This is where the championship lives. All those other teams, in all of those other seasons, were merely holding the place of the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Alabama won the college national championship again Monday, holding off Clemson in a wild game, and the electric Deshaun Watson to win a 45-40 game.
It was the fifth national title for Alabama coach Nick Saban, his fourth with the Crimson Tide, after a dominating fourth quarter. The Tide trailed 24-21 after three periods but scored 24 in the final period for the win.
It’s easy to begin an argument with an Alabama fan about how many titles the Tide has won. Alabama claims 16 of them, and the NCAA recognizes 13 of them. But there was never one with 85 points in the title game. Alabama scored 83 points in its two playoff games.
Watson almost personally kept Clemson in the game. He threw for 405 yards and four scores and rushed for another 73.
But the Tide’s offense moved the ball well, too. Heisman winner Derrick Henry rushed for 158 yards and three scores. Quarterback Jacob Coker threw for 335 yards and two scores.
Both of those players were known, however. The hidden gem for the Tide was tight end O.J. Howard, who caught five passes for 208 yards. And don’t forget Kenyan Drake, who returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown.
The score was tied in the fourth period, but Alabama recovered an onside kick, then scored its go-ahead touchdown.
“We weren’t playing very well on defense,” said Saban. “I think we needed to do something to change the game.”
For Saban, it’s the fourth national title in seven seasons. Bear Bryant has six, but in those years, a team could win and lose its bowl game, could win split titles and played fewer games.
For Coker, it was a good game, too. Coker, a Florida State transfer, played well in both playoff games, throwing for 641 yards.
