College Football
Week 20 – Bill O’Brien named OC at Alabama
18 for Alabama, 7
for Nick Saban
With Alabama’s 52-24 national championship win over Ohio State, the Crimson Tide captured their 18th national title, while Alabama coach Nick Saban captured his 7th national title – six at Alabama and one at LSU.
Alabama took control of the game early. The Tide kicked off to the Buckeyes and Alabama’s defense stymied Ohio State on the Buckeyes opening drive – three and out.
Following Ohio State’s punt, Alabama took over on its own 22-yard line. The Tide proceeded to march down the field to the Ohio State goal line. With a 4th-and-goal, Bama’s Najee Harris punched it in from the one-yard line – Alabama 7, Ohio State 0.
Alabama did this every time it had the ball in the first half, except for a fumble on its third possession and a punt with just four seconds left in the half – Bama’s only punt in the first half. Ohio State had four punts in the first half.
Ohio State kept it interesting for a while. First tying the score 7-7 on the Buckeyes’ second possession and then tying the score again at 14-14, following Alabama’s fumble. But the Tide quickly went back up 21-14 and Ohio State never pulled even with Alabama for the rest of the game. In fact, the Buckeyes never ever led in the game.
After Ohio State kicked a field goal to close the gap to 21-17, Alabama scored two more touchdowns in the first half to take a 35-17 lead over the Buckeyes at the break.
In the second half, Alabama outscored Ohio State 17-7, scoring its last touchdown with 13:15 to go in the game. That last touchdown made the score Alabama, 52, Ohio State 24. The Buckeyes briefly pulled within 14 points midway through the third quarter, trailing Alabama – 38-24. But the Buckeyes were never to see the end zone again, while the Crimson Tide added two more touchdowns.
In a matchup between two of the best offenses in the country, Alabama’s was far superior. The Tide’s superior offense was led by none other than Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith. Playing for only two and a half quarters of the game, Smith had 12 receptions for 215 yards and three touchdowns. He left the game midway through the third quarter with an injured hand.
Alabama quarterback Mac Jones was on target too. Jones was 36-for-45, passing for 464 yards and five touchdowns. Running back Najee Harris had 79 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Harris also had seven receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown. Harris had support in the backfield from Brian Robinson who had 69 yards rushing, averaging 6.9 yards a carry.
Alabama’s defense was exceptional too. The Tide defense held the Buckeyes to essentially 17 points. Seven of Ohio State’s points were a gift, when Mac Jones fumbled on Bama’s 10-yard line. Coming into the game, Ohio State was averaging 42 points a game. Alabama defensive tackle Christian Barmore was named the most valuable player of the game on defense.
Ohio State’s offense was a no show. The Buckeyes didn’t look like the same team that crushed Clemson, 49-28, 10 days earlier in a semifinal game. Ohio State running back Trey Sermon suffered a collar bone injury on Ohio State’s first drive. He was taken to the hospital for further diagnosis. The Buckeyes defense didn’t look like the same team either, giving up 621 total yards and 52 points to Alabama.
Alabama not only dominated the score and the stats, but also the Tide dominated time of possession – 37:26 to 22:34. While Ohio State’s offense was stopped many times during the game, Alabama’s offense rarely failed to reach the end zone. Just like the first half, Alabama only punted once in the second half.
Alabama’s last national championship came at the end of the 2017 season – a 26-23 (OT) win over Georgia. Of Nick Saban’s six national titles at Alabama, three were in the BCS era (2009, 2011 and 2012) and three have been in the CFP era (2015, 2017 and 2020). At seven national titles, Saban surpasses Paul “Bear” Bryant with the most national championships. Bryant had six titles.
Alabama finished the season at 13-0. Ohio State was 7-1.
Hats off to the Crimson Tide of Alabama, its coach Nick Saban and receiver DeVonta Smith – the game’s most valuable player. Well done!
Shortly after the game, we learned that Bill O’Brien will be the new offensive coordinator at Alabama, replacing Steve Sarkisian, who is leaving to become head coach at Texas. O'Brien most recently was the head coach of the Houston Texans of the NFL (2014-2020). Prior to that, he was the head coach at Penn State (2012-2013).
Last week, college
football was all about the Heisman Trophy, and lots, and lots of coaching news.
The Heisman Trophy presentation took place on Tuesday evening. It was a virtual presentation. For the first time since 1991, a wide receiver won the trophy. He was Alabama senior DeVonta Smith. In the Heisman voting – three points for first place, two points for second place and one point for third place – Smith tallied 1,853 points (447 first place votes), beating out Clemson junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who had 1,187 points (222 first place votes).
Alabama junior quarterback Mac Jones came in third with 1,130 points (138 first place votes), followed by Florida senior quarterback Kyle Trask, who tallied 737 points (61 first place votes).
Later in the week,
Smith also won the Maxwell Award and the Walter Camp Award as college
football’s top player.
Another coach was fired last week and it was a bit of a surprise. Marshall’s Doc Holliday was terminated from his position with the Thundering Herd. In 11 seasons at Marshall, Holliday was 85-54 – 7-3 this past season. Marshall began the 2020 season at 7-0, but then dropped its last three games.
