No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide 52, No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes 24 Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens (January 11, 2021)
MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS
OHIO STATE ALABAMA
FINAL SCORE …………………………………… 24 52
Time Spent in the Lead (Tied 14:38) …… 0:00 45:22
Total Plays-Yards ……………………………… 62-341 83-621
20+/10+/5+ …………………………………..6/13/20 8/23/43
2-/Zero/Negative ………………………….13/2/4 19/2/8
Plus Territory: Plays-Yards ……………….. 25-128 48-306
First Half ……………………………………….. 13-84 25-184
Second Half ………………………………….. 12-42 23-122
Drives With Plays in Plus Territory …….. 7 of 12 9 of 12
First Down Plays/Yards …………………….. 28/175 42/251
Average on First Down ……………………… 6.3 6.0
First Half ……………………………………….. 5.0 (16-80) 7.8 (23-179)
Second Half ………………………………….. 7.9 (12-95) 3.8 (19-72)
Rushes/Average ……………………………. 16/6.4 21/4.2
Passes/Average (includes sacks) …… 12/6.0 21/7.8
Times Gained: 20+/10+/5+ ……………… 3/7/11 1/11/21
Times Gained: 2-/0/Neg ………………… 12/7/2 16/7/4
Second Down Efficiency ……………………. 3-18 16-28
First Half ……………………………………….. 3-11 8-13
Second Half ………………………………….. 0-7 8-15
Yards Gained ………………………………… 97 287
Third Down Efficiency ……………………….. 6-14 6-11
Rushing ………………………………………… 2-5 2-3
Passing …………………………………………. 4-9 4-8
Average Yards To Go (All) ……………… 7.9 5.2
Average Yards To Go (Conversions) 6.5 5.0
Yards Gained ………………………………… 69 79
3rd & 5 or less ……………………………….. 3-4 4-7
3rd & 6 or more ……………………………… 3-8 2-4
Fourth Down Efficiency (Yards) …………. 0-2 (0) 2-2 (4)
Total Possessions/Average FP ………….. 12/OS31 12/A26
First Half ……………………………………….. 8/OS31 7/A26
Second Half ………………………………….. 4/OS32 5/A26
Drives Started Inside/At Own 20 ……. 1 (1/0) 3 (3/0)
Drives Started In Plus Territory ……… 2 (7 pts) 1 (7 pts)
Three Plays & Out …………………………. ` 4 1
Opponent Turnovers (Pts) …………………. 1 (7) 0 (0)
Scores-Times Penetrated The 20 (pts) . 4-5 (24) 6-6 (38)
Plays-Yards …………………………………… 23-41 24-71
Third Down Efficiency ……………………. 0-2 1-4
Fourth Down Efficiency …………………. 0-1 2-2
Scores Outside The 20 (#/TD, FG) ……… 0 (0/0) 2 (2/0)
Yards by Quarter: 1st ……………………… 78 148
2nd ……………………. 112 241
3rd …………………….. 88 177
4th …………………….. 63 55
CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Offensive:
#6 DeVonta Smith, Sr., WR, Alabama
12‐215, 3 TD, 9 FDE (receiving); 239 all‐purpose yards
Defensive:
#58 Christian Barmore, Soph., DE, Alabama
(3,2—5 TT; 2 TFL/ 1 QBS, 1 3rd Down Stop, 1 4th Down Stop)
ATTENDANCE Tonight’s attendance of 14,926 brought the final
count to 170,453 for the 2020-21 bowl season (6,556 average for
26 games with the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions).
ONE-LINER QUICKIES
The winning team has now been seeded 4, 2, 2, 4, 2, 1 and 1.
This is the first of the seven CFP Championship games where the
winner never trailed.
Offensive Fireworks Continue. The seven title games have
now produced 465 points; the winner has scored 286, the loser
179, making the average score 41‐26. Six of the seven games have
seen 60‐plus points scored; the lone exception was the only
overtime game (Alabama 26, Georgia 23 in 2018).
Since 1968, this was the fourth-most points scored in a
championship game that determined the champion (76); it was
the second-most in a CFP title game (85, Alabama beat Clemson,
45-40 in the 2015 game).
—Alabama’s 52 points are the third–most scored in a game
deciding the national title, trailing only Nebraska (62-24 over
Florida in the ’95 Fiesta Bowl) and USC (55-19 over Oklahoma in
the 2004 BCS title game).
Alabama won the opening coin toss (chose to defer); the winner
of the toss is 4‐3 in CFP title games.
Alabama’s 621 yards are the third-most in a game deciding the
national championship, barely behind Nebraska (629 vs. Florida,
’95 Fiesta) and LSU (628 vs. Clemson, 2020 CFP).
—Its 33 first downs were the most, previous high 31 twice.
The Buckeyes, with the loss, drop to second behind Boise State
with the second-best record this millennium (214-44, .829; BSU is
224-45, .8327). Alabama remains fifth (195-63, .756).
