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2018 College Football Playoff National Championship

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MVPOffensive: #13 QB Tua Tagovailoa, Fr. Alabama
Defensive: #94 DT Da'Ron Payne, Jr. Alabama

The 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game that determined the national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for the 2017 season. The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Georgia Bulldogs in overtime, 26-23. Alabama overcame a 13-0 deficit at halftime. Tua Tagovailoa and Da'Ron Payne were named the offensive and defensive players of the game, respectively.

The College Football Playoff selection committee chose the semifinalists following the conclusion of the 2017 regular season. Alabama and Georgia advanced to the national championship after winning the semifinal games hosted by the Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl, respectively, on January 1, 2018. The championship game was played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on January 8, 2018.

Background

The Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia was announced as the host site for the fourth College Football National Championship on November 4, 2015.[2]

2018 College Football Playoff

Semifinals Championship
January 1 – Sugar Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans
  1   Clemson 6  
  4   Alabama 24   January 8 – Championship
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
 
      4   Alabama (OT) 26
January 1 – Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl, Pasadena 		    3   Georgia 23
 
  2   Oklahoma 48
  3   Georgia (2OT) 54  
This bracket:


The College Football Playoff (CFP) selected four teams to advance to the playoff: the Clemson Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, Georgia Bulldogs, and Alabama Crimson Tide.[3]

Teams

Alabama

See also: 2017 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Clemson Tigers in the 2018 Sugar Bowl by a score of 24–6 to reach the championship game. The Tide had a 12–1 season becoming the SEC West Division co-champions with the Auburn Tigers. The Crimson Tide are coached by Nick Saban.[4]

Georgia

See also: 2017 Georgia Bulldogs football team

The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2018 Rose Bowl by a score of 54–48 in double overtime to reach the championship game. The Bulldogs had a 13–1 season claiming their 13th Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship with a win over Auburn Tigers, 28–7. The Bulldogs are coached by Kirby Smart.[5]

Game summary

After winning the coin toss, Alabama deferred to the second half and Georgia received the ball to begin the game. After two plays, quarterback Jake Fromm attempted a pass downfield and was intercepted by Tony Brown. Alabama began their first drive of the game, and, after eleven plays, that drive ended with kicker Andy Pappanastos missing a 40-yard field goal. The teams each had three-and-outs for the game's first two punts. During Georgia's ensuing drive, the quarter ended, with no score.[6]

After a failed third down conversion, on the second play of the second quarter, Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship hit a 41-yard field goal to open the scoring and put Georgia in the lead by three. Alabama's ensuing drive went nowhere, as they gained four yards on three plays and punted. Georgia took the ball and drove down the field, and found themselves with a first and goal at the Alabama 10-yard-line; the Tide defense held, however, and the Bulldogs settled for a second field goal and took a 6–0 lead with just over seven and a half minutes until half. On Alabama's next drive, the Georgia defense held yet again and Alabama's JK Scott punted for the third time. Just prior to the punt, Georgia wide receiver Javon Wims was shown walking to the locker room, reportedly with a left shoulder injury. Both defenses then forced punts, and Georgia took back over with 1:19 remaining in the half on their own 31-yard-line. Nine plays later, on Alabama's 1-yard-line, Mecole Hardman took a direct snap, faked a handoff, and ran into the end zone for the game's first touchdown, putting Georgia up 13–0 going into halftime.[6]

Because they deferred the coin toss, Alabama received the ball first in the second half. They started their drive on their own 22-yard-line. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama's backup quarterback, started the second half for the Tide; that drive quickly resulted in a three-and-out. The initial punt was blocked, but an offside call gave the Tide another chance to punt. Georgia started their drive on their own 36-yard-line, but punted on 4th & 17. Alabama took over on their own 44-yard-line.[6] The teams then traded touchdowns on consecutive drives; Alabama scored their first points of the game on a 6-yard pass from Tagovailoa to Ruggs, but Georgia immediately responded with an 80-yard touchdown connection from Fromm to Mecole Hardman, putting Georgia up 20–7. On the second play of Alabama's ensuing drive, Tagovailoa, while scrambling to the left, threw into traffic and was intercepted by Georgia's Deandre Baker. Up 13, the Bulldogs took over possession of the ball on Alabama's 39-yard-line. The Tide defense responded immediately, however, as Raekwon Davis intercepted a Jake Fromm pass on the first play of Georgia's drive, returning the pick to the UGA 40-yard-line. The Tide gained fifteen yards on six plays and kicker Andy Pappanastos avenged his earlier miss with a 43-yard field goal that put Bama within ten. The teams then traded punts. Just prior to Alabama's punt, it was announced that an Alabama defensive back, Kyriq McDonald, had collapsed on the sideline; the situation was described as a "serious medical emergency". He was loaded onto a medical stretcher awake and conscious. Georgia could not muster anything on offense that drive, and punted. The fourth quarter saw Tagovailoa lead the Tide to come back and tie the game at 20 with 3:49. With three seconds remaining in the game, Andy Pappanastos missed a potential game-winning 36-yard field goal to the left, sending the game to overtime.[6]

