Tire Store Report National Championship Game

OK, everyone who thought last week that you’d be reading the following sentence, please raise your hand:  “Alabama, led by superlative performances on special teams, a breath-taking gamble by the head coach, and clutch efforts by pass-catching wonder O.J. Howard, secured the University’s 16^th national championship on Monday night.”  Liars.

Frankly, right up until about a third of the way through the third quarter, the game was playing out the way many predicted, at least on the scoreboard.  Down here at the Tire Store, we kind of expected both teams to come out a little tight, that the score would be close at half time, and in the second half we’d begin to pull away, eventually enjoying a comfortable victory.  And it was going that way.  The score was knotted at half time.  The first half performance for both teams was uneven.  Clemson got the ball to start the second half, promptly went three-and-out, and Alabama scored a touchdown.  Kicking off the football we felt like what we expected from reading about a jillion pregame predictions and staring intently into the crystal ball (ok, it was actually the plastic cover on the balance machine, but that was the idea) was about to happen.

If you were able to stay up past most people’s usual bed time, you know that’s not quite how it worked out.  In fact, even halfway through the fourth quarter, with a lead and Clemson kicking off, we thought ok, Anaconda time.  Hand the ball off to Derrick Henry 11 of the next 12 plays, gain 4-5 yards a down, take seven minutes off the clock, and shoot the confetti cannons.  That didn’t happen either.

So, the game invites the question: What in the name of Xen Scott was going on out in the middle of the Great American Desert?

The obvious thing is that Alabama did not play its best game of the year.  It probably peaked one game too early.  You expect some nerves and jitters in a game like this.  Clemson had a very very good football team and played very well.  The difference is that last year in the playoffs Alabama’s less-than-best effort resulted in a defeat.  This year, it resulted in a National Championship.  We are inclined to say the difference was this team’s focus on “finishing”. 

Most of the bad things seemed to us to be a lack of execution on the field rather than a lack of planning and strategy.  For whatever reason, and certainly some of it is a credit to Clemson, but the right side of the offensive line was occasionally less effective at stopping people than the turn stiles at Disney World.  Credit Clemson for taking advantage, though we are not sure how much credit they get when we choose not to block one of their all-conference players.  Either on purpose or not, we occasionally did not employ a spy on their quarterback, or our spy was out of position.   That’s not good.  We flat out missed some tackles, maybe more than about the last four games put together.  We were frustrated about some of their pass completions.  After further review, though, sometimes guys just make a perfect pass and catch and you tip your cap to them.  We missed a field goal.  Our most sure-handed receiver dropped a third down pass.  Even the great Reggie Ragland and A’Shawn Robinson were out of position a few times.

Towards the end of the game, to be honest, our defense looked tired like it hadn’t since Mississippi -- maybe not ever.  Maybe it was an illusion.  Clearly on the last drive by Clemson the idea was to trade territory for time and we just mis-timed it by 12 seconds.  Saban loves that stuff.  If there was next week to worry over, all of that would make us queasy.  With there not being a next week -- who cares?  We won the national championship.

However it all occurred, it was an exciting game.  Even people who aren’t Alabama fans, or even particularly college football fans, have reached out to tell us congratulations and what an entertaining game it was.  (Uh, apparently it is not a secret that we root for Alabama.  Go figure.) There were more heart-warming story lines than could be told in 100 pages.  Perhaps Cecil or someone like him will write a book.  We’d do it, but that sort of thing doesn’t pay the rent or replenish the stock of all-seasons in the back.  We still can’t resist pointing out a few of our favorites.

·         Richard Mullaney who moved from Oregon State and made his decision so suddenly and completely that he slept on Jake Coker’s couch till he found a place to live, garnered a big catch in the game.  He went from 2-10 Oregon State to earning a National Championship ring in 12 months.  Did you know that once he visited Alabama, he talked to his parents and cancelled visits to the other schools on his list?

·         Did you notice?  We’re not big on all sorts of helmet decals for this and that, but we were fans of the small white mortar board added to the helmets of Alabama players who already had earned their degrees by kick off.  There were 29 of them.  If you think that is not a recruiting tool, you don’t think like a high school players’ parents.

