The Clemson Tigers beat the Alabama Crimson Tide on Monday night, by a score of 44 to 16. The blowout victory was led by Clemson’s true freshman quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, who threw for 347 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Alabama had an uncharacteristically off game, not playing the way fans are used to seeing the Crimson Tide play.

“We certainly didn’t play very well tonight, and we had some issues. We couldn’t get off the field on third down, we gave up a couple big time explosive plays on third down,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said.

The first quarter was the closest of the four, as the teams ended the quarter with a 1 point difference, 14-13. Alabama’s first drive projected the rest of the game, with sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa throwing a pick-six after only two completed passes. Tagovailoa seemed unfazed however, throwing a 62 yard touchdown to sophomore wide receiver Jerry Jeudy on the Crimson Tide’s very next drive. Clemson answered back with a touchdown on their next possession, after a 17 yard run by sophomore running back Travis Etienne. Alabama’s next drive ended with another touchdown pass from Tagovailoa, this time to senior tight end Hale Hentges, but failed to tie the score after a missed extra point.

Alabama started the second quarter with a 25 yard field goal, which ended up being their final addition to the scoreboard for the evening. Travis Etienne scored his second rushing touchdown of the night, giving Clemson a 21-16 lead. Clemson took advantage of another interception by Tagovailoa, scoring off a 5 yard touchdown pass by Lawrence to Etienne. After a punt by Alabama, Clemson scored a field goal to give them a 31-16 lead going into the half.

Clemson freshman wide receiver Justyn Ross caught a 74 yard touchdown pass for the first score of the third quarter, and then added another 7 points on their next possession after a 5 yard catch by sophomore receiver Tee Higgins, making the score 44-16 at the end of the third quarter, capping off an impressive blowout victory by the Tigers. The fourth quarter was stagnate, ending the game at 44-16.

Head coach for Clemson, Dabo Swinney, knows what led his team to this victory.

“We took care of the ball, we attacked, made big plays… got some critical stops, made some plays on special teams, and it was just a complete performance all the way through,” Swinney said.

Trevor Lawrence, who won the offensive player of the game award, credited his success to his receivers.

“In games like this you gotta make big plays, and the guys that we have, they definitely did that, and you just give them a chance, and they’ll come down with it,” Lawrence explained.

With a true freshman quarterback in Lawrence, a proven head coach in Swinney, and more and more recruits hoping to join a National Championship winning team, the Tigers look to be back at the peak of college football for a long time.

Do you think next year's Championship game will be Clemson against Alabama?

• Yes
• No

View Results

 Loading ...