No. 4 Alabama defeated No. 1 Clemson 24-6 at the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Monday night, led by a smothering defense that allowed seven or fewer points under Nick Saban for the 56th time in team history.
The Crimson Tide secured a place in the National Championship game for the third straight year and this time they will play a fierce SEC rival, the Georgia Bulldogs, who defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 54-48 in double overtime in the first semifinal game of the day, and this year also won the SEC championship against Auburn.
The Tide’s defense was absolutely dominant against Clemson in this rubber match, as it provided a suffocating show that held Clemson to under 200 yards for the just the fourth time under Dabo Swinney.
This was the third straight year that Alabama and Clemson played each other in the college football postseason. The previous two years they played in the championship round and they each won once, with the Tide taking it in 2016, and Clemson winning and avenging their heartbreaking defeat the last year.
This time, Alabama was in total control of the game and proved it by limiting Clemson to just two field goals marking this as just the second time that Clemson failed to score a touchdown under Swinney.
It may not be surprising that Alabama won this game, but it was indeed shocking to see Alabama dominating in this fashion, with defense that not only smothered Clemson with pressure, but also found ways to contribute by scoring the final touchdown of the game on a key 18-yard interception return by linebacker Mack Wilson with 5:27 to go in the fourth quarter.
Alabama helped themselves by running the ball with their tailbacks to control possession time and field position. The Tide finished with 141 rushing yards, led by Damien Harris’ 77 yards on the ground, which were more than what the entire Clemson team rushed for (64) the entire game.
Now as a reward for beating Clemson in this rubber match Alabama get the huge challenge of heading to Georgia to play Georgia at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, in what will practically be a home field game for the Bulldogs, as they will play just 72 miles away from their very own Sanford Stadium.