·         Star-crossed Kenyan Drake was playing hard in the back field where he was overshadowed by Derrick Henry this season.  His magical return of a kickoff for a touchdown swung the momentum right back to Alabama while Clemson was still celebrating their score.  Did you see the ball in the same arm he broke in Starkville, only this time it was reaching for the pylon to earn six points?

·         Daring.  Riverboat Gambler.  Shoot for the Moon.  Go for Broke.  All phrases that immediately come to mind when you think about Nick Lou Saban, right?  Us, either.  The on-side kick call was a daring move.  All of those people who were deriding Alabama’s brand of  football as “boring” and “old school” and “ready for a museum” were singing a different tune after Monday night.  The thing is, we don’t think anything changed.  That play was set up by endless hours of film study and careful practice.  (Even though Humphrey apparently told a reporter after the game that he “always missed” the catch in practice).  Kiffin even went to the offensive line and told them they were about to get the ball back, but not to stand up or even smile so as not to risk giving it away.  So the idea that this was some sort of draw-it-in-the-dirt, last-minute, hope-for-the-best maneuver is at least half wrong.  It did take guts.  If we miss the kick or drop the ball or it sails out of bounds, we were putting a lot of pressure on a tired defense.  However, it worked.  And it was daring.  We cannot actually recall its equal.

·         Speaking of, hats off to Adam Griffith.  The young man has lived too long with an albatross around his neck that he didn’t deserve.  It started to come loose just before halftime of the LSU game with a brilliant long kick in iffy conditions.  Hitting about 30 field goals to help beat the East Alabama Male College this year loosened it a little more.  It fell off and he stomped on it with the best on-side kick I’ve ever seen.  And number 2 may be the one he kicked in the Mississippi game.  Huzzah, Adam.

·         There were some overlooked players on this team.  D.J. Pettway, having chosen really poor companions and making poor decisions a few years ago was not just off the team, but expelled from the University.  His field goal block and generally solid play, maybe the best of any defensive lineman, was redemption.  O.J. Howard went from nearly invisible to the MVP of the National Championship game.  Most of all, there was Jake Coker who toiled in the shadows of the talented but morally-bankrupt Jameis Winston returning home to play for his favorite team, only to toil in the shadows of the talented and popular Blake Sims.  He finally gets to start, wins two in a row, and is then benched  in the shadow of Cooper Bateman.  You know what?  In similar circumstances we might have been tempted to pout, sulk, complain about the coaches, etc.  Apparently, Jake did none of the above.  Instead, he continued to compete.  Is he the most talented quarterback of the Saban era?  No.  He does have a heart bigger than a Wilson football, plenty of class and a stadium full of courage.  And now, in his last season, he is the undefeated starting quarterback of the favorite team of his childhood, with SEC and National Championship rings to show for it.  Frankly, when the cameras focused on him collapsed on the football after taking the last snap, we must’ve gotten a little leftover brake dust in our eyes.

And so another season, another CHAMPIONSHIP season, comes to a close.  Thanks, Commissioner, for keeping us on the list, promptly providing your invaluable analysis, and sharing your audience with us.  Thanks to everyone who reads.  And thanks to Coach Saban, his staff, and mostly the players on the 2015 edition of the Crimson Tide for an exciting season and a championship game for the ages.  They were so much fun to watch that we are a bit sad that we don’t get to see them in action again.  We may have doubted the boys a few times, but they didn’t doubt themselves and finished this game and this season in thrilling fashion.  As Coach Bryant used to say on Sunday afternoon: “We are tremendously proud of the boys for winning the football game.”

Keep warm this winter and have a safe summer.  See you in the fall.  It’s only about 32 weeks till time to face the Trojans in Dallas (and yes, we’ll be counting down).  Roll Tide, everyone.

