Josh Jacobs on CFP Championship: Alabama Was 'Mentally Fatigued' Heading Into Clemson Matchup

Josh Jacobs led Alabama with 11 rushing touchdowns last season and was third on the team with 640 rushing yards.

Former Alabama running back Josh Jacobs has an explanation for what went wrong for the Crimson Tide earlier this month in the College Football Playoff Championship.

Alabama lost to Clemson 44-16 in what was the worst loss of coach Nick Saban's Alabama career.

In an appearance on PFT Live with Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, Jacobs said he could feel prior to the start of the contest that it was going to be a "rough one" and mental fatigue on Alabama's end played a major role in the outcome.

"Honestly, I know it might sound cliche or anything like that but, before the game, the feel, you could feel it was gonna be a rough one," Jacobs said about the energy in the locker room. "Not only young players trying to feel the vibe of big games, but just being able to play so long after a certain amount of time it kind of wears on you, especially when you play great teams week-in and week-out you get everybody’s best shot it kind of wears on you.

"I think the team was just mentally fatigued. … It was probably a little bit of [complacency] to from some players. But for the most part, I think people were just fatigued."

The title game was close through the first 15 minutes as the Crimson Tide were only down 14-13 after the first quarter. From the second quarter onward, the game completely belonged to Clemson.

Jacobs finished the night with 47 rushing yards on 11 carries and he had one catch for 16 yards. For the season, he led the squad with 11 rushing touchdowns and was third on the team with 640 rushing yards. He also had 20 grabs for 247 receiving yards and three additional scores.

After the loss in the national championship, Jacobs announced he was forgoing his senior season and entering the NFL draft.