In all-time No. 1 vs. No. 3 games, No. 1 teams now lead, 17‐11‐1
(AP, UPI/Coaches/BCS/CFP).
Alabama doubled up Ohio State in plays gaining five or more
yards (43‐20), and had a big advantage in 10-plus plays (31‐19).
Alabama is the 52nd undefeated national champion (polls,
dating back to 1936), the ninth with a 13‐0 record.
Possession Breakdown. How they broke down this evening:
ALABAMA OHIO STATE
Plays Yards Avg. Plays Yards Avg.
Touchdown Drives …………… 50 477 9.5 12 149 12.4
Field Goal Drives …………….. 15 75 5.0 9 61 6.8
Non-Scoring Drives …………. 18 69 3.8 41 131 3.2
Total ……………………………… 83 621 7.5 62 341 5.5
RUSHING ANALYSIS An in-depth look at how the top rushers for
each team this season fared in tonight’s game:
Player, Team Att Yds Avg. Long TD FD 20+ 10+ 5+ 0 Neg.
Harris, ALA 22 79 3.6 13 2 5 0 3 6 2 3
Sermon, OSU 1 2 2.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Teague, OSU 15 65 4.3 29 2 2 1 1 4 1 2
Fields, OSU 6 67 11.2 33 0 3 2 2 3 0 1
Rushing Minus Sacks: Fields 5-73 (14.6 avg.)
PASSING ANALYSIS An analysis of where each quarterback
threw the ball and the result:
THROWIN DOWNFIELD: 1-10 YARDS 11-20 YARDS 21-PLUS YARDS
Player, Team A-C-I Yds TD A-C-I Yds TD A-C-I Yds TD
Jones, ALA 34-29-0 265 4 7-5-0 64 0 4-4-0 125 1
Fields, OSU 18- 8-0 41 0 11-8-0 117 1 4-1-0 36 0
UNDER PRESSURE What kind of pressure each defense was
able to put on the opposing quarterback:
JONES, ALABAMA FIELDS, OSU
Sacked …………………………… 2/7 1/6
Hurried Throws ……………….. 6 7
Times Knocked Down ……… 3 8
Passes Broken Up …………… 2 4
CONTINUED …
CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME / POSTGAME NOTES 2
No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide 52, No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes 24 Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens (January 11, 2021)
CFP CHAMPIONSHIP GAME RECORDS
(set tonight; includes the most significant ones from the seven games to date)
INDIVIDUAL
MOST PASSING YARDS, GAME
464, Mac Jones, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
(36-44-0, 5 TD)
MOST PASSING YARDS IN A HALF
319, Mac Jones, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
(25-30-0, 4 TD, first half)
MOST PASSING COMPLETIONS (tied)
36, Mac Jones, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
MOST CONSECUTIVE COMPLETIONS
12, Mac Jones, Alabama vs. Ohio State at Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
MOST PASSING TOUCHDOWNS, GAME (tied)
5, Mac Jones, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
MOST RECEPTIONS, GAME
12, DeVonta Smith, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
MOST RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS, GAME
3, DeVonta Smith, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
MOST RECEIVING YARDS IN A HALF
215, DeVonta Smith, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
(12 receptions, first half)
MOST POINTS RECEIVING, GAME
18, DeVonta Smith, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
MOST POINTS AFTER TOUCHDOWN, GAME
7, Will Reichard, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
TOTAL TACKLES, GAME
14, Tuf Borland, Ohio State vs. Alabama, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021 (7 UT)
TEAM
MOST POINTS, GAME
52, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
MOST POINTS, FIRST HALF
35, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
MOST TOUCHDOWNS, PASSING (tied)
5, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
MOST COMPLETIONS, GAME (tied)
36, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021 (36-45-0, 464 yards)
MOST NET YARDS PASSING, GAME
464, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021 (36-45-0)
HIGHEST COMPLETION PERCENTAGE, GAME
80.0, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021 (36-45-0)
LARGEST POINT DIFFERENTIAL, GAME (tied)
28, Alabama (52) d. Ohio State (24), Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
MOST TOUCHDOWNS, GAME
7, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021 (5 pass, 2 rush)
MOST POINTS SCORED IN SECOND QUARTER, GAME
28, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
MOST POINTS SCORED IN ANY QUARTER, GAME
28, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021 (2nd quarter)
MOST PLAYS IN SCORING DRIVE (TOUCHDOWN), GAME (tied)
12, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021 (78 yards)
MOST PLAYS IN SCORING DRIVE (FIELD GOAL), GAME
16, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021 (75 yards)
MOST FIRST DOWNS, GAME
33, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
MOST FIRST DOWNS PASSING, GAME
22, Alabama vs. Ohio State, Miami Gardens, 1/11/2021
RECEIVING An in-depth look at how the top receivers for each
team this season fared in tonight’s game:
Player, Team Att Yds Avg. Long TD FD 20+ 10+ 5+ 0 Neg.