In overtime, Georgia scored on a 51-yard field goal. Alabama responded with a 41-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to DeVonta Smith to win the game.[6] Tagovailoa was named the offensive player of the game, and Da'Ron Payne was named the defensive player of the game.[7]

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP Alabama Georgia
2 14:14 14 55 7:40 Georgia 41-yard field goal by Rodrigo Blankenship 0 3
2 7:33 13 70 5:19 Georgia 27-yard field goal by Rodrigo Blankenship 0 6
2 0:07 9 69 1:12 Georgia Mecole Hardman 1-yard touchdown run, Rodrigo Blankenship kick good 0 13
3 8:52 7 56 1:59 Alabama Henry Ruggs III 6-yard touchdown reception from Tua Tagovailoa, Andy Pappanastos kick good 7 13
3 6:52 4 93 1:55 Georgia Mecole Hardman 80-yard touchdown reception from Jake Fromm, Rodrigo Blankenship kick good 7 20
3 5:20 6 15 1:06 Alabama 43-yard field goal by Andy Pappanastos 10 20
4 9:24 8 71 2:15 Alabama 30-yard field goal by Andy Pappanastos 13 20
4 3:49 8 66 3:21 Alabama Calvin Ridley 7-yard touchdown reception from Tua Tagovailoa, Andy Pappanastos kick good 20 20
OT 4 -9 Georgia 51-yard field goal by Rodrigo Blankenship 20 23
OT 2 25 Alabama DeVonta Smith 41-yard touchdown reception from Tua Tagovailoa 26 23
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 26 23

Statistics

1 2 3 4OT Total
No. 4 Crimson Tide 0 0 10 106 26
No. 3 Bulldogs 0 13 7 03 23
Statistics Alabama Georgia
First downs 20 22
Plays–yards 71–371 77–365
Rushes–yards 39–184 45–133
Passing yards 187 232
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 17–32–1 16–32–2
Time of possession 26:17 33:43
Sources: ESPN, StatBroadcast
Team Category Player Statistics
Alabama Passing Tua Tagovailoa 14/24, 166 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Najee Harris 6 car, 64 yds
Receiving Calvin Ridley 4 rec, 32 yds, 1 TD
Georgia Passing Jake Fromm 16/32, 232 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Sony Michel 14 car, 98 yds
Receiving Riley Ridley 6 rec, 82 yds
Sources: ESPN, StatBroadcast

Broadcasting

The game was televised nationally by ESPN. On January 8, 2018, the network announced that its broadcast would feature a live performance by Kendrick Lamar during halftime. This performance was separate from the event proper at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (which featured a traditional halftime show with the marching bands of the participating teams), and originated from Centennial Olympic Park.[8]

Dispute

Following an undefeated season in the American Athletic Conference and their victory over the Auburn Tigers—who had beaten both Alabama and Georgia in the regular season before losing to Georgia in the 2017 SEC Championship Game—in the 2018 Peach Bowl, the UCF Knights claimed the national championship by virtue of being the only undefeated team in the FBS division of college football.[9] Despite this, the selection committee had ranked them 12th at the end of the regular season, below a number of two-loss teams from the Power Five conferences.[3] UCF announced plans for a victory parade at Disney World[10] and to hang a national championship banner at their stadium.[11]

The Colley Bias Free Matrix Rankings, which were part of the the Bowl Championship Series rankings used before the CFP system, released updated rankings the day after the national championship game. The matrix ranked UCF first, ahead of Alabama, while Georgia was ranked fourth.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ Kirshner, Alex (January 8, 2018). "A Big Ten officiating crew is working the all-SEC National Championship". sbnation.com. SB Nation. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  2. ^ Alex Scarbrough (November 4, 2015). "Atlanta, Santa Clara and New Orleans land CFP title games for 2018–20". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  3. ^ a b "Selection Committee Rankings: Final Top 25 Rankings" (PDF). College Football Playoff. December 3, 2017. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
  4. ^ "Alabama's Sugar Bowl win against Clemson sets up all-SEC final: Final score, stats, analysis". nola.com. January 1, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  5. ^ Emerson, Seth (January 1, 2018). "Georgia to play for national championship after Rose Bowl win in 2 OT". ajc.com. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e Hoffman, Benjamin; Drape, Joe; Tracy, Marc (January 8, 2018). "National Championship Game: Georgia vs. Alabama Live Score". The New York Times. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  7. ^ Perez, A.J. (January 9, 2018). "CFP players of the game: Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa and Da'Ron Payne". USA Today. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  8. ^ "Kendrick Lamar to Perform at College Football Playoff Title Game". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  9. ^ Baker, Matt (January 3, 2018). "UCF is really claiming a national championship". tampabay.com. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  10. ^ Rollins, Khadrice (January 2, 2018). "UCF Is Having a Parade at Disney World for National Championship Caliber Season". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  11. ^ Gartland, Dan (January 3, 2018). "UCF Is Hanging a National Championship Banner at Its Stadium". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  12. ^ "National champions: UCF Knights finish season ranked No. 1 in Colley Matrix". Orlando Sentinel. January 9, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
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