What went wrong in Alabama's 28 point loss to Clemson
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Santa Clara, Calif. —The dust has somewhat settled from a City that could care less about the College Football Championship, where 74,814 fans watched Dabo Swinney and Clemson Tigers dominate the Alabama Crimson Tide 44-16.
The two teams have now met three times for the college football national championship game (2016, 2017, 2019) with the Tigers winning two out of the three title bouts. Last night’s meeting between the two college football juggernauts ended with Clemson completely dominating Alabama 44-16 to become the first team in college football history to go 15-0 since the Penn Quakers completed that daunting task way back in 1897.
So what went wrong? Watch for the bold highlights…
1st Quarter
Alabama’s first drive resulted in Heisman Trophy finalist Tua Tagovailoa throwing an interception to Clemson’s A.J. Terrell which was returned 44-yards for the game’s first score. That one play seemed to foreshadow the end result. While it seemed the two teams would go toe to toe thereafter with Tagovailoa throwing a 62-yard touchdown to make it 7-7, then Clemson scoring on the very next series to make it 14-7, Alabama drove down the field and scored off a one-yard touchdown pass to Hale Hentges, but the PAT was missed by Joseph Bulovas to make it 14-13 Clemson with just 6:23 in the first quarter.
As the first quarter came to a close, it seemed as though Alabama while playing poorly had the edge. You take away the pick six and the missed PAT, Alabama’s leading 14-7 going into the second quarter, maybe they lead by two scores?
1st Quarter by the numbers
Score: Clemson 14, Alabama 13
Time of Poss: Alabama 11:52, Clemson 3:08
First downs: Alabama 11, Clemson 2
Third downs: Alabama 2-2, Clemson 1-3
Passing: Alabama 11-13 for 157-yards, Clemson 2-7 for 70-yards
Rushing: Alabama 12 carries for 67-yards, Clemson 3 carries for 16-yards
Total Yards: Alabama 224, Clemson 86
Penalties: Alabama 1-5, Clemson 1-12
2nd Quarter
Alabama would take their final lead of the game off a 25-yard field goal by Joseph Bulovas to make it 16-14 with 14:18 in the second quarter. A cautious call inside the red-zone by the Alabama offensive staff resulted in a good amount of momentum for the Clemson defense.
On the next series, Alabama corner Saivion Smith was called for pass interference and five quick plays later Clemson’s Travis Etienne was in the end-zone from one-yard out to make it 21-16 Clemson with 11:38 before half.
Trailing by just five points, Alabama went with a heavy dose of Joshua Jacobs as he carried the ball six times down the field for 21-yards. On first down, Tua Tagovailoa threw a careless ball downfield which was intercepted by Clemson’s Trayvon Mullen who returned the interception 46-yards. Clemson’s sideline erupted.
With 8:05 before half, Clemson freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence seemed to catch fire. He would complete five passes on this drive including a five-yard touchdown pass to Etienne for 5-yards to make it 28-16 Clemson with 4:38 remaining.
Alabama now down by 12 was forced to punt after Tagovailoa was sacked on third and six for an 11-yard loss. Clemson would tack on a 36-yard field goal before half to take a commanding 31-16 lead at the midway point.
2nd Quarter by the numbers
Score: Alabama 3, Clemson 17
Time of Poss: Alabama 7:34, Clemson 7:26
First downs: Alabama 3, Clemson 9
Third downs: Alabama 0-3, Clemson 3-4
Passing: Alabama 2-4 for 1-yard, Clemson 10-14 for 127-yards
Rushing: Alabama 11 carries for 41-yards, Clemson 7 carries for 41-yards
Total Yards: Alabama 42, Clemson 168
Penalties: Alabama 3-35, Clemson 0-0
3rd Quarter
Alabama trailed Clemson by 15 points to open a pivotal third quarter and the Crimson Tide opened the second half with two rushes by Damien Harris for a total of 26-yards. Tagovailoa would connect on two completions for 26-yards, and it looked as though Alabama had found some good rhythm. Facing a third and six at the Clemson 22-yard line, Tagovailoa’s pass fell incomplete and the next play call by Alabama will be talked about for decades.
Facing a fourth and six from the Clemson 22 and down 15-points, Alabama tried a fake field goal with their third-string quarterback Mac Jones, the lead blocker being the kicker. Clemson was ready for this play, in-fact the Tigers were in field goal safe, and stuffed the play for a loss of two yards.
Clemson would shoot right down the field with Lawrence connecting with freshmen receiver Justyn Ross for a 74-yard touchdown connection. During the play, Alabama corner Saivion Smith was injured on the play and had to be carted off the field. Clemson would miss the PAT, but that was the nail in the coffin as the Tigers now led 37-16 with 8:19 in the third quarter.
Alabama would again reach the red-zone on their next drive getting all the way to the Clemson 14-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs unable to convert a fourth down. Alabama failed to score points twice when inside the red-zone during the third quarter.
Clemson, now feeling unstoppable would add another touchdown to the scoreboard with Lawrence connecting with Tee Higgins for a 5-yard score to make it 44-16 as the quarter would come to a close. The scoring drive was 12-plays, went 89-yards, and lasted 5:21.
3rd Quarter by the numbers
Score: Alabama 0, Clemson 13
Time of Poss: Alabama 8:11, Clemson 6:49
First downs: Alabama 8, Clemson 5
Third downs: Alabama 1-4, Clemson 4-4
Passing: Alabama 7-14 for 111-yards, Clemson 7-8 for 150-yards
Rushing: Alabama 10 carries for 52-yards, Clemson 7 carries for 15-yards
Total Yards: Alabama 163-yards, Clemson 165-yards
Penalties: Alabama 2-20, Clemson 0-0
4th Quarter
The fourth quarter featured back-up quarterback for Alabama Jalen Hurts at the 11:12 mark who was 0-2 and sacked once for four yards. Clemson then ended the game with a dominating 14-play drive that went 94-yards and lasted 10:02.
4th Quarter by the numbers
Score: Alabama 0, Clemson 0
Time of Poss: Alabama 3:53, Clemson 11:07
First downs: Alabama 1, Clemson 5
Third downs: Alabama 0-2, Clemson 2-4
Passing: Alabama 2-5 for 26-yards, Clemson 1-3, 0-yards
Rushing: Alabama 4 carries for -12-yards, Clemson 14 carries for 93-yards
Total Yards: Alabama 14, Clemson 93
Penalties: Alabama 0, Clemson 0
Overall Game By The Numbers
Score: Alabama 16, Clemson 44
Time of Poss: Alabama 28:23, Clemson 31:37
First downs: Alabama 23, Clemson 21
Third downs: Alabama 4 of 13, Clemson 10 of 15
Passing: Alabama 295, Clemson 347
Rushing: Alabama 148, Clemson 135
Total Yards: Alabama 443, Clemson 482
Penalties: Alabama 6-62, Clemson 1-12
