MIAMI GARDENS, Florida (AP) – The celebration was both familiar and unique. The confetti cannons blew a red and white shower, and the Alabama players ran to the edge to take their championship hats and T-shirts.
It’s a rite of passage if you played for the Crimson Sea under coach Nick Saban.
This time, however, the band playing the battle song was an online recording, and when “Sweet Home Alabama” rang, only a few thousand Tide fans were still in the stadium to sing.
The last game of a college football season in a pandemic, a season that was uncertain to be played in the summer and full of interruptions in the fall, ended in the most predictable way: Alabama as national champion for the sixth time in the last 12 years under Saban.
DeVonta Smith was unstoppable, Najee Harris unstoppable and Mac Jones impeccable, Tide, ranked first, won the national college football game 52-24 against No. 3 Ohio State on Monday night. They finished the year 13-0 – a full season when many wondered if it would be possible to play one.
“I think we’re the best team he’s ever played,” Jones said.
For Saban, it was the career title no. 7 in general, breaking the tie with the great Alabama Paul “Bear” Bryant for the most part by a major college coach.
“For me, this is the ultimate team,” Saban said. “There is more community in this team than in almost any team we have ever had. They had to overcome and persevere so much this season and they did it magnificently. ”
Ohio State (7-1) simply could not keep up. Justin Fields, playing what could be his last game before heading to the NFL, went for 194 yards and a touchdown. It’s hard to know for sure if Fields was 100% after hitting the side during his brilliant semifinal against Clemson.
“I was able to be there,” said the junior defender.
On Buckeyes’ first trip, they lost the running back star, Trey Sermon, to an injury, and in one game they had to run at full speed, facing one of the biggest offenses in recent history. they broke out too much. Ohio State never allowed more points in a bowl game.
“I think there’s a feeling that if you don’t score, you’ll be left behind and then the pressure will increase,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said of Tida’s prolific offensive offense.
Fans can debate which Saban dynasty team is the best, but none will be more memorable than this group.
“Everyone is so together,” Smith said. “People said last year that the dynasty was over. We don’t stop. We continue to recharge. ”
After going two full seasons without winning a national title, Tide finished perfectly during a season that could not have been further from him. COVID-19 forced teams to quarantine and test endlessly and have uncertainty every week, with games played in most empty stadiums.
“For me, this team has done more than almost any team,” Saban said. “No disrespect to other teams we had, but this team won 11 SEC games. No other team has done that. They won the SEC and went undefeated in the SEC and then defeated two great teams in the playoffs without a break. I think there will be quite a bit to write about the legacy of this team. ”
Only about 15,000 fans attended Hard Rock Stadium, with a capacity of 65,326, to see the last magnificent performance of Smith’s college career. The winner of the Heisman Trophy had 12 catches for 215 meters and three touchdowns, all in the first half.
“Heaven knows what he would have done if he had played the whole game,” Saban said.
Using a series of wrong moves and directions, the outgoing offensive coordinator, Steve Sarkisian, made the Ohio heads of state turn around trying to find Smith. At one point, he suddenly faced a defender, whom he left in the dust for a score of 42 yards to make it 35-17 with 41 seconds left in the second quarter.
Smith, who finished his freshman season by catching the 2017 touchdown win at the Tua Tagovailoa National Championships, ended his career in Alabama as the first career leader in the history of the Southeastern Conference and the most outstanding player. offensive from his third title.
As for Sarkisian, he is on his way to Texas as head coach. Longhorns fans must have liked what they saw. If only he could bring Smith and his colleagues from Heisman to Austin.
Jones, who finished third in the Heisman vote, was 36 for 45 for a record 464-meter CFP championship and five touchdowns. In one of the most ignored seasons a defender has ever played, Jones set a one-season record in passing efficiency at 203.
Harris, who was fifth in the Heisman race, had 158 yards of 29-touch scrimmage, scoring three times to give him an SEC record 30 touchdowns this season.
Smith played hard in the second half, leaving with an injury. He returned to the sidelines in the fourth trimester with his right hand wrapped around his wrist, two fingers glued together and wearing a Heisman mask.
Alabama barely escaped and hit 50 at the start of the fourth quarter, when Harris came in unscathed from a yard.
Smith and Harris caught some returning to college after last season for the past few years.
Boy, it turned out to be worth it. Together with Jones, another member of that 2017 recruiting class, they will leave Alabama as leaders of a team that managed to make a difficult march out of the pandemic.
“We all had a mission, trying to put things right,” Smith said. “We all went to work and it ended the way we wanted.”
___
Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/
___
More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25