{"id":5441,"date":"2017-01-10T00:08:38","date_gmt":"2017-01-10T05:08:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordoncollegefootball.com\/?p=5441"},"modified":"2017-01-10T01:00:57","modified_gmt":"2017-01-10T06:00:57","slug":"clemson-shocks-alabama-35-31-to-win-national-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2017\/01\/10\/clemson-shocks-alabama-35-31-to-win-national-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Clemson Shocks Alabama 35-31 for National Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Unlike most Hollywood blockbusters the first ever college football title game rematch was just as good as its\u00a0predecessor. However this time the result was different as <strong>Clemson<\/strong> shocked <strong>Alabama<\/strong> 35-31 to win the college football national championship.<\/p>\n<p>Playing in front of record crowd of 74,512 at Raymond James Stadium the game followed a familiar script.\u00a0The victory gives Clemson their second national title and first since 1981. The win also deprives <strong>Nick Saban<\/strong> his sixth title, which would have tied him with another \u00a0Alabama legend <strong>Bear Bryant.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After converting a 4th and 1 on a run by <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/damien-harris-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Damien Harris<\/a><\/strong>, the Tide took a 31-28 lead on a 30 yard touchdown run by <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/jalen-hurts-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jalen Hurts<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The Tigers came right back and scored with one second left on a\u00a0two yard\u00a0pass from <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/deshaun-watson-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Deshaun Watson<\/a><\/strong> to <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/hunter-renfrow-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hunter Renfrow<\/a><\/strong> for the victory.<\/p>\n<p>The Crimson Tide jumped out to an early 7-0 lead sparked by what else their defense. After stopping Tiger running back <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/wayne-gallman-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wayne Gallman<\/a><\/strong> on a 4 and 1 at their own 40, the Tide drove it right down the field. The scoring drive was capped off by a 25 yard run by <strong>Bo<\/strong> <strong>Scarbrough<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>With 10:42 left in the second quarter, Scarbrough&#8217;s second touchdown run made it 14-0 Alabama.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Over the last 10 quarters, Bo Scarbrough has rushed for 342 yards and 6 touchdowns. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RollTide?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#RollTide<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NationalChampionship?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#NationalChampionship<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlabamaFTBL\/status\/818645001991233536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 10, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The two teams traded punts before Clemson finally got on the board midway through the period. A seven play 87 yard drive capped by an eight yard run by <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/deshaun-watson-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Deshaun Watson<\/a><\/strong> made it 14-7 and that was the score at the half. Despite the deficit the Tigers actually outgained Alabama 203-183.<\/p>\n<p>The Tide&#8217;s <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/ryan-anderson-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ryan Anderson<\/a><\/strong> forced and recovered a Gallman fumble at the Clemson 16. However the Tigers held and Bama upped the lead to 17-7 on a 27 yard field goal by <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/adam-griffith-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Adam Griffith<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>After a poor punt gave them great field position the Tigers drove down the field and cut the lead to 17-14 on a 24\u00a0touchdown pass from Watson to <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/hunter-renfrow-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hunter Renfrow<\/a><\/strong>. While not the main target for Watson he has a knack for coming up huge in the big games.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This is the third game that Hunter Renfrow has had seven catches. Two of the three have come in the CFP championship game against Alabama.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; ESPN Stats &amp; Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ESPNStatsInfo\/status\/818668857745412096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">January 10, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>On the next series Hurts finally got something going via the pass hitting tight end<strong> O.J<\/strong>. <strong>Howard<\/strong>\u00a0with a 68 yard touchdown that made it 24-14. For Clemson fans it was a\u00a0painful reminder to last season when Howard\u00a0had two touchdowns in the title game.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/dabo-swinney-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dabo Swinney<\/a>&#8216;s<\/strong> club answered right back when Watson hit <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=mike-williams-4,mike-williams-17,mike-williams-8,mike-williams-3&amp;search=Mike+Williams&amp;utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike Williams<\/a><\/strong> on a four yard touchdown to cut the lead to 24-21\u00a0one minute into the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n<p>When Scarbrough\u00a0went\u00a0out with an injury the Tiger defense forced Hurts to beat them with the pass. The offense under new coordinator <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/steve-sarkisian-1.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Steve Sarkisian<\/a><\/strong> could only get one first down the\u00a0on their next three possessions.<\/p>\n<p>In what is likely his final game in college Watson had 436\u00a0yards and three touchdowns.<\/p>\n<p>He added 43 more yards on the ground and another touchdown.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo:<\/p>\n<div class=\"getty embed image\" style=\"background-color: #fff; display: inline-block; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; color: #a7a7a7; font-size: 11px; width: 100%; max-width: 594px;\">\n<div style=\"padding: 0; margin: 0; text-align: left;\"><a style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/631367000\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n<div style=\"overflow: hidden; position: relative; height: 0; padding: 66.666667% 0 0 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"display: inline-block; position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0;\" src=\"\/\/embed.gettyimages.com\/embed\/631367000?et=_1ivFov5RbFRopXPKD8ELw&amp;viewMoreLink=off&amp;sig=lnqlmo5UVl9po0APzruub-IAnQES5EIYcOj8c8pYjFM=&amp;caption=true\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 0;\">\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unlike most Hollywood blockbusters the first ever college football title game rematch was just as good as its\u00a0predecessor. However this time the result was different as Clemson shocked Alabama 35-31 to win the college football national championship. Playing in front of record crowd of 74,512 at Raymond James Stadium the game followed a familiar script.\u00a0The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":877,"featured_media":5446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,8,3],"tags":[35,1387,184,36,87,903,126,41],"class_list":["post-5441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-acc","category-fbs","category-sec","tag-alabama-crimson-tide","tag-bo-scarbrough","tag-cfb","tag-clemson-tigers","tag-deshaun-watson","tag-national-championship","tag-ncaa","tag-nick-saban"],"modified_by":"Mike Loveall","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/877"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}