2016 College Football Playoff National Championship

2016 College Football Playoff National Championship
Alabama Crimson Tide Clemson Tigers
(13–1) (14–0)
SEC ACC
45 40
Head coach: 
Nick Saban		 Head coach: 
Dabo Swinney
APCoachesCFP
222
APCoachesCFP
111
1234 Total
Alabama 77724 45
Clemson 1401016 40
Date January 11, 2016
Season 2015
Stadium University of Phoenix Stadium
Location Glendale, Arizona
MVP Offensive: #88 TE Oj Howard, Jr., Alabama
Defensive: #4 SS Eddie Jackson, Jr. Alabama
Favorite Alabama by 6½[1]
National anthem Ciara[2][3]
Eric Church (Championship Tailgate)
Canaan Smith (America the Beautiful)
Referee Terry Leyden (Pac-12)
Attendance 75,765
United States TV coverage
Network ESPN
Announcers

ESPN:

ESPN Deportes:
Eduardo Varela (play-by-play) Pablo Viruega (analyst)
ESPN Radio:
Mike Tirico (play-by-play)
Todd Blackledge (analyst)
Holly Rowe (sideline reporter)
Joe Schad (sideline reporter)

International TV coverage
Network ESPN (Spanish and Portuguese)
Announcers Eduardo Varela
Pablo Viruega

The 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship was a bowl game that determined a national champion of NCAA Division I FBS college football for the 2015 season. It was played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on January 11, 2016, and was the culminating game of the 2015–16 bowl season.

The game was played between the winners of two pre-designated semifinal bowls played on December 31, 2015: the No. 1 Clemson Tigers, who beat the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners 37-17 at the Orange Bowl, coached by Dabo Swinney in his 8th season with Clemson, and the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide, who shut out the No. 3 Michigan State Spartans 38-0 at the Cotton Bowl Classic, coached by Nick Saban.

The 13-1 Alabama Crimson Tide won the game, beating the undefeated Clemson Tigers 45–40. Heisman Finalist quarterback Deshaun Watson had a historic performance, setting the record for most total yards in national championship game history, with 478 yards (405 passing / 73 rushing) against the nation's third-ranked defense in Alabama.[4] Following the game, the AP Poll also named Alabama as its top team of the season, giving Alabama their fourth title in seven seasons.[5][6]

2016 College Football Playoff

Semifinals 2016 Championship Game
December 31 – Orange Bowl
  1   Clemson 37  
  4   Oklahoma 17  
 
January 11 – National Championship
      1   Clemson 40
    2   Alabama 45
December 31 – Cotton Bowl Classic
  2   Alabama 38
  3   Michigan State 0  

Host selection

University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona was announced as the host site in December 2013, along with 2017 host Raymond James Stadium. The Arizona Organizing Committee, co-chaired by Brad Wright and Win Holden, hosted the game.

Starting lineups

Selected in an NFL Draft   (number corresponds to draft round)

†= 2015 All-American

Alabama Position Position Clemson
Offense
Calvin Ridley WR Artavis Scott
Cam Robinson LT Mitch Hyatt
Ross Pierschbacher LG Eric Mac Lain
Ryan Kelly † 1 C Jay Guillermo
Alphonse Taylor RG Tyrone Crowder Jr.
Dominick Jackson RT Joe Gore
O. J. Howard TE Jordan Leggett
ArDarius Stewart WR Hunter Renfrow
Jake Coker QB Deshaun Watson †
Derrick Henry † 2 RB Wayne Gallman
Defense
A'Shawn Robinson † 2 DE | DE Shaq Lawson † 1
Jonathan Allen NG DT D.J. Reader
Jarran Reed 2 DE DT Carlos Watkins
Denzel Devall JLB DE Kevin Dodd 2
Reggie Ragland † 2 MLB SLB Travis Blanks
Reuben Foster WLB MLB B.J. Goodson
Minkah Fitzpatrick CB WLB Ben Boulware
Cyrus Jones 2 CB Mackensie Alexander 2
Marlon Humphrey CB Cordrea Tankersley
Eddie Jackson SS Jayron Kearse 7
Geno Matias-Smith FS T.J. Green 2

