ALABAMA & CLEMSON BACK IN TITLE GAME
Crimson Tide trails early, then wears down Washington 24-7
ATLANTA — For Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide, it would be unimaginable to end a season any other way.
Once again, they’ll be playing for a national title.
Going old school on playoff newcomer Washington, top-ranked Alabama relied on a stif ling defense and the bruising runs of Bo Scarbrough to wear down the Huskies for a 24-7 victory Saturday in the Peach Bowl semifinal game.
Saban isn’t satisfied.
He never is.
“We’ve got more miles to go,” said Saban, who will be seeking his fifth national title in the last eight years at Alabama, a remarkable run that has stamped him perhaps the greatest coach in college football history.
The Crimson Tide (14-0) scored 10 points off turnovers, including Ryan Anderson’s interception return for a touchdown late in the first half, and Scarbrough’s 68-yard TD run in the fourth quarter finished off the Huskies.
Scarbrough totaled 180 yards and two scores, garnering offensive MVP honors.
Not bad for a backup. “Whoever’s hot, that’s who’s going to get the ball,” Saban said. “He’s been hot lately and he’s going to get the ball.”
Seeking its second straight title, Alabama heads to Tampa, Fla., for the Jan. 9 championship game — once again against Clemson, which bombed Ohio State 31-0 in Saturday night’s Fiesta Bowl.
“We’re 1-0,” linebacker Reuben Foster said. “Now it’s time to focus on the next one and leave this behind us.”
No. 4 Washington (12-2) reached the College Football Playoff with a remarkable turnaround season after struggling much of the last two decades — including an 0-12 debacle in 2008.
But Jake Browning and the Huskies’ high-powered offense were no match for Alabama’s top-ranked defense, even after an impressive drive gave them an early 7-0 edge.
The Tide began to exert its dominance late in the first quarter when Anthony Averett stripped the ball away from John Ross on a screen pass. Jonathan Allen recovered, giving Alabama possession at the Washington 40 and setting up Adam Griffith’s 41-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead.
Anderson made an even bigger defensive play with just over a minute to go in the half. With the blitzing Foster bearing down on him, Browning desperately heaved a pass into the flats for Lavon Coleman. But Anderson peeled off to make the pick, knocked Coleman over in the process and was off to the end zone on a 26-yard return that made it 17-7 at the half.
For Alabama, it was the 11th defensive touchdown of the season.
“That’s as good a defense as there is out there in college football,” Washington coach Chris Petersen said. “They played like it.”
Any hopes of a Washington comeback were snuffed out by Scarbrough. On a simple running play to the left, he appeared to be stopped by two players short of the line of scrimmage. But Scarbrough somehow managed to stay on
his feet and — boom! — he was gone. Streaking down the field in front of the Alabama bench, he avoided another defender with a subtle deke, cut back toward the middle of the field at the Washington 30 and outran everyone to the end zone.
Scarbrough also scored Alabama’s first touchdown with a bruising, 18-yard run. STYMIED HUSKIES: Washington was held to a seasonlow for points and yards, even after a 64-yard opening drive capped by Browning’s 16-yard TD pass to Dante Pettis.
The Huskies finished with 194 yards, below their previous low of 276 in a 26-13 loss to Southern Cal. That was also their lowest-scoring game of the season until they ran up against the Tide.
CHASING BEAR: Saban, who won a BCS championship at LSU, has a chance to join Bear Bryant as the only coaches to capture six national titles in the poll era.
One of Bryant’s titles came in 1973 when the Tide was voted No. 1 in the final coaches’ poll, which came out before the bowls. Alabama lost in the Sugar Bowl to Notre Dame, handing the Fighting Irish the No. 1 spot in The Associated Press poll.