San Francisco Chronicle

QB becomes the prince of Tide

- By Ralph D. Russo Ralph D. Russo is an Associated Press writer.

ATLANTA — To add another championsh­ip to the greatest dynasty college football has ever seen, Alabama turned to its quarterbac­k of the future, and Tua Tagovailoa proved that his time is now.

The freshman quarterbac­k, who had played mostly mop-up duty this season, came off the bench to spark a comeback and threw a 41-yard touchdown to DeVonta Smith that gave No. 4 Alabama a 26-23 overtime victory against No. 3 Georgia on Monday night for the College Football Playoff national championsh­ip.

Tagovailoa entered the game after halftime, replacing a struggling Jalen Hurts, and threw three touchdown passes to give the Crimson Tide their fifth national championsh­ip since 2009 under head coach Nick Saban.

“He just stepped in and did his thing,” Hurts said. “He’s built for stuff like this. I’m so happy for him.”

The Tide might have a quarterbac­k controvers­y ahead of them, but first Alabama will celebrate another national title.

For the third straight season, Alabama played in a classic CFP final. The Tide split two with Clemson, losing last season on touchdown with a second left.

What was Saban thinking as the winning pass soared?

“I could not believe it,” he said. “There are lots of highs and lows. Last year, we lost on the last play of the game, and this year, we won on the last play of the game. These kids really responded the right way. We said last year, ‘Don’t waste the feeling.’ They sure didn’t, the way they played tonight.”

Smith streaked into the end zone, and moments later, confetti rained and even Saban seemed almost giddy after watching maybe the most improbable victory of his unmatched career.

After Alabama kicker Andy Pappanasto­s missed a 36-yard fieldgoal try that would have won it for the Tide (13-1) in the final seconds of regulation, Georgia (13-2) took the lead with a 51yard field goal from Rodrigo Blankenshi­p in overtime.

Tagovailoa took a terrible sack on Alabama’s first play of overtime, losing 16 yards. On the next play he found Smith, another freshman, and hit him in stride for the national championsh­ip.

This game will be remembered for Saban’s decision to change quarterbac­ks trailing 13-0.

“I just thought we had to throw the ball, and I felt he could do it better, and he did,” Saban said. “He did a good job, made some plays in the passing game. Just a great win. I’m so happy for Alabama fans. Great for our players. Unbelievab­le.”

Saban now has six national championsh­ips, including one at LSU, matching the record set by the man who led Alabama’s last dynasty, Paul “Bear” Bryant.

This one was nothing like the others.

The all-SEC matchup was all Georgia in the first half before Saban pulled Hurts and went with the five-star recruit from Hawaii.

The Tide trailed 20-7 in the third quarter after Georgia’s freshman quarterbac­k, Jake Fromm, hit Mecole Hardman for an 80-yard touchdown pass that had Georgia fans feeling good about ending a national-title drought that dates back to 1980.

Alabama drove into the red zone in the final minute, and Saban started playing for a field goal that would end the game and win it for the Tide. A nervous quiet gripped the crowd of 77,430 as ’Bama burned the clock. With the ball the middle of the field, Pappanasto­s lined up for a kick to win the national championsh­ip. The snap and hold looked fine, but the kicked missed badly to the left.

Georgia’s Jonathan Ledbetter and Davin Bellamy sacked Tagovailoa for a big loss on Alabam’s first play in overtime. The Tide were in trouble: 2nd-and-26.

Not for long. Tagovailoa looked off the safety threw the biggest touchdown pass in the history of Alabama football.

 ?? Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images ?? Alabama’s DeVonta Smith pulls in the game-winning 41-yard touchdown pass from QB Tua Tagovailoa.
Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images Alabama’s DeVonta Smith pulls in the game-winning 41-yard touchdown pass from QB Tua Tagovailoa.

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