Antioch’s Harris carried load for Alabama in loss
Monday wasn’t just the College Football Playoff National Championship, it was the homecoming for one of the greatest prep football players to ever compete in the Bay Area, Alabama sophomore running back Najee Harris.
“Any time I come home, it’s always a warm welcome and that’s why I love this state so much,” said Harris, a 2017 graduate of Antioch High.
With Harris’ No. 1 Crimson Tide trailing the No. 2 Clemson Tigers 14-7 in the first quarter, the powerful tailback raced toward the goal line with the ball tucked beneath his arm. After surviving initial contact, Harris willed his body forward, reached toward the end zone and looked up to an official. Touchdown.
On the biggest stage in college football, in front of the family and coaches who raised him, in the region where he became a star, Harris was credited with six points.
Alabama’s fans erupted. Harris didn’t.
“No, I knew I didn’t get in,” Harris said with a laugh. “I told Tua (Tagovailoa) on the sideline, ‘Hey man, just get ready because I didn’t get in.’ ”
A replay review confirmed what the runner already knew.
Harris came close to scoring a touchdown about 60 miles south of the high school field where he once tormented Bay Area opponents. Had he helped lead Alabama to victory, it would have been a storybook night for the local standout.
Instead, Harris came up short and so did his Crimson Tide, as Alabama suffered a crushing 44-16 blowout loss.
Though Harris could take over the starting role for one of the early 2020 CFP National Championship favorites, not everything has gone according to the script in Tuscaloosa.
The No. 1 recruit for the entire Class of 2017 has been limited to a role as a rotational back, and despite leading all Crimson Tide rushers with 59 yards Monday, Harris received just nine carries.
“I’m just waiting to get in the game,” Harris said. “That’s the only thing, man. I wish I could do more. But I can’t. So that’s the only disappointing part really. For the team, too, of course the loss. But just for me personally, I just know that I could do more.”
After Harris’ 8-yard rush brought the Crimson Tide within inches of the goal line, Alabama coach Nick Saban turned to his passing attack for a quick six points.
Robbed of an opportunity to score, Harris wouldn’t have another realistic shot. Alabama eventually held a 16-14 lead, but allowed 30 unanswered points in the most lopsided loss of the Saban era.
“I never in my life, I knew for sure I was not going to have an undefeated career,” Harris said. “Come on now, let’s be real here. I knew in my life I’m going to lose a couple. I just know I’ve got to keep going.”
Harris knew an undefeated football career was never on the table. He knows opportunities to carry the ball aren’t unlimited, either.
“I just want it,” Harris said. “But that’s not how things work. You just got to do the best you can with the opportunities that you get.”
LOW TV RATINGS >> Clemson’s blowout victory over Alabama drew a 14.6 overnight rating for ESPN across its multiple-channel broadcast, the lowest-rated title game in the 5-year-old postseason system.
The viewership numbers reported by Nielsen provided some better news for the network. ESPN said Nielsen reported that 25.2 million viewers tuned into Monday night’s game on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. The figures do not yet include ESPNEWS or streaming viewership. The 2016 national championship game between Alabama and Clemson that was decided on a last-second touchdown drew 25.3 million viewers.
The third championship meeting of the Tigers and Crimson Tide, and fourth straight playoff meeting overall, was also the most lopsided CFP final.
The ratings and viewership topped out at 16.2 and 27.8 million in the first half when the Tigers extended their lead to 15 points.
Clemson won by 28 points, the largest margin of victory in a college football championship game since Alabama beat Notre Dame by 28 in the 2012 BCS title game.
Last season’s Alabama overtime victory against Georgia drew a 16.7 overnight rating.
Overall, the New Year’s Six games, including the Cotton and Orange bowl semifinals, averaged a 9.0 overnight rating, which is up 8 percent from the second year of the playoff when the semifinals were held in the Cotton and Orange bowls on New Year’s Eve. SPARTANS IN ALL-STAR GAME >> San Jose State defensive linemen Bryson Bridges and Boogie Roberts will represent the National team in the fourth annual Spiral Tropical Bowl all-star game on Saturday in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Kickoff is 7 a.m. (Pacific) and will be streamed by FloFootball.com.
NEW DAY FOR COACHES AT OHIO STATE >> New Ohio State coach Ryan Day has hired a second assistant away from rival Michigan.
The university said that Day hired Michigan linebackers coach Al Washington for the same position on the Ohio State staff. The move comes a day after Michigan defensive line coach Greg Mattison was added to the staff as co-defensive coordinator.
Day will part ways with Bill Davis, who was the linebackers coach under Urban Meyer last season. LONGHORN DECLARES FOR DRAFT >> Texas wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey will skip his senior season and enter the NFL draft. Humphrey led the Longhorns with 86 catches for 1,176 yards and nine touchdowns.