We've kind of rolled our eyes and laughed at Saban when he's said after a blowout every game is decided by one or two plays. Looking back at last night, he's right.
We can point to various things that played into the loss, but I think of three plays that changed the course of the game.
1. Cane's 43 yard reception on the screen from inside Clemson's 20 yard line.
We know an offense like Clemson is going to get theirs, and you just have to limit the damage. To that point in the game, the Bama defense had stopped Clemson and had Watson rattled. A missed tackle or two on the inside allowed Cane to break free and gain 43 yards and into Bama territory. That play gave the Clemson offense momentum.
2. Ryan Anderson's second half fumble recovery
If Renfrow doesn't hustle back and tackle Ryan at the 16, we have another NOT. The momentum is completely on Alabama's side, and the Clemson offense begins to get flustered. Instead, Alabama gets the ball and quickly gets a false start and ends up settling for a FG. Clemson being an emotional team gained confidence by their defense holding the offense to 3 points instead of 7.
3. Third and 10 at our own 44 with around 13:00 left in the game
The offense has a screen set up for Damian Harris, but OJ somehow catches the ball and only gains 5. If Harris makes the catch, he looked to get the first down and more. Instead, we had to punt.
Those are the three plays that stick out in my mind that changed the course of the game. Any others?
We can point to various things that played into the loss, but I think of three plays that changed the course of the game.
1. Cane's 43 yard reception on the screen from inside Clemson's 20 yard line.
We know an offense like Clemson is going to get theirs, and you just have to limit the damage. To that point in the game, the Bama defense had stopped Clemson and had Watson rattled. A missed tackle or two on the inside allowed Cane to break free and gain 43 yards and into Bama territory. That play gave the Clemson offense momentum.
2. Ryan Anderson's second half fumble recovery
If Renfrow doesn't hustle back and tackle Ryan at the 16, we have another NOT. The momentum is completely on Alabama's side, and the Clemson offense begins to get flustered. Instead, Alabama gets the ball and quickly gets a false start and ends up settling for a FG. Clemson being an emotional team gained confidence by their defense holding the offense to 3 points instead of 7.
3. Third and 10 at our own 44 with around 13:00 left in the game
The offense has a screen set up for Damian Harris, but OJ somehow catches the ball and only gains 5. If Harris makes the catch, he looked to get the first down and more. Instead, we had to punt.
Those are the three plays that stick out in my mind that changed the course of the game. Any others?