Two teams with unblemished records will move on, as the Alabama Crimson Tide and Ohio State Buckeyes both earned a spot in the NCAA Divison I Football National Championship game with easy wins in the National Semifinal games played on Friday.
At AT&T Stadium in Dallas, #1 Alabama racked up 437 yards of total offense and breezed past #4 Notre Dame 31-14 at the Rose Bowl.
The Crimson Tide, who advance to their fifth national title game in the past six seasons, took an early 14-0 lead and never looked back. Quarterback Mac Jones went 25-30 passing for 297 yards and four touchdowns. Najee Harris rushed 15 times for 125 yards, and wide receiver Devonta Smith had seven catches for 130 yards and three touchdowns for 12-0 Alabama. Ian Brook passed for 229 yards, and ran for a touchdown as Notre Dame ends their season at 10-2.
At the SuperDome in New Orleans, #3 Ohio State got some big payback from 2020 as Justin Fields threw for six touchdowns as the Buckeyes blew out #2 Clemson 49-28 at the Sugar Bowl.
Clemson (10-2) who lost to LSU in last years national title game after a win over Ohio State in the semifinals, couldn’t slow down Fields and the Buckeyes offense. After an even first quarter tied at 14-14, OSU (7-0) exploded to outscore the Tigers 21-0 in the second to take control. Fields finished 22-28 passing for 385 yards, while Oklahoma transfer running back Trey Sermon had a huge game with 31 carries for 193 yards and a touchdown. Chris Olave had six catches for 132 yards and a pair of scores. Fields, who was hit hard in the ribs and hurt by Clemson linebacker James Skalski in the second quarter, only missed the next play and tossed four more scores in the game after the hit. Skalski was ejected for targeting on the play. Trevor Lawrence, who may of played in his final game with Clemson, threw for 400 yards and two touchdowns in the loss. Cornell Powell also caught eight passes for 139 yards and both TDs from Lawrence. The junior QB Lawrence has a 35-3 career record with the Tigers, winning it all in the 2018 season. The Crimson Tide and Buckeyes meet for the title on Monday, January 11 at 8 p.m. at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