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National Championship Grades

Alabama fans are often criticized for arrogance. Pundits say that our championship expectations are unrealistic and therefore an expression of an intolerant and privileged mentality impossible for any rational coach to endure. To these nay-sayers and Tide-haters, I say: Look at the record book.

The University of Alabama football program has won 16 national championships in its 124 seasons. In the so-called "modern era" it has won 11. Five of those national titles have been achieved since the 1982 retirement of Paul Bryant, widely regarded as the greatest college football coach of all time. Since 1998, the advent of the BCS era, college football's effort to pit the season's two best teams in a definitive title game, the SEC, with 10, is the conference with the most BCS Championships. Alabama has accounted for four of those ten national championships, each in the last seven seasons.

Over the modern era, college football's competitive environment has increased dramatically. Scholarship limitations have leveled the playing field. Winning a national championship has always been hard, but the degree of difficulty has never been greater than it is today. At the time when a championship has never been harder to achieve, Alabama has dominated the sport of college football. No other program even comes close.

Consider this: Besides losing to Alabama in the national championship game, what do the 1992 Miami, 2009 Texas, 2011 LSU, 2012 Notre Dame and 2015 Clemson teams have in common? Their ONLY loss was to Alabama. 

Yes, Alabama fans have perennial championship expectations. But those expectations are not unrealistic. Coach Saban frequently points out that the success of the Alabama football program depends upon not only the efforts of players and coaches, but also on the support of the University's administration, alumni and wider fan base. The readers of this blog are part of that base.

Each of those sixteen national championships holds a special place in the hearts of fans, but some are a bit more significant than others. Is there one championship that is greater than the others? What about the win over Washington in the Rose Bowl following the 1925 season; a watershed victory for all of Southern football? Or what about the 1961 championship, Coach Bryant's first of six national titles for The Capstone; an achievement that purged the stench of "Ears" Whitworth from the Alabama program and set the Tide up to dominate the sport for the next two decades? Then there is the 1992 championship, marking the Tide's return to the elite ranks of college football for the first time since Bryant's death. Maybe you would argue that the 2009 BCS national championship is the greatest; the first in 17 years, the unequivocal statement that Alabama had returned from its prolonged wandering in the wilderness of coaching malpractice and NCAA sanctions. A case could be made for each of these, or others, but from my perspective, Alabama's greatest national championship is its 45-40 victory over a previously undefeated Clemson, in the 2015 College Football Playoff Final.

If you watched the game on TV, or were among the 75,000 people who filled University of Phoenix Stadium, count yourself fortunate; remember this game!

It was not Alabama's best game of the season. The thrashing of Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl playoff semi-final deserves that accolade. In fact, Alabama did not play particularly well in its core competency; defense. Clemson had a lot to do about that. The Tigers are a very good football team. Deshawn Watson is a phenomenal college football player and without a doubt the best college quarterback I have ever watched. The Clemson defensive line was ferocious and gave Jake Coker and the Alabama offense their greatest test of the year. 

But football is a game with three interdependent components: offense, defense and special teams. In the end, Alabama proved itself the better team. Consider this statistical comparison: Clemson gained 550 yards of total offense to Alabama's 473. But Alabama gained more all-purpose yards; 681 to 640. 

Alabama defeated previously unbeaten Clemson with a comprehensive, team effort.  The Tide offense earned only 18 first downs compared to Clemson's 31, and had six drives that gained 40 yards or more [59, 42, 64, 64, 50, 75] while Clemson had eight [54, 73, 40, 55, 60, 61, 75, 68]. The Tide defense recorded 7 tackles for lost yardage. Clemson recorded 9. Alabama defenders broke up 7 passes, forced a fumble and intercepted a pass. Clemson's secondary only broke up a single pass and forced no turnovers. 

The Tide special teams blocked a field goal attempt [DJ Pettway] recovered an onside kick [Marlon Humphrey] and returned a Clemson kick 95 yards for a TD [Kenyan Drake].

When the team wins the national championship, every phase of the game earns A+. So you already know the mark on the report card. Nevertheless, faithful to the tradition of The Grades to take a deep dive into the statistics, here is how I grade the game:

Offense: A+ Jake completed 16 of 25 pass attempts for 335 yards and 2 TDs, both to OJ Howard. He was sacked 5 times but the Tide did not turn the ball over.

