us have the success that we have.”
Saban’s offense played a nearly perfect game, which was led by Heisman Trophy winner and wide receiver DeVonta Smith’s 12 catches for 215 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. Smith’s 12 catches were the most by a receiver all-time in a national title game, a College Football Playoff record.
Smith sat out for most of the second half with a dislocated finger. It did not matter, as his efforts were more than enough to be the CFP Offensive Player of the Game.
“I told Smitty after the game, I said, You’re the only player that I know that missed a whole half because of your finger,” Saban said. “It was dislocated and they couldn’t get it back in. If they’d have got it back in, he would have been fine. He actually wanted to play, we just didn’t allow him to…I heard somebody say he set some kind of record in the first half of the game. Heavens knows what he would have done if he played the whole game.”
Saban had more to say about Smith.
“You’re talking about the ultimate warrior, the ultimate competitor,” Saban said. “I’m so happy for him that he was recognized as the best player in college football because I don’t think anybody’s done more for their team than he has for our team.”
As for Crimson Tide quarterback Mac Jones, he had a masterful game in his own right. Save for his lost fumble in the first half, the Heisman Trophy finished the title game with 36 completions on 45 attempts, 464 passing yards, and five touchdowns.
When speaking with the media in a virtual press conference, Jones was all about what the Crimson Tide accomplished together this season.
“I’m just really proud of this team, from everybody, top down, the coaches, players obviously, and the fans for sticking with us all year,” Jones said. “We set this as a goal, to potentially be the greatest team to ever play. I think we made a valid statement in winning the national championship. Who would have thought we would have won every game, all SEC schedule with everything going on. Then to finish off the last couple games the way we did, I’m just so proud of my teammates, the coaches, and everyone that supported us.”
Let us not forget about Alabama running back Najee Harris, who accounted for 158 total yards and three touchdowns in the title game.
“We’ve gradually changed through the years to be more spread oriented but still keep post style, drop-back concepts with our offense, legitimate play-action passes,” Saban said. “This whole sort of blend of all these things, creating balance to be able to run, make explosive plays, with play-action passes that complement the runs, and be able to throw RPOs to people in the box a lot. We threw a lot of RPOs.”
Saban had more to say about his team’s offense.
“Mac does a great job of executing it,” Saban said. “Smitty obviously had a great half. Najee has played well all year long, had some tough yards to get out there tonight. We knew it would be tough running against these guys the way they play. We knew we’d have to throw the ball to win, and we did it effectively.”
The Crimson Tide set a title game record of 33 first downs in this one.
“Well, we had a mission,” Smith said. “Everybody wanted to end things the right way. We just all came to work every day and just put in the work. We got the result that we wanted.”
On the defensive side of the ball, Alabama limited Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields to 17-33 passing for 194 yards and one touchdown.
The Crimson Tide got a great performance from defensive back Patrick Surtain II, who had three tackles and one pass deflection against the Buckeyes. He spoke on his team was able to have Fields in check the whole game.
“The plan coming in was focus on our keys, communicating out there, and flying around to the ball,” Surtain said. “We knew what type of offense we was going against, and our plan was to manage the game where it would eliminate those explosive plays that they had been consistently getting. So that was our main focus.”
Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Game and Crimson Tide defensive lineman Christian Barmore had five tackles and one sack. He spoke on how the defense put the clamps on Ohio State’s offense for most of the game.
“Me and my brothers, we was all fighting,” Barmore said. “We told each other like we going to be the best that we can be. Like, I did this for my coaches, my D-line and my whole team.”
To cap off this memorable 2020 season, Alabama’s records made in the title game were endless. But the most impressive mark is probably the 13-0 record in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In short, a case can be made for this Alabama team as the best one ever assembled.
“This team accomplished more almost than any team,” Saban said. “No disrespect to any other teams that we had or any championship teams. But this team won 11 SEC games. No other team has done that…Played 13 games, went undefeated with all the disruption that we had in this season. I think there’s quite a bit to write about when it comes to the legacy of the team.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Alabama Football