Game summary

Alabama, coming off a stellar defensive performance in the semifinal game, was looking to contain and neutralize Clemson's noted Heisman Finalist QB Deshaun Watson while building on successes gained in the offensive passing game. However as the game wore on, the Alabama defense was quickly forced into conceding most of the field and stopping Clemson in the redzone while Alabama's offense was stressed at the line of scrimmage by Clemson's talented defensive line lead by Shaq Lawson and simultaneously having noteworthy freshman phenom Calvin Ridley hounded by Clemson's stellar cornerback Mackensie Alexander (before he would leave the game with a reaggravated hamstring injury early in the third quarter). Despite being statistically outplayed by Clemson (550 Clemson offensive yards to 473 Alabama) offensively and statistically tied in other areas, Alabama was able to capitalize on three key plays: An interception of Deshaun Watson's pass early in the second quarter, a surprise Alabama onside kick early in the fourth quarter, and an Alabama kickoff return for a touchdown in the middle of the fourth quarter. These plays accounted for 21 points and vaulted to the Tide to what would be an insurmountable lead going into the late fourth quarter. Alabama would go on to win the game 45 to 40.

Having won the coin toss to start the game, Clemson elected to defer to the second half. Characteristic of Alabama, the offensive opening drive was slow and cautious but notable for utilizing Derrick Henry four times, a schematic change of pace from that of the Semifinal game against Michigan State. Alabama and Clemson would trade punting drives before, on the next Alabama possession, Derrick Henry was utilized three times. On the third run, Derrick would find an opening for a 50 yard touchdown run (7-0). However, on the next two Clemson possessions Deshaun Watson would use his characteristic speed, agility, and elusiveness to sustain drives with a mixture of QB runs and fade routes against Alabama's top-ranked defense. These two drives both culminated in TD throws to Hunter Renfrow (7-14) the later of which ended the first quarter.

On Alabama's next possession to start the second quarter, despite a promising start in a 29 yard pass to Richard Mullaney, Alabama's oft suspect offensive line conceded a sack by Kevin Dodd and a tackle for loss on Derrick Henry. Characteristic of Alabama, facing third and long offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin enacted for extra field position on a punt with a short throw to Ridley rather than attempting a first down pass. Despite the seemingly dire situation, on the ensuing Clemson drive Deshaun Watson was intercepted by Eddie Jackson at the Clemson 42 yard line. The resulting Alabama possession would culminate in a 1 yard TD run by Derrick Henry (14-14). After this flurry, both Clemson and Alabama seemingly enacted to play more cautiously as each of the three following possessions by both teams went no further than 40 yards. Clemson's last possession of the half would result in a blocked field goal.

Going into the third quarter, Clemson opted to receive the ball but was forced into a quick three and out. Alabama's next possession, seemingly characteristic of the rest of the game offensively, would see the often overlooked and underutilized TE OJ Howard find himself open in space for a 53 Yard Touchdown (21-14). However, despite this seeming momentum change, Clemson would once again utilize a mixture of befuddling QB runs, accurate pass plays by Deshaun Watson, and key run plays by RB Wayne Gallman on its next two drives to account for a 37 yard field goal by Greg Hugel (21-17) and a 1 yard touchdown run by Wayne Gallman (21-24). Both teams were then stalled for three and outs or near three and outs on their next two possessions to close the Third quarter.

On Alabama's first possession of the fourth quarter, Jake Coker would find ArDarius Stewart in single man coverage for 38 yards. This gain, however, did not translate into a touchdown as the offense was stalled by good secondary play from Clemson. Alabama would settle for a field goal from 33 yards to tie the game (24-24). Unsatisfied with this result, on the ensuing kickoff Alabama gambled on the statistically favorable but conventionally unorthodox surprise onside kick. The kick was executed to perfection as Adam Griffith found Marlon Humphrey past the requisite 10 yards a ball must travel before being touched by the kicking team to retain Alabama possession of the ball. Alabama would capitalize on this almost immediately with another 50+ touchdown pass to a wide open OJ Howard (31-24). Clemson would pull within 4 once again as Alabama's defense began to break down with poor tackling due to aggressive attempts to strip the ball from Clemson players which would lead to huge gains. However, Alabama's defense held in the red zone and forced a field goal from Clemson (31-27). On the ensuing kickoff, Alabama RB Kenyan Drake stunned Clemson by taking the ball 95 yards for an Alabama touchdown (38-27). However, capitalizing on the sheer amount of time Alabama's defense has been on the field by this point, Deshaun Watson quickly answered this with an 8 play 75 yard touchdown drive which culminated in a 15 yard touchdown pass to WR Artavius Scott. In attempt to pull within three points of Alabama (and thus within a field goal of tying the game), Clemson attempted a two point conversion with what morphed into a naked bootleg QB run by Deshaun Watson which was stopped short (38-33). On Alabama's next possession QB Jake Coker passed the ball in a checkdown screen to OJ Howard who, getting good blocking, would run for 63 yards. With less than 3 minutes left in the game, Alabama would use both remaining Clemson Timeouts and its own reserve of timeouts to brute force the ball up the middle to convert downs. After a key third down scramble for a first down by Jake Coker, Derrick Henry, on third down, would break the touchdown plane with the nose of the ball over the top of the goal line pile of players for a 1 yard TD run (45-33). With little more than a minute left and no timeouts Clemson would once again take advantage of a crumbling Alabama defense and stellar performance by Deshaun Watson for a 55 second drive that culminated in a 24 yard touchdown pass to Jordan Leggett with 12 seconds left on the clock (45-40). Clemson attempted an onside kick to retain possession on the ensuing kickoff in the hopes of attempting either a Hail Mary play or a series of laterals to attempt to find the endzone due to the defensive confusion. However, the ball was recovered by Alabama sealing Alabama victory. This would be the fourth Alabama national championship win in seven years, first of the CFB era, and Head Coach Nick Saban's fifth overall.

