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As Alabama running back Najee Harris took over, rebounded on the outside and headed for the field, he was faced with Notre Dame cornerback Nick McCloud, who instructed to meet him with his shoulder down.
It doesn’t matter. Harris, a 6-foot-2, 229-pound senior, treated McCloud like an oversized fire hydrant, leaping over him with the crisp, syncopated stride of an Olympic obstacle and galloping across the sideline.
The play was the highlight of Alabama’s 31-14 win over Notre Dame in a college football playoff semi-final Friday night in Arlington, TX – Harris’ sleek athleticism epitomized ease. with which Crimson Tide sent the Fighting Irish.
The victory bolstered the legitimacy of Alabama’s return to the top of the college football standings after missing the four-team playoffs for the first time last season. Top-ranked Crimson Tide tore up a Southeastern conference-only schedule, beat a tenacious Florida team in the conference title game, and have now qualified for the championship on Jan.11 against Ohio State, which strangled Clemson, 49-28, Friday in the other. semi final.
This game wouldn’t have been a huge surprise last summer – the teams were ranked No.2 and 3 at the start of the season – but the Buckeyes’ presence in the playoff is particularly apt.
In this rambling pandemic season, their coach, Ryan Day, and quarterback Justin Fields were leading a campaign that persuaded the Big Ten presidents to turn the tide after canceling the season in August.
What finalist could better represent how disruptive the coronavirus has been than a team that only played five regular season games – three were called off due to epidemics – and therefore needed a Big Exemption Ten to play for the conference title?
This abbreviated schedule, just over half the length of the seasons of the other semi-finalists, has led some coaches to question whether Ohio State should have been selected for the four-team playoffs – including the Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who ranked the Buckeyes 11th in final coaches. ‘survey.
Ohio State may have seen this as a slight, but they already had more organic motivation in Friday’s game – avenging a landslide 29-23 loss to the Tigers in last season’s semifinals that was sealed when Fields threw a late interception into Clemson’s end zone.
This throw was then one of the many regrets. It was hard for the Buckeyes to find a serious one in New Orleans on Friday night.
The only real concern could be lingering physical pain – Fields moved playfully but cautiously after receiving a crushing blow to the ribs from Clemson linebacker James Skalski, who was sent off for targeting.
“This shot really had an impact on me,” Fields said in a TV interview, later adding that he received one or two injections in the medical tent during the game. “My ribs were killing me pretty much the entire game.”
The Buckeyes (7-0), who have amassed 639 yards on total offense, will need all the firepower (and good health) they can muster in 10 days.
Alabama’s dynamic offense, which revolves around quarterback Mac Jones, wide receiver DeVonta Smith and Harris – all of whom finished in the top five in the Heisman Trophy poll – was held below 40 points for the first time since its opening of the season. Still, he roamed the field for touchdowns in his first three discs, and Notre Dame never really threatened the Crimson Tide.
Although Harris, who finished with 125 yards rushing, played the game of highlights, Smith showed why he is the presumed favorite to win the Heisman. On his first touch, he took a quick pass to the line of scrimmage and used a John Metchie III manual block to scoot 26 yards for a touchdown. He finished with three touchdowns among his seven catches for 130 yards.
Throughout this time, Jones was generally near perfect, completing 25 of 30 passes for 297 yards.
About the only person on the Alabama sideline who looked uncomfortable was coach Nick Saban, who pulled a late unsportsmanlike penalty after declaiming the officials.
“We didn’t finish the game the way we wanted,” Saban said in a TV interview, adding with a knowing smile, “I always have something to complain about.”
Still, after a year away from the playoffs, he was pretty happy.
“These guys really deserved the opportunity to play in the national championship game, so we’ll see what we can do with it,” he said.
While Alabama (12-0) got rid of Notre Dame (10-2) with familiar efficiency, it wasn’t hard to remember the circumstances under which this game – and the entire season – has occurred, in the midst of a pandemic that has upset sports.
The logo at the center of the Dallas Cowboys stadium was familiar on New Years Day – the stylized red Rose Bowl Game logo, which normally adorns the stadium of the same name in Pasadena, California.
But this year, after Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly threatened to boycott the Rose Bowl because health rules in California did not allow families to attend the game, the Rose Bowl moved to Texas. – the first time it had not been played in Pasadena since 1942., when it was moved to Durham, North Carolina, shortly after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.
A crowd of 18,373 people were allowed to watch.
They witnessed a familiar end under the bright lights of Notre Dame.
The Fighting Irish have now lost seven consecutive major or playoff games since 2000, none of which have come closer to 14 points.
“We just needed more firepower, frankly. That’s it, ”Kelly said, brushing aside criticism of the recent history of her program. “There is no other story larger than the one that we have a little short with a few plays.”
Clemson (10-2), despite winning two national championships and reaching two other title games since 2015, ended his second straight season watching his defense cut out. The Tigers surrendered 628 yards in a 42-25 loss to Louisiana State in last season’s title game.
Fields, who passed for 385 yards and six touchdowns, and running back Trey Sermon, who crushed the Tigers for 193 rushing yards, may not find it so easy against Alabama.
The Crimson Tide tries to atone for his own disappointment last season, and in this season of crises and unexpected starts and hurdles, he has managed to cross all obstacles.
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