Derrick Henry ran the ball 36 times for a net of 158 yards [4.4 avg] and had 3 TDs. His longest run of the night was a 50 yard sprint down the middle of the field after breaking the box stuffed with Clemson defenders for the game's opening score. Jake posted a net of 11 yards rushing. He gained 31 yards but lost 20 yards on sacks. His most crucial run of the game came late in the 4th quarter with the Tide leading by 5. Facing 3rd and 2 from the Clemson 6 yard line with under 2:00 to play, Coker gained 3 yards for a first down at the Tiger 3, and setting up Henry for a hard-earned 1 yard TD three plays later; a score that ultimately determined the margin of victory.

Calvin Ridley caught 6 passes, but Clemson was determined to bottle him up, and he was only able to gain 14 total yards receiving. Ardarius Stewart was likewise kept in check through the first three quarters, but made 2 outstanding catches in the 4th for a combined 63 yards. Kenyan Drake added 21 yards on 2 receptions, and Richard Mullaney made a single catch for 29 yards. The usually sure-handed graduate transfer player had an uncharacteristic drop on a third down in the second half that forced a punt. 

There are many reasons why those number 1 recruiting class rankings are important. Sure, it's sporting to make fun of UT fans who crow about how well Butch Jones, or Derek Dooley, or Phil Fulmer or whoever, is recruiting when the product they put on the field does not match the recruiting rankings. But when you are facing a talented, determined opponent, whose defense is disrupting your principal ground attack along with your primary receiving threat, it is nice that outstanding recruiting means you have an elite athlete playing tight end. Such an athlete is OJ Howard. The 6-6, 242 junior from Prattville [Autauga Academy] caught 5 passes for 208 yards and 2 TDs. He earned offensive MVP honors for his performance in the game. 

Defense: A+ I know some will think this is a give-away grade. Coach Saban acknowledged that the defense did not play its best game, but the defense played well enough to enable the team to win. 

Geno Matias-Smith led all tacklers with 11 solo stops. Reuben Foster had 9 tackles [8 solo]. Cy Jones, Reggie Ragland and Marlon Humphrey each were credited with 5 tackles. 

Humphrey, and his fellow defensive backs, Minka Fitzpatrick and Ronnie Harrison (both freshmen), combined for 5 pass break ups, including two that would otherwise have resulted in Clemson touchdowns.

Special Teams:  A+. A team that gets a kick blocked deserves to lose. By that standard, Clemson deserved to lose when DJ Pettway got his hand on a second-quarter Clemson field goal attempt. JK Scott was reliable all night, averaging 42.2 yards on 7 punts. He dropped 3 inside the Clemson 20 yard line and his longest punt of the night traveled 52 yards. 

I cannot write enough about Kenyan Drake. 

A difficult injury history might mean that the Clemson game was the last time he will play organized football. Maybe not. The senior running back from Powder Springs, GA, stands 6-1 and tips the scales at 210 lbs.; 209 of which are heart. He was having a fantastic season in 2014 when he broke his left leg in the Ole Miss game. This year, against Mississippi State, he broke a bone in his forearm making a tackle on kick coverage. He was back on the field against Florida in the SEC CG, ripped through a gassed Michigan State defense on a brilliant 58 yard run in the 4th quarter of the Cotton Bowl and made a dazzling kick return for a touchdown in the championship final. I am no NFL scout. I do not claim any insight into draft-ology. But if a pro team needs a player who will be fantastic in the locker room, dedicated on the practice field, and deadly with the ball in his hands on game day, then I cannot think of a better player to draft than Drake.

Coaching: A+ The participation report lists 51 players who saw action in the game. Alabama was penalized twice for 21 yards. 