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP ALA CLEM
1 7:55 3 59 0:55 ALA Derrick Henry 50-yard touchdown run, Adam Griffith kick good 7 0
1 5:18 6 59 2:37 CLEM Hunter Renfrow 31-yard touchdown reception from Deshaun Watson, Greg Huegel kick good 7 7
1 0:00 7 73 2:17 CLEM Hunter Renfrow 11-yard touchdown reception from Deshaun Watson, Greg Huegel kick good 7 14
2 9:35 7 42 2:23 ALA Derrick Henry 1-yard touchdown run, Adam Griffith kick good 14 14
3 12:53 3 64 0:53 ALA O. J. Howard 53-yard touchdown reception from Jake Coker, Adam Griffith kick good 21 14
3 10:10 9 55 2:43 CLEM 37-yard field goal by Greg Huegel 21 17
3 4:48 9 60 3:38 CLEM Wayne Gallman 1-yard touchdown run, Greg Huegel kick good 21 24
4 10:34 8 64 2:33 ALA 33-yard field goal by Adam Griffith 24 24
4 9:45 2 50 0:49 ALA O. J. Howard 51-yard touchdown reception from Jake Coker, Adam Griffith kick good 31 24
4 7:47 6 61 1:58 CLEM 31-yard field goal by Greg Huegel 31 27
4 7:31 - - - ALA Kick returned 95 yards for touchdown by Kenyan Drake, Adam Griffith kick good 38 27
4 4:40 8 75 2:51 CLEM Artavis Scott 15-yard touchdown reception from Deshaun Watson, 2-point run failed 38 33
4 1:07 8 75 3:33 ALA Derrick Henry 1-yard touchdown run, Adam Griffith kick good 45 33
4 0:12 6 68 0:55 CLEM Jordan Leggett 24-yard touchdown reception from Deshaun Watson, Greg Huegel kick good 45 40
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 45 40

Statistics

Statistics ALA CLEM
First Downs 18 31
Plays–yards 71–473 85–550
Rushes–yards 46–138 38–145
Passing yards 335 405
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 16–25–0 30–47–1
Time of possession 30:31 29:29

Broadcasting

The game was broadcast in the United States by ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN Radio, with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit as English commentators on TV, and Eduardo Varela and Pablo Viruega as Spanish commentators. As in 2015, ESPN provided Megacast coverage of the game, with enhanced feeds and perspectives on various ESPN television channels and WatchESPN.[7][8]

An average of 23.6 million viewers watched the game, representing a 29% decrease over the 2015 title game, which was seen by 33.4 million viewers. The game was the sixth-highest-rated broadcast in U.S. cable television history (by contrast, the 2015 game was the highest-rated), and ESPN reported that the game brought the network its third-highest overnight ratings (behind the 2010 and 2015 title games).[9][10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bowl Schedule, Los Angeles Times, January 3, 2016
  2. ↑ "College Football Playoff Announces National Championship Pregame Entertainment" (Press release). College Football Playoff. December 17, 2015. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Ciara To Sing National Anthem At College Football Playoff". dfw.cbslocal.com. CBS Local DFW. December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  4. ↑ http://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/22
  5. ↑ "Final AP Poll: Alabama finishes No. 1 for 10th time; Stanford, OSU move up". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "Alabama claims it has 16 national titles, but several are disputed". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "ESPN brings the Megacast back for the College Football Playoff National Championship". Awful Announcing. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Details for ESPN's Megacast of the College Football Playoff title game". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "ESPN College Football Title Game Ratings Drop 19% From 2015 Record". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  10. ↑ Chicago Tribune (January 13, 2015). "New college football playoff draws larger TV audience for title game". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.

External links

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