The Clemson Tigers defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 44-16 in the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship. The Crimson Tide and the Tigers have played against each other in three of the past four National Championships. Both teams went into the game undefeated, adding an incredible amount of hype for the game.

Alabama and Clemson have been explosive all season. Both teams were star studded with great players. Clemson had 19-year old freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence, running back Travis Etienne, and an amazing defense. Alabama had Heisman candidate quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, receivers Jerry Jeudy and Devante Smith, and an incredible defense of their own.

The first quarter of the game was a highlight real. The first points of the game were a pick-six by A.J. Terrell to put the Tigers up seven to zero. Tua Tagovailoa responded immediately with a 62-yard touchdown to Jerry Jeudy. After this, Clemson running back Travis Etienne ran in a touchdown to make the score 14-7, all in the first five minutes. Bama came back with a longer drive that ended with Tua throwing a one-yard touchdown to Hale Hentges, but the kicker hit the upright on the extra point, keeping Clemson up 14-13.

The second quarter of this game was controlled by Clemson. Travis Etienne scored two more touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. They also kicked a field goal, scoring a total of 17 points in the quarter. Surprisingly, they held Bama to three points. Tua threw his second interception, this time inside the 10-yard line, and their defense couldn’t stop Clemson. With Clemson ahead 31-16 at halftime, could Alabama pull off the upset? Could Tua show a little more of his magic?

On the first drive of the second half, the Crimson Tide went down the field and attempted a horrific fake field goal which gave Clemson the ball. The Tigers came back with a 76-yard touchdown to Justyn Ross. Again the Clemson defense stopped the Tide on a fourth down. Clemson then went down the field and scored a touchdown giving the Tigers a 44-16 lead. During the drive, wide receiver Justyn Ross made a jaw-dropping, one-handed, sideline catch. With hope dying in Bama, it seems that they couldn’t come back from that deep of a deficit.

In the fourth quarter, the Tigers yet again stopped the Tide on 4th down inside the 10-yard line. Tua Tagovailoa tried to run into the endzone, which ended up with him being stopped behind the line of scrimmage. After coming out empty, the game seemed to be decided. The score and the clock weren’t on Alabama’s side. Clemson slowly let the time go down and with around three minutes left, they pulled their starters. As the time drained, the dream of Clemson players came true.

As the clock came close to triple zeros, the emotions of Clemson players, fans and staff came out. Tears were shed by both sides, and Clemson was presented with the National Championship trophy. With this win the Tigers became the only 15-0 team in the playoff era, and delivered Nick Saban his biggest loss. In the end, shockingly, the Tide didn’t roll.

“It’s amazing…my teammates and these coaches did an unbelievable job and I just love everyone who’s been a part of this journey, it’s really unbelievable,” said quarterback Trevor Lawrence.