Smith, ALA 12 215 17.9 44 3 9 4 8 11 0 0
Metchie, ALA 8 81 10.1 27 0 4 1 3 7 0 0
Harris, ALA 7 79 11.2 26t 1 5 1 5 5 0 0
Olave, OSU 8 69 8.6 20 0 5 1 4 6 0 1
Wilson, OSU 3 50 16.7 20t 1 3 1 3 3 0 0
WHO HELD SERVE?
Alabama came in the nation’s leader in completion percentage
(75.8), and completed 80 percent tonight (36-of-45); Ohio State was
93rd in completion percentage defense (63.8).
—Alabama finished the year 324-of-425 (76.2), just shy of the NCAA
record of 76.7 by Texas in 2008.
SCORING MACHINE
Alabama scored 83 in its two playoff games, behind LSU (103 in
2020), Ohio State (84 in 2015) and the Tide in 2016 (83); but needed
only 21 possessions to do it (which included kneeldowns to end the
first half in the semifinal and the game tonight). So take those out,
and Alabama averaged 4.4 points per possession, a rare-air type of n
number.
STATISTICAL QUIRKS
In the two playoff games, Alabama ran 138 plays, earning first
downs on 55 of them (40 percent); the Tide converted 21‐of‐43
times on second down, 12‐of‐21 on third down and 2‐of‐2 on fourth
down.
Alabama never had a third down play longer than 9 yards.
OTHER TIDBITS
The SEC is now 3-0 against the Big Ten in national championship
games, with Ohio State on the short end all three times (Florida won,
41-14 in the 2006 BCS title game and then LSU did the same, 38-24,
in the 2007 BCS battle).
Tonight marked Alabama’s sixth National Championship in the
last 12 seasons. The Crimson Tide are the first team in the Poll Era
(since 1936) to win six titles in a 12-season span. The only other
team to win six in a quarter century or less is Alabama in 19 seasons
from 1961-79.
Nick Saban has now led his teams to seven National
Championships (six at Alabama and one at LSU). That allows him to
pass Bear Bryant for the most national titles in the Poll Era (since
1936).
DeVonta Smith joined Alabama’s two previous Heisman
winners, Mark Ingram (2009) and Derrick Henry (2015) to also win
national championships in the same season.
DeVonta Smith (3 receiving) and Najee Harris (2 rushing, 1
receiving) became the first teammates to each record 3 scrimmage
touchdowns in a CFP National Championship Game.
Tonight marked the 21st game in CFP history (semifinals and
Championship Games). Nick Saban has coached Alabama in more
than half of those, compiling an 8-3 record.
Alabama improved to 13-7 all-time in postseason games in the
state of Florida, while Ohio State dropped to 2-11, losing in the
Sunshine State for the 10th straight time.
CONTINUED …
CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME / POSTGAME NOTES 3
No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide 52, No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes 24 Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens (January 11, 2021)
TOP 10 POSTSEASON PEFORMANCES (2020)
Two players in tonight’s game cracked the top 10 in the below
categories, thus the final leaders for the 2019-20 bowl season
(DeVonta Smith had two of the top eight and Mac Jones had two of
the top 11 performances):
RUSHING LEADERS (23 100-yard games)
Player, School Att Yards Avg. TD Long
*Camerun Peoples, Appalachian State 22 317 14.4 5 76
Trey Sermon, Ohio State 31 193 6.2 1 32t
Rhamondre Stevenson, Oklahoma 18 186 10.3 1 50
Bijan Robinson, Texas 10 183 18.3 1 66
Tyler Allgeier, BYU 19 173 9.1 1 39t
Asim Rose, Kentucky 12 148 12.3 0 44
Devon Achane, Texas A&M 12 140 11.7 2 76t
Kevin Marks Jr., Buffalo 35 138 3.9 1 25
Malik Willis, Liberty (QB) 21 137 6.5 4 26
Breece Hall, Iowa State 34 136 4.0 2 19
PASSING LEADERS (18 250-yard games)
Player,School Att-Com-Int Yards Pct. Avg. TD Rating
Mac Jones, Alabama 45-36-0 464 80.0 10.2 5 203.3
Zach Wilson, BYU 34-26-0 425 76.5 12.5 3 210.6
Trevor Lawrence, Clemson 48-33-1 400 68.8 8.3 2 148.3
J.T. Daniels, Georgia 38-26-1 392 68.4 10.3 1 158.5
Justin Fields, Ohio State 28-22-1 385 78.6 13.8 6 257.6
Zach Smith, Tulsa 46-26-2 347 56.5 7.5 2 118.4
Matt Corral, Mississippi 44-30-0 342 68.2 7.7 2 148.5
Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina 32-21-1 318 65.6 9.9 3 173.8
Sam Hartman, Wake Forest 37-20-4 318 54.1 8.6 3 131.4
Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State 40-27-0 305 67.5 7.6 4 164.6
- Mac Jones, Alabama 30-25