CLEMSON VS. ALABAMA
The Tigers remain perfect, and the Tide rolls; the two will play for the national title Jan. 11.
MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. » So much for Clemsoning.
The Tigers are headed to the national championship game.
Deshaun Watson turned in another stellar two- way performance, running for one touchdown, passing for another and accounting for 332 yards while leading to pranked Clemson to a 37- 17 victory over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl on Thursday.
Clemson ( 14- 0) dominated the second half and shut down Oklahoma’s high- scoring offense, which had averaged 52 points over its last seven games. The Sooners ( 11- 2) actually came into the Orange Bowl as favorites, but the Tigers showed their perfect recordwas no fluke.
Until this season, the Tigers were known for such inexplicable disappointments that a term was coined for it— Clemsoning.
With one more win, they’ll be known as something else. National champions. “How ’ bout them Tigers, baby?” coach Dabo Swinney screamed from the middle of the field, standing with a trophy full of oranges. “Itwas an awesome second half. It’s been 34 years since Clemson played for a national championship. It won’t be much longer.”
Watson certainly lived up to the hype of being a Heisman finalist. He got off to a slow start passing, but cameback to complete 16- of31 for 187 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown
pass to Hunter Renfrow that gave Clemson some breathing room late in the thirdquarter. Watson carried the running load in the early going, finishing with 145 yards on 24 carries and scoring the Tigers’ first touchdown on a 5- yard run. Hewas named the offensive MVP.
The game went back and forth through the first half, the Sooners jumping ahead on an impressive first possession that culminated with Samaje Perine’s 1- yard drive. Oklahoma went to the locker room with a 17- 16 lead after Mark Andrews hauled in an 11- yard touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield with 1: 34 remaining, and the Sooners’ defense came up with a pick in the end zone on an ill-advised throw by Watson into triple coverage.
If Watson was flustered by that pick, he sure didn’t show it after the break.
Clemson took the second- half kickoff and breezed down the field, covering 75 yards on 12 plays to reclaim the lead on Wayne Gallman’s 1- yard run, the first of his two TDs. Oklahoma’s first posses- sion was the exact opposite: three straight yards- losing plays forced the Sooners to punt, setting the tone for the struggles they would face the rest of the game.
Clemson, looking to become the first team in FBS history to finish 15- 0, advanced to face secondranked Alabama or third- ranked Michigan State in the Jan. 11 finale in Glendale, Ariz. Those teams met Thursday night in the Cotton Bowl.
“We’re not worried about who we play,” said linebacker Ben Boulware, the defensive MVP.
The orange-clad Clemson faithful gobbled up at least threefourths of the seats at Sun Life Stadium, turning what was supposed to be a neutral- site game into Death Valley South.
Clemson piled up 550 total yards in the game, sealing its victory on Gallman’s 4- yard touchdown run with 10: 48 remaining.
The Tigers played loose throughout, even pulling off some special- teams trickery to set up their first TD. Punter Andy Teasdall tossed a 31- yard pass to Christian Wilkins, a 315- pound freshman defensive tackle.
For Oklahoma, it was a disappointing end to a comeback season after going 8- 5 a year ago.