The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: National Championship Game, Alabama vs Ohio State

The final word on the Crimson Tide's 52-24 victory to win Alabama's 18th national championship, and Nick Saban's seventh

Alabama Athletics

So you probably heard that Alabama's Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith had a big night in the National Championship Game, and was named the offensive MVP.

The Crimson Tide's other players who finished int he top five of the Heisman voting did pretty well, too. 

Junior quarterback Mac Jones completed a career-high 36 passes and 464 yards in the win over No. 3 Ohio State. He passed his previous highs of 33 completions and 435 yards passing in the 2020 SEC Championship Game vs. Florida.

He topped LSU’s Joe Burrow (463) for the most in a CFP national championship game, and his five passing TDs tied Burrow for the national championship game single-game high.

It was also his fifth 400-plus yard game this season.

"We just locked in, gave everything we could to win this game," Jones said. "Obviously there's decisions to be made. I'm going to make the best decision for me and my family.

"I'm blessed to put myself in a position to do either one, come back or hopefully go to the NFL. We'll discuss that this week and see what my plan is.In terms of legacy, I mean, I just think it's cool."

Jones owns five of Alabama’s 11 all-time 400-plus yard passing performances, passing the previous record of three which was held by Tua Tagovailoa (2017-19). Tagovailoa’s all came during his junior campaign in 2019.

His 36 completions tied Deshaun Watson (Clemson, 2017) for the CFP national championship single-game record.

Meanwhile, the 2020 Doak Walker Award winner, Najee Harris, scored three touchdowns in the CFP National Championship Game to give him 30 total touchdowns for the most by any Alabama or SEC player. 

Harris’ 26 rushing and four receiving scores passed the previous record held by Alabama great Derrick Henry from the 2015 season. All 28 of Henry’s touchdowns were rushing.

Harris became just the fifth player to score touchdowns rushing and receiving in a BCS/CFP title game with his 1-yard rushing touchdown in the first and fourth quarter along with the 26-yard receiving score in the second quarter.

"Effortlessly?" Harris said when asked why it looked so easy to run the ball. "You didn't see what they was doing? They was blowing my [expletive] up, what you talking about? It wasn't effortlessly, I tell you what. They did their bring, Bro, to be honest with you. It was just, you know, what they did is every time we did a play-action, they just shot the gaps, shot the gaps. The linebackers, we got a couple of them to play a lot of fakes, that's why we're able to throw so much bubbles and slants and all that. 

"But Bro, they was blowing my [expletive] out, you trippin', it was not easy. I am hurting."

Player of the Game: Smith was the first player to have three receiving touchdowns in a CFP National Championship Game and set the record for most receptions with 12. He also holds the mark for most receiving yards in a half of the national championship game (215), the previous was 183 by Alabama tight end O.J. Howard in 2016.

Play of the Game: Smith's 42-yard touchdown came after Alabama was able to get him one-on-one with a linebacker in coverage. With 1:48 before halftime, it made the score 35-17. 

Statistic of the Game: Alabama went over the 500-yard marker in eight of 13 games this season. Alabama  621 yards of total offense against No. 3 Ohio State, marked the 41st time in the last 83 games, dating to the start of the 2015 season, that the Crimson Tide eclipsed the 500-yard mark. In 2018, UA totaled 500-or-more yards in 12-of-15 games to set a single-season record. The Crimson Tide followed that up by eclipsing 500 yards of offense in nine of the 13 games of the 2019 campaign. 

The Good 

• Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian. Obviously, the new job didn't distract him. 

• Smith wearing a Heisman Trophy mask. 

• All-American center Landon Dickerson checked in to take his last snaps with a torn ACL for the victory-formation plays. Dickerson also carried Nick Saban around for a bit in celebration. 

The Bad

• Jordan Battle's targeting call on third-and-11 took the sophomore safety out of the game, and gave Ohio State first down in the red zone. It wasn't so much the hit, but the lowering of his head that made it almost impossible for the call to be reversed. 

• The fumble, which was aided by a missed block and gave Ohio State the ball in the red zone. It was the only time Alabama didn't score a touchdown on its first six possessions. 

• Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields averaged 11.2 yards per carry. 

The Ugly

• Smith's dislocated finger. "Heavens knows what he would have done if he played the whole game," Saban said.

• The stunned look on everyone face from Ohio State when Alabama scored on five of its first six possessions in the first half. 

• The final score ... for everyone else in college football. 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly appears after every Alabama football game on BamaCentral