College Football Semi Finals and Championship Game Results
The college football playoffs started on Dec 31. Four of the teams who played are Michigan St, Clemson, Oklahoma, and Alabama. Clemson finished the year undefeated with a record of 13-0 [13 wins and zero losses]. Iowa and Stanford were close, but were not able to make it into the final four to be included in the playoffs.
The first playoff round started off with Alabama against Michigan St. Alabama got the win against Michigan, 38-0. Michigan’s quarterback Connor Cook threw 210 yards but also threw two interceptions. Cook finished with a quarterback rating of 19.6 and no touchdowns. On the other side of the field, Michigan’s quarterback Jake Coker threw 286 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Coker finished with a quarterback rating of 83. During the round, Michigan failed on their running game. Michigan’s leading rusher was Damion Terry, and Terry had only 14 rushing yards with no touchdowns. Alabama’s leading rusher was Heisman trophy winner Derrick Henry. Henry had 75 yards and two touchdowns. With Alabama’s clear win in the stats column, it was no surprise they got the win.
The other game showcased Clemson against Oklahoma, in which Clemson won 17-37. Oklahoma’s quarterback Baker Mayfield threw over 300 yards, one touchdown, and 2 interceptions.Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson threw over 150 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. Rushing the ball however, Clemson had over 300 yards with two rushers running for over 100 yards each. Oklahoma’s running game was not as productive. Oklahoma’s leading rusher only ran for 57 yards.
As for the Championship game, Alabama won 40-45. The game came down to the fourth quarter when Alabama tied the game and on the next kickoff they went for the onside kick and recovered the ball. Henry had a big game with 36 rushes for over 140 yards and three touchdowns. Clemson’s running game was not as successful. The leading rusher for Clemson was their quarterback Watson, who had 73 yards and no touchdowns. Another player who had a big game was Alabama’s O.J Howard. Howard had over 200 yards receiving and two touchdown. For Clemson, their leading receiver was Charone Peake. Peake had 99 yards receiving but no touchdowns. Finally on the last drive for Clemson, Watson threw a touchdown but Clemson could not recover the onside kick, thus finishing the game. Now all college fans will have to wait over 200 days for the next game.
One Alabama fan already had a feeling they would win the game from beginning.
“I thought Alabama had the best chance of winning because they had Heisman trophy winner Derrick Henry,” Colton Lee ‘18 said.
This has been the third time in the past five years Alabama has won the championship. Alabama hopes to continue it’s success while other teams hope they stop them in their tracks.