Alabama Wins Rose Bowl Over Notre Dame 31-14: Reaction, Analysis, 5 Thoughts

Alabama wins the Rose Bowl over Notre Dame 31-14. Five thoughts and analysis of the game, and what it all means.

2. DeVonta Smith had a Heisman-winning performance

The Heisman voting was done before the College Football Playoff – and there’s still one game to go – but DeVonta Smith sure looked and played like a guy who’s about to get a 45-pound bronze trophy.

He caught seven passes for 130 yards and three touchdowns, scored on the opening Bama drive of the game, and put it away on a gorgeous toe-tap at the pylon for a 28-7 lead.

While he appeared to bang up his back a bit on a hard landing, he was able to keep on playing and producing. The offense didn’t keep bombing away to him – it didn’t need to – but the one guy Notre Dame had to take out of the game dominated from the word go.

The Bama offense geared down in the fourth quarter, it didn’t rely on Najee Harris all that much late, and the defense took care of the rest, but it all came because No. 6 played like the best player in college football.

NEXT: Alabama is making its fifth College Football Playoff National Championship appearance