Holliday’s firing was even more surprising when it was reported that the decision to fire Holliday came from Jim Justice, the governor of West Virginia, and not Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick. So the hunt for a new coach is on a Marshall.
With the news about Holliday, that makes 13 schools who will have new head coaches next season. Eleven schools fired their coaches and two schools lost their coaches to loftier schools. The SEC and the Sun Belt Conferences will have the most new head coaches next season – three each. The ACC, AAC and MAC will have no new head coaches.
One coach who has been teetering on the edge of the hot seat, teetered to the cool side last week. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was signed to a new five-year contract with the Wolverines. Upon hearing the news, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum commented that Ohio State fans must be celebrating in Columbus. After six seasons, Harbaugh’s record against the Buckeyes is 0-5. This past season, Michigan coward out of the game, using the COVID card.
Boise State named its new head coach last week. He is Oregon defensive coordinator Andy Avalos. A native of Corona, California, Avalos played linebacker at Boise State (2001-2005). Before Oregon, he was the defensive coordinator at Boise State for three seasons (2016-2018).
As is typical of this time of the year, lots of coordinator changes – offensive and defensive – were made and announced last week.
New Auburn coach Bryan Harsin named former Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason his new defensive coordinator, and former South Carolina offensive coordinator Mike Bobo his new OC. Prior to Vanderbilt, Mason was a defensive coordinator at Stanford for two seasons – and a good one. Bobo was an offensive coordinator at Georgia for eight seasons (2007-2014), then a head coach at Colorado State for five seasons (2015-2019), before becoming the offensive coordinator at South Carolina last season.
And speaking of South Carolina, the Gamecocks former coach Will Muschamp turned down Steve Sarkisian’s offer to become the defensive coordinator at Texas. Then, former Missouri coach and current Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom turned down Sarkisian for the DC job at Texas. You know what they say Steve: The third time is a charm.
New Arkansas State coach Butch Jones is on the hunt for his third offensive coordinator since he was hired last month. Jones’ first hire – Major Applewhite – after only in the job for a few days, left Arkansas State to become the OC at South Alabama. Last week, Jones’ second hire – A.J. Milwee – after only in the job for a few days, left Arkansas State to become Steve Sarkisian’s quarterbacks coach at Texas. Maybe the third offer will be a charm for Jones.
And back to Texas, it appears that Milwee and Kyle Flood will share the offensive coordinator duties for the Longhorns. Milwee will be the co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, while Flood will be the co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach. Flood, a former head coach at Rutgers (2012-2015) was the offensive line coach at Alabama this past season. Milwee, a former offensive coordinator at Akron, was an offensive analyst for Nick Saban in 2020.
Penn State coach James Franklin fired his offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca, after just one season, and replaced him with former Texas OC Mike Yurcich. Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly hired Cincinnati defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to be the new DC for the Irish. And Western Kentucky defensive coordinator Clayton White was hired by Shane Beamer to be the new DC at South Carolina. Beamer named Marcus Satterfield his offensive coordinator. Satterfield has been an assistant coach with the Carolina Panthers of the NFL for the past three seasons.
Maryland coach Mike Locksley hired Dan Enos to be his new offensive coordinator. Enos replaces Scottie Montgomery, who Locksley fired after two years. In recent years, Enos has been a head coach at Central Michigan and an offensive coordinator at Arkansas and Miami (Florida).
And in the final AP Top-25 Poll, Texas A&M finished ahead of Notre Dame at No. 4. Alabama was No. 1, followed by Ohio State, Clemson, Texas A&M and Notre Dame. The remainder of the Top 10 consisted of Oklahoma, Georgia, Cincinnati, Iowa State and Northwestern at No. 10.
Baseball lost a legend last week. Tommy Lasorda, a major league baseball player and manager, died. Lasorda managed the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1976 to 1996. He guided the Dodgers to two World Series titles – 1981 and 1988. Thomas Charles Lasorda, a native of Norristown, Pennsylvania, was 93.
Note: The last edition of this season’s College Football Week – CFW Week 21 – will be posted next Monday morning, January 18.
So, Dabo Swinney was right when he said that Ohio State didn’t belong in the playoff. Of course, neither did Clemson.
Touchdown Tom
Quotes of the Week
“He does everything exactly right. He has a great understanding of what he needs to do to make plays, and he makes them every chance he gets. So we’re very fortunate to have him,” Alabama coach Nick Saban on his receiver DeVonta Smith.
“That’s better news to Ohio State than winning the national championship,” ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, on Michigan extending Jim Harbaugh’s contract for another five years.
“Michigan fans just can’t comprehend that Jim Harbaugh is a failure as a coach,” ESPN’s Paul Finebaum, on Michigan extending Harbaugh’s contract for five years.
“I continue to believe that Jim is the right man to lead our program in pursuit of Big Ten and CFP championships, Michigan athletic director Wade Manuel, on extending Jim Harbaugh’s contract.
“I think we’re the best team to ever play,” Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, after the Ohio State game.
Touchdown Tom
No comments:
Post a Comment