Published 12:01 IST, January 12th 2021
National Championship 2021: Undefeated Alabama rout Ohio State to clinch title in style
National Championship 2021: Undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide ended their season in style with a crushing 52-25 victory over Ohio State on Monday.
On Monday, Alabama Crimson Tide returned to the top of the college football mountain by winning their 18th national title in programme history. The Tide recorded a 52-24 win over Ohio State in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The two teams were trading scores before the Tide began to pull away towards the end of the second quarter.
National Championship 2021 result: Alabama vs Ohio State score and records
Heisman Trophy winner Devonta Smith was nearly unstoppable for the Tide in the first half. The 22-year-old, in his final college game, pulled in 12 catches on his first 13 targets for 215 yards and three touchdowns - a College Football Playoff championship game record - before leaving the game with a hand injury. Alabama's QB Mac Jones finished the game with five touchdowns and 464 passing yards (a championship game record).
Although most of the headlines were grabbed by the Tide superstars, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields completed 17 of 33 passes for 194 yards and a score. Running back Master Teague, who came on in place of an injured Trey Sermon, rushed 15 times for 65 yards and two scores.
However, Tide's ferocious offence with a blend of daring and electrifying passing plays proved to be too much to handle for Ohio State. The departures of multiple stars at Alabama during the offseason put the spotlight on an offence that had plenty to replace, but quarterback Jones, running back Najee Harris and especially wide receiver Devonta Smith more than answered the call as they led one of the best offences in the team's history and rose to the occasion for the biggest game of the year with 621 yards of total offence.
Their 52 points became the most ever scored by Alabama in a national title game and the most in a Crimson Tide bowl game since 1953. Undefeated at 13-0 and unchallenged through much of the season, the Crimson Tide put themselves in a special light even among the programme's six national championship-winning teams to play under head coach Nick Saban. Saban has now won seven national championships as a head coach but his team this season has been put into a debate for the best college football team ever.
Image Credits - Alabama Football Instagram
Updated 12:01 IST, January 12th 2021