There is lots of room to quibble about the play calling, for example, the failure to take greater advantage of injuries to key Clemson defenders, but the run/pass ratio was a respectably balanced 41/30, with 20 of the 29 first down plays called as runs. The best, and most daring coaching decision of the game-indeed of the entire season-was the call for an on-side kick with 10:34 to play in the game and the score tied at 24 following Adam Griffith's successful 33 yard field goal. 

Ryan Kelly told reporters in the locker room following the game, that Coach Kiffin came over to the offensive line bench when the teams were lining up for the kick and told the players about the call. "He told us to just stay seated, not get up, and not act like anything is about to happen." Thinking the pre-play deception through so thoroughly is a sign of the Nick Saban attention to detail.

Coach Saban has talked a great deal about how unselfish this team is. How the players are all about the team. How they have subordinated individual success to team success. 

Here are some examples: 

*  OJ Howard was asked about whether his performance in the championship game makes him unhappy with primarily being a blocker during the season. "Not at all", he replied, "I'm happy just doing what I'm told to do."                 

*  The seniors and juniors who were eligible to receive NFL draft "grades" predicting where they might go in the draft, unanimously voted, in a players-only meeting, that they would not even ask for such information until the Championship Game was over. 

*  The players themselves voted to send Tony Brown home from Dallas in the days prior to the Cotton Bowl, and they enforced the ban to include the championship final.

Derrick Henry has to throw his name into the draft hat this year. It is the only reasonable and logical thing for him to do. But here is hoping that the rest of the junior class decides to come back for their senior season. Players like Reuben Foster, Ryan Anderson, OJ Howard, Jonathan Allen, Brandon Greene, Adam Griffith, Eddie Jackson, Darren Lake, and A'Shawn Robinson would be sorely missed. And just think about what a contribution they would make as senior leaders in the 2016 season.

Yes, this team is special. This victory over the only undefeated team in the FBS is special. This championship, the fourth In seven years is special. This season is one I will always remember. Even the Empire State Building celebrated the Tide's 16th National Championship. 

The journey down the road to Number 16 has been thrilling. Thank you for sharing it with me.

Roll Tide, Y'all.

The Commissioner

Tire Store Report Cotton Bowl Playoff

Thank you, Commissioner, for a mighty summary of a mighty beat down in Dallas.

It seems like just a couple of weeks ago that we shut down the service bays a little early on a hot August afternoon so we could get home in time to see the beginning of the first college football game of the season, never mind that it was Peedunky University against the Kansas College of Wheat & Straw.  College football was back.  And now, seemingly so quickly, it is all down to one last game.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is that with only one game to go and two teams still playing, the Crimson Tide is one of them.  What more could you ask for?

I’m sure Michigan State could tell you.   Supposedly, the classical Spartans’ motherly advice to their warrior sons was to come home carrying their shield or on it.  The modern-day Spartans were decidedly more of the riding variety on New Years’ Eve night.  Make no mistake about it, Michigan State was a talented football team.  More important (and not surprisingly being coached by a Saban disciple) they were a resilient team.  They won two games this season where they never led with time on the clock.  They featured a solid defensive line, a good running back, as well as future NFL players at quarterback and wide receiver.  The team came into the game relatively healthy and very confident.  They won their conference championship in dominating fashion.  None of that seemed to matter.

What struck us after the game is how surprised the Michigan State players and coaches seemed to be.  They were confident, not just that they were going to be competitive, but that they would win the game.   In fact, it was basically over when Cyrus Jones intercepted a pass near the goal line at the end of the first half.  He assuredly put the xiphos between their ribs with a highlight reel punt return for a touchdown, but we think the interception was what really did it.  Michigan State was only in Alabama territory four times in the game, twice in garbage time.

Conner Cook, the Michigan State quarterback, was asked after the game about a remark about Alabama’s defense that he made to the coaches which happened to be caught by tv cameras (then displayed on the drive-in-movie-sized screen at Jerry World).  Lip-reading it, he said, “they are *blanking* everywhere.”  Even one of the game announcers said, “You just don’t realize how big Alabama’s defensive line is until you are standing next to them.” Coach Dantonio, a good coach and leader, seemed perplexed and dispirited about what had happened to his team.  The Spartans seemed unable to process what had just happened to them.  More or less all the post-game talked amounted to “we didn’t see that coming”.

