MIAMI GARDENS, Florida (AP): The celebration was both familiar and unique. The confetti cannons fired a crimson white shower and the Alabama players ran to the side to grab their championship hats and shirts.
It’s a rite of passage if you’ve played Crimson Tide under coach Nick Saban.
This time, however, the band playing the fight song was a recorded recording, and when “Sweet Home Alabama” sounded, only a few thousand Tide fans were still in the stadium to sing.
The last game of a college football season in a pandemic, a season that could not be played in the summer and was filled with disturbances in the fall, ended in the most predictable way: Alabama as national champion for the sixth time in the last 12 years under Saban.
DeVonta Smith was undisputed, Najee Harris unstoppable and Mac Jones flawless, as top-ranked Tide won the College Football Playoff National Championship game 52-24 against Ohio State No. 3 Monday night. They finished the year 13-0 – a full season in which many wondered if it would be possible to play any of them.
“I think we’re the best team he’s ever played,” Jones said.
For Saban, it was the No. 7 title in the overall race, breaking the tie with Alabama’s great Paul “Bear” Bryant for a major college coach.
“For me this is the ultimate team,” Saban said. “There is more unity in this team than in almost any team we have ever had. They have had to overcome and persevere so much during this season, and they have done so magnificently. “
Ohio State (7-1) could not keep up. Justin Fields, playing what could be his last game before heading to the NFL, went through 194 yards and a touchdown. It was hard to know for sure if Fields was 100% after having a brutal side kick during his brilliant performance in the semifinals against Clemson.
“I was able to be out there,” the entire junior quarterback said.
In the Buckeyes’ first unit, they lost star Trey Sermon to an injury, and in one game they had to run at full speed, facing one of the greatest crimes in recent history, which they spat too much. . Ohio State has never allowed more points in a bowl game.
“I think there’s a feeling that if you don’t score, you’ll be left behind and the pressure will increase,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said in the face of Marea’s prolific offense.
Fans can debate which Saban dynasty team is the best, but none will be more memorable than this group.
“Everyone is so close,” Smith said. “People said last year that the dynasty was over. We don’t stop. We keep recharging. “
After spending two entire seasons without winning any national titles, Marea ended up perfect for a season that couldn’t have been further away from her. COVID-19 forced teams to quarantine and do endless testing and uncertainty each week, with games played in mostly empty stadiums.
“For me this team has achieved more than almost any team,” Saban said. “No lack of respect for the other teams we had, but this team won 11 SEC games. No other team has done that. They won the SEC and went undefeated in the SEC and won two great teams in the playoffs without a break. I think there will be a lot to write about the legacy of this team. “
Only about 15,000 fans were at the Hard Rock Stadium, seating 65,326, to see the last magnificent performance of Smith’s college career. The Heisman Trophy winner had 12 catches for 215 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half.
“Heaven knows what he would have done if he played the whole game,” Saban said.
Through a series of moves and bad directions, outgoing offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian spun off Ohio State officials trying to track down Smith. At one point, he suddenly faced a defender, who left the dust for a 42-yard score to make it 35-17 with 41 seconds left for the second quarter.
Smith, who finished his freshman season taking the winning touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa’s 2017 national championship, ended his career in Alabama as the top receiver in the history of the Southeastern Conference and the player most outstanding offensive of his third title game.
As for Sarkisian, he is on his way to Texas as head coach. Longhorns fans must have liked what they saw. If only I could bring Smith and his fellow Heisman contestants to Austin.
Jones, who finished third in Heisman’s vote, was 36 by 45 for a 464-yard CFP championship record and five touchdowns. In one of perhaps the most wasted seasons a quarterback has ever played, Jones set a one-season record in the 203 passer efficiency rating.
Harris, who was fifth in Heisman’s run, had 158 yards of batting in 29 touches, scoring three times to give him an SEC record of 30 touchdowns this season.
Smith barely played in the second half and came out with an injury. He returned to the side in the fourth quarter with his right hand wrapped around his wrist, two fingers stuck together and a Heisman mask.
Alabama barely missed him and premiered 50 at the start of the fourth quarter, when Harris came in untouched from the yard.
Smith and Harris surprised some by returning to college after last season during their senior years.
Boy, it turned out to be worth it. Along with Jones, another member of that 2017 recruiting class, they will leave Alabama as leaders of a team that managed to make a tough march since the pandemic.
“We all had a mission trying to end things the right way,” Smith said. “We all went to work and it ended the way we wanted.”
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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/
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