Tide steamrolls past Spartans
Coker has best game of the QB’s career as Bama earns title shot.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS » Jake Coker played the game of his career, hooking up with Calvin Ridley for two touchdowns, as secondranked Alabama aired it out to beat No. 3 Michigan State 38- 0 on Thursday night and advance to the national championship game.
Alabama ( 13- 1) will face No. 1 Clemson ( 14- 0) on Jan. 11 in Glendale, Ariz., looking for its fourth national title in nine seasons under coach Nick Saban.
The Crimson Tide looked like a team with no weaknesses against overmatched Michigan State ( 12- 2). Coker, the promising Florida State transfer who sat the bench most of last season, was nearly perfect. The senior completed 25- for- 30 for 286 yards.
“Just got to keep the focus we had in preparation for this game,” Coker said. “This is a special team that I couldn’t be prouder of.”
Ridley, a freshman, was brilliant, streaking by defenders on deep throws and outfighting them on jump balls. He caught eight passes for 138 yards.
Jonathan Allen and the ferocious Tide defensive front sacked Connor Cook four times and allowed the Spartans only one trip into the red zone— which ended with Cyrus Jones intercepting a pass at the goal line.
Jones added a high- stepping 57yard punt return touchdown for the Tide, which hardly even had to use Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry. The big tailback who has carried the Crimson Tide offense most of the season was mostly just a role player against a Spartans defense stacked to stop him. He ran for 75 yards and scored two touchdowns. The last made it 38- 0 halfway through the fourth quarter. The celebration at that point was pretty tame on the Alabama sideline. Henry got a chest pump from a lineman and some pats on the helmet before taking a seat next to a fan to cool off. Hewas done for the day, as if it was a September game against one of those nonconference cupcakes.
The Alabama fans were having fun, though, breaking out the “SEC!” chant and singing along to “Sweet Home Alabama” with that familiar “Roll Tide Roll!” AT& T Stadium in north Texas — where Alabama started its season by blowing out a Big Ten team ( Wisconsin)— had turned into Tuscaloosa west.
Last season the Crimson Tide couldn’t get past the national semifinals, upset by Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl. Heading into another game as a big favorite against the Big Ten champions, the Tide players said all week that the focus was better and their attitude more serious.
They talked about how some players were too concerned about where they would be drafted or partying on Bourbon Street. But in the chilly Dallas area there was nothing to do but practice, and that was fine by them.
“This is no surprise,” Allen said Thursday.“We had great practices every day. We worked our butts off and this is what you get when you work hard.”
Michigan State embraced its role as the underdog and came in expecting to slug it out with the Tide and it smothering defense and hammering Heisman winner. The Spartans’ offensive line watched video of the 1971Ali- Frazier fight to prepare for what it expected to be a 15- round heavyweight bout. Instead itwas a TKO.
Clemson and Alabama will be meeting for the first time since 2008, when Alabama won 34- 10 in a game that signaled the Tide’s return to national prominence under Saban.
That was also a pivotal year for the Tigers. Embattled coach Tommy Bowden resigned after six games, and Swinney — who was in charge of Clemson’s wide receivers — took over as the head coach. Serving at first on an interim basis, he got the job permanently after leading Clemson to bowl eligibility. Now, he has the Tigers within one win of their first national title since 1981.