It was not the first time we had heard, at least this sentiment, during the season.  Opposing teams and even their coaches, despite all the film they watch, are shocked by what Alabama is when you are actually on the field in competition.  Lots of opponents have said words to the effect of “we didn’t see that coming.” 

Before they play Alabama opposing teams and coaches do not expect the defensive line to dominate their offensive line, to be so big, to have such closing speed; they do not expect passes to get swatted back at their quarterbacks like it’s a kill shot in Olympic-level volleyball; they expect to take down Derrick Henry by hitting him around the ankles and then end up seeing him stiff-arm one of their defensive ends to the ground, rolling him like a tumbleweed; they expect to stand Shank Taylor up at the line of scrimmage and rush the Alabama quarterback, whom they think can’t run, and certainly can’t deliver a blow at the end of a run; they expect their nose tackle to handle Ryan Kelly one-on-one, only to see him driving their middle linebacker 20 yards down the field; they expect to sell out to stop Alabama from running the ball and rely on Jake Coker’s inaccuracies to win the day, only to find out he can zip it into small windows and deliver deep balls in stride; they think Richard Mullaney is a slow, one-and-done from a second-tier program and they find out he is the second-coming of Kevin Norwood; they think Lane Kiffin is the brash idiot who was unceremoniously tossed off the team bus at LAX, only to get caught in a scheme where their safety is matched one-on-one with Calvin Ridley; they expect converted cornerback Eddie Jackson to be weak against the run and too slow to cover receivers and he manages both at creditable levels; they expect the “second string” of Alabama’s defensive front to be slower and softer instead of considering them as basically 1A and 1B at every spot, like our coaches do; they expect Alabama to succumb to mobile quarterbacks and then end up seeing their quarterbacks run for their lives; they expect Reggie Ragland to be so busy tackling that he cannot call plays only to see him matching their offensive coordinator call for call; they expect to throw over Cyrus Jones only to need their offense to tackle him as he comes roaring at them in possession of the football; they think our Defensive coordinator is so focused on his new head coaching job that he will mail it in, then there he is laughing and celebrating along with the players when the Alabama offense scores more points than they manage to gain in rushing yardage….  In short, they think they know what they are up against until right after the game begins.

Oh, and our head coach is better than your head coach.

Perhaps it is like people who think they can jump off that cliff into the lake or beat the train over the crossing.  No matter how many people show it is a foolish and questionable thing to attempt, they brashly talk about how they will beat this edition of the Crimson Tide.  The simple truth is that so far, unless Alabama starts its back-up quarterback, fumbles two kickoffs, gives up two miracle 60+ yard touchdowns, etc., at best you are still going to have to make a defensive stand in the last two minutes to preserve a six-point lead.

We are not going to further comment on an already exceptional set of Grades.  We agree with every one of them.  The team played excellently in every facet.  And still.  And still we do not think this team has played its best game.  That effort is still out there, if they are focused enough to realize it.  I think this team knows that fact.  For example, late in the Cotton Bowl, supposedly Eddie Jackson and Dillon Lee got into a shouting match over some point related to preserving the shut out.  Others had to intervene.  Shortly thereafter, Lee intercepted Cook on the Alabama sideline to the cheers of all, including Jackson.

We wondered above what more we could ask for.  We’ll tell you -- a one-point win over the Fightin’ Dabos from Auburn-with-a-Lake, leading to Championship #16, that’s what.  But we’d prefer to hang half a hundred on them and leave them wondering how many locomotives were pulling the train that just ran over them.

Roll Tide, everyone.

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Cotton Bowl Grades

"Don't flinch." 

That is what Michigan State head coach, Mark Dantonio, said to ESPN's Heather Cox immediately prior to the kick off of the 2015 Cotton Bowl.  Dantonio's declaration of a No-Flinch Zone was a complete non sequitur. He was asked whether MSU's QB Connor Cook was 100% coming off an earlier shoulder injury. 

