The Alabama Crimson Tide is the champion of college football once again after a superb 26-23 comeback win in the National Championship game against the Georgia Bulldogs on the last play of the game.
The shocking result was possible thanks to the spectacular play from their true freshmen, especially the quarterback, who came off the bench to pull off the stunning victory.
Although for a good portion of the game the Tide’s win looked like a far-fetched dream that would not materialize, the Tide’s true freshmen seemed to band together to pull off one of the most improbable results in major college football history.
After all, when true freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa took a sack in overtime for a 17-yard loss probably most Alabama fans and even some players thought that this was not supposed to be their night.
And you couldn’t blame them really, even though the Crimson Tide had climbed back from 13 points down after replacing starting quarterback Jalen Hurts at halftime.
Not after redshirt junior kicker, Andy Pappanastos missed a 36-yard field goal that would’ve given the Tide the victory in regulation as the clock expired. Not after Rodrigo Blankenship kicked a 51-yard field goal in overtime to give the Bulldogs a 23-20 lead.
But Tagovailoa was not among them, after the sack he just got up and took on the next play as calmly as he could. He then proceeded to launch a 41-yard bomb to true freshman wide receiver DeVonta Smith to seal the win and hand Alabama it’s fifth National Championship under Nick Saban.
Of course, the comeback would not have been possible without the contribution of fellow true freshman running back Najee Harris, who came alive in the 4th quarter to carry the ball six times for 64 yards, including a 35-yard gallop early in the frame, and helped the Tide during those key drives that allowed them to tie the score to 20.
Saban thus has won his sixth national title, as he also won a National Championship in 2003, as coach of the LSU Tigers. He has now tied the record for most national championships with Alabama legend Paul “Bear” Bryant and is within one title from tying Bryant as the winningest coach in school history.
The victory also allows Saban to stay undefeated as he improved to 12-0 against members of his former staff. This time he defeated a tough Georgia team coached by Kirby Smart, who had previously served as Alabama’s defensive coordinator from 2008 to 2015.
This is Alabama’s second title in the last three years and the third since 2012. Furthermore, Alabama also won in 2009 and 2011 giving the Crimson Tide five titles in the last nine years and a record of 5-1 in National Championship games under Saban.
