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MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — This time it was Tua Tagovailoa’s turn to lift the hardware. Three weeks removed from finishing runner-up to Kyler Murray for the Heisman Trophy, the Alabama quarterback celebrated with his teammates while his Oklahoma counterpart looked on.
A red-hot start helped No. 1 Alabama stave off No. 4 Oklahoma, 45-34, in the Orange Bowl Saturday night. Alabama (14-0) will play Clemson (14-0) in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Jan. 7 in Santa Clara, Calif. Clemson beat Notre Dame 30-3 in the Cotton Bowl earlier in the day.
The national championship matchup will mark the fourth straight time the two schools have met in the College Football Playoff. Alabama beat Clemson for the 2015 title, while the Tigers exacted revenge the following season. Last year, Alabama beat Clemson in the Sugar Bowl on its way to the national championship. The winner of this year’s game will be the first team in college football history to go 15-0.
"Well, they were very focused today and they stayed that way all year long. Any time you win 14 games, that's a pretty good thing," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. "We haven't always played our best, but we played against a good team today and won, and I'm really proud of our players."
Coming off his worst-career performance during the SEC Championship Game earlier this month, Tagovailoa returned to the unstoppable form that has carried Alabama’s offense all season. The left-hander completed 24 of 27 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns to earn offensive MVP honors.
After suffering a high-ankle sprain during the SEC Championship game, there were questions on how Tagovailoa would be to move less than a month later. Earlier in the week, he classified himself as 85-percent. Saturday, the sophomore showed no limitations, escaping Oklahoma defenders on several occasions.
“I think preparing this week has been really good,” Tagovailoa said. “I can't say if I felt a lot better out there or if I was the same. But I think we're continuing to make progress with getting better, going to rehab, treatment, 24-hour treatment protocol is still on the line for us now. We're just trying to get better, trying to prepare for Clemson this upcoming week.”
Xavier McKinney took home defensive MVP honors, tallying five tackles and a game-high four pass breakups.
"It was definitely a challenge for me and for the DB's," McKinney said. "I thought we did a great job of containing and playing man and just keeping everybody kind of well defended and making sure he didn't really have anybody to throw to.
"It was definitely hard to try to keep (Murray) in the box and keep him from scrambling, but he's a great quarterback. I thought we played well. I thought there was a lot of things that we could do better as far as facing a guy that can run the ball and that is more mobile on his feet. But I thought it was a good challenge for us and a good way for us to get better and improve later in the season for this last game."
Alabama scored on its first four possessions but had to wait out reviews on its opening two scores. Damien Harris fumbled the ball at the Oklahoma 1-yard line on the game’s opening possession. However, a review later determined his elbow was on the turf, making him down before he lost possession. Harris punched the ball in from a yard out the next play to put Alabama on the board.
During Alabama’s second scoring drive, Tagovailoa’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Henry Ruggs III was reviewed as the receiver made an acrobatic catch in the back of the end zone. The call was confirmed after replay showed that Ruggs got a foot down while pulling in a catch over Oklahoma’s Tre Brown.
A second touchdown run from Harris on Alabama’s next drive set an Orange Bowl record as Alabama’s 21 first-quarter points eclipsed the 19 Georgia scored over TCU in 1942. Tulsa, Okla., native Josh Jacobs continued to rub salt in the wound as he steamrolled an Oklahoma defender during a 27-yard touchdown reception from Tagovailoa to give Alabama a 28-0 lead with 13:01 remaining in the half.
Alabama experienced a letup in momentum following a 2-yard touchdown run from Oklahoma running back Trey Sermon. After two unsportsmanlike penalties, Oklahoma kicked off from its own 10-yard line. However, Alabama’s Brian Robinson inexplicably called a fair catch at the Crimson Tide’s 21-yard. Alabama went three-and-out on the ensuing drive and then allowed Oklahoma to march down the field for a 26-yard field goal. The Crimson Tide then went on a penalty-riddled drive before settling for a 38-yard field goal from Joseph Bulovas to take a 31-10 lead into the half.
Oklahoma continued to chip away at Alabama’s lead in the second half. Murray brought the Sooners back within two scores as he danced past defenders in the pocket before unleashing a 49-yard touchdown pass to Charleston Rambo to make it 31-20 with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter.
However, Alabama answered back with a nine-play, 87-yard drive capped off by a 10-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to DeVonta Smith to restore a comfortable lead for the Crimson Tide. Murray hit CeeDee for a 10-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 38-27 with 8:31 remaining in the game, but the Sooners failed to recover an onside kick. Tagovailoa then added his fourth touchdown pass of the game, hitting Jerry Jeudy from 13-yards out.
Murray once again kept the Sooners in the game, driving Oklahoma down the field before rushing in an 8-yard touchdown. However, the Sooners were again unable to recover the onside kick, allowing Alabama to put the game away for good.
Smith led Alabama in receiving with 104 yards and a touchdown on six catches. Jacobs had a team-high 98 yards on the ground to go with 60 yards and a touchdown through the air.
Murray completed 19 of 37 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns while also leading the Sooners with 109 rushing yards and a score on 17 carries. Lamb led Oklahoma with 109 receiving yards and a touchdown on eight catches.