"Don't flinch"? 

Say what?

"Flinch": (v); to make a quick, sudden movement of the face or body in reaction to pain, fear or surprise. 

Granted, these pre-game interviews are a bit peculiar. Coaches have a lot on their minds at that point and it is unlikely that the viewing audience is going to gain some valuable insight from a 15 second drive-by question. Even by this low standard, however, Dantonio was peculiar. He was really intense. I have seen looser banjo strings. Maybe "don't flinch" was the final game-thought he tried to impress on his players. If so, it was a mind-set that did not survive the first half and was nothing but an after-thought by the fourth quarter. 

Flinch # 1. With :15 to play in the second quarter, trailing by 10 points, the Spartans were threatening to score from the Alabama 12. Cook locked onto his intended receiver and launched an arching pass to the left-front corner of the end zone. Cyrus Jones broke on the ball, made a leaping interception at the goal line and returned the ball to the Tide 21.

Flinch # 2:    On Alabama's opening drive to start the third quarter, a clearly frustrated MSU defense twice committed personal fouls. The drive ended with Calvin Ridley's acrobatic 6-yard reception for a touchdown making the score 17-0.

Flinch # 3: After an exchange of punts, the Spartans offense had the ball at their own 15. A false start made the down and distance first and fifteen from the MSU 10. A three yard rush on first down was followed by an incomplete pass and intentional grounding. Spartan punter, J. Hartbarger, took the long snap from the 3 yard line and banged the ball 54 yards to Cyrus Jones. The forward elements of MSU's coverage unit had only gone 44 yards when Jones gathered the ball in. Fifty seven yards later, Jones and the Alabama punt return team celebrated their fourth punt-return touchdown of 2015 while across the field the Spartans looked on in stunned disbelief.

Alabama scored two more touchdowns after Cyrus' electrifying punt return; a 50 yard first down pass to Calvin Ridley and a three-play, 69 yard drive featuring Kenyan Drake and Derrick Henry. By then, however, MSU was incapable of flinching. Not because the Spartans were composed of steely resolve. No, after the punt return, the Spartans were completely insensate. They were whipped. Their capacity for resistance was shattered. MSU fans were on their cell phones trying to get earlier flights out of DFW and putting pre-paid travel packages to Phoenix on Stub Hub. Only the utter banality of New Year's Eve broadcasts kept TV sets in the State of Michigan tuned to the game.

This was another physical, sprit-crushing, skull-dragging, curb-stomping beat down of an opponent delivered by the 2015 edition of the The Crimson Tide. Michigan State joins Florida, Auburn, Mississippi State, LSU, Texas A&M, Arkansas and Georgia in the junk yard of football programs pulverized this season by a pitiless and dominating Alabama. After the game, Coach Saban told ESPN's Tom Rinaldi that Alabama came to the playoffs this year intending to "make a statement." Exactly what statement might that be? More on that question in a bit. For now, here is how I grade the game:

Offense: A+ Alabama gained 440 yards of total offense [154 rushing], earned 21 first downs, and controlled the ball for 32:56 of the clock. The MSU defense was determined to shut down the Tide rushing game, and dare Jake Coker to win with his arm. All the pundits said that MSU had the decided advantage at the QB position. Connor Cook had 39 career starts, and loads of big-game experience. He had a receiving target who was first team all Big 10 and two offensive linemen who were AP All Americans. So how did that work out?

Jake had a career night, completing 25 of 30 pass attempts for 286 yards and two TDs [Calvin Ridley]. Ridley led all receivers with 8 catches for 136 yards, a total that edged him past Julio Jones for the school record for receiving yards by a freshman in a season. Ardarius Stewart caught 7 passes for 37 yards. O.J. Howard [59 yds], Richard Mullaney [53] and Kenyan Drake [5] each had 3 receptions. I cannot say enough about the clutch play of Howard and Mullaney. They were open when they had to be and made key receptions at vital moments in the game. Both seniors will be missed, but not until after the Tide plays one more "most important game of the season."

