1. The Alabama superstars were superstars
There was no way Alabama was going to start blasting away on this Ohio State run defense.
Don’t let the raw stats fool you – Najee Harris ran for a hard, effective 79 yards and two touchdowns, and he caught seven passes for 79 more yards and a score.
Najee Harris went Najee Harris.
Mac Jones was way overdue for a clunker.
At some point he was going to throw a key pick, start struggling when under pressure, and he was finally going to face the type of adversity he hadn’t seen all year.
He lost one fumble, but he didn’t throw any interceptions, completed 36-of-45 passes for 464 yards and five touchdowns, and he kept on moving the offense even when his Heisman-winning target left the game injured.
Mac Jones – who had the most efficient passing season in college football history – went Mac Jones.
And then there was DeVonta Smith.
OH MY DEVONTA SMITH 🤯
That makes THREE TOUCHDOWNS for the Heisman winner 🔥 pic.twitter.com/u9qpKEKnTC
— ESPN (@espn) January 12, 2021
He was going to be a marked man, future NFL corner Shaun Wade was going to be all over him, the Ohio State coaching staff was going to figure out a way to take him out of the play, and …
12 catches, 215 yards, three touchdowns, all in one half.
DeVonta Smith went DeVonta Smith, offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian went Steve Sarkisian, and the Alabama offense started hot and stayed there for the entire game.
Ohio State had all sorts of problems in all sorts of ways, and it needed its stars to blow up. Justin Fields struggled, Trey Sermon was hurt right away, and Chris Olave caught eight passes but for just 69 yards.
The Buckeyes had the talent, but the superstars didn’t come through. Alabama’s did, and it finished the season 13-0 with a national championship.
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