Henry netted 75 yards on 20 rushing attempts. MSU was determined to limit him, but this proved to be a futile strategy in two respects. Coker showed the college football world that he was a far better QB than Cook, and Henry would have more than doubled his rushing yards if he had carried the ball as much as he averaged in games played in November.

Alabama had six drives that gained 40 or more yards [55, 80, 43, 75, 50, 69] reesulting in a punt, 4 TDs and a FG [47 yds]. The Tide converted only 4 of its 12 third down opportunities and was 1 for 1 on 4th down. The offense did not commit any turn overs.

Defense: A+ Alabama scored more points [38] than MSU gained net yards rushing [29]. The Spartans were able to convert only 4 of 16 third downs, had 6 three-and-out drives, and turned the ball over twice on interceptions and twice on downs.

Reggie Ragland led all defenders with 7 tackles [5 solo]. Dillon Lee had 6 stops. Ryan Anderson, Geno Matias-Smith and Reuben Foster were each credited with 4 tackles. Alabama defenders made 6 tackles for lost yardage [4 sacks], made 2 interceptions [Jones, Lee], broke up 8 passes, forced a fumble [Maurice Smith] and hurried Cook once. 

   

Special Teams:

Punting: A+ JK Scott averaged 46.5 yards on 6 punts. He dropped 4 inside the 20 yard line and had one touchback. The return team gained 80 total yards and scored a TD. 

Kickoffs: A Griff averaged 63.3 gross yards per kick and had 5 touchbacks. Alabama only had one return opportunity, but the MSU kicker achieved a touchback.

Place Kicking: A+ Griff made his lone FG attempt [47 yds] and was perfect on 5 PAT tries.

Coaching: A+ Alabama gained 541 all purpose yards and was penalized 6 times for 69 yards. One of those infractions, chop block, was a really poor call by the officials who otherwise did a good job calling the game. The participation report lists 59 players who saw action in the game. The play calling was particularly noteworthy and drew praise from the ESPN broadcast crew. Coach Kiffin had an excellent game plan, that Jake Coker executed extremely well. Coach Smart seemed to rely a bit more on blitzes, particularly in the first half, than he has done in the last several regular season games. What this means for the Championship Game is anyone's guess.

So what was the "statement" that Alabama intended to make in the Cotton Bowl, national championship semi-final? What I heard was: We really appreciate the hard work and hospitality of the Cotton Bowl Committee....we respect Michigan State and congratulate them on a fine season....we are excited about the opportunity to play for the national championship and we respect Clemson and congratulate them on their season....

But what does all that mean? I am only an amateur translator of "Coach Speak", but what I think this means is: the 2015 Alabama football team is on a mission....this playoff format is nothing new for this team......Alabama has been playing elimination games ever since the loss to Ole Miss....and those games have been against top-rank competition....mobile quarterbacks? Seen that.....speed on defense?.....ditto......tall talented receivers?......yep.....big backs that can pound the ball?......of course....but enough about practice, what about games?.... Done that too!

 

After Clemson came back in the second half to win big over Oklahoma, the Tiger players were celebrating like they had won it all. They were having a great time. One was even making a "snow angel" in the confetti. It was really fun to watch. Count me as a Dabo Swinney fan. I remember him as a player. Coach Stallings used to talk about what a great contributor Dabo was. I am happy for the success he has achieved at Clemson. But this is where it stops.

Readers of this blog know that I am not inclined to make big predictions and write a lot of anticipatory puffery. That is not what The Grades is all about.  But I have a feeling about this next game. This team is blue-collar, all-business. I believe Coach Saban when he says it is the hardest working group he has coached at Alabama. And that is saying a lot.

Now there are only two teams standing. One of the them is Alabama. This is as it should be. When the confetti cannon blasts the colored chaff into the confines of University of Phoenix Stadium I am expecting it will be Alabama players doing the celebrating. My message to any Clemson fans who might be trolling the blogs looking for bulletin board stuff?  That's easy: Don't flinch!

Roll Tide, Y'all.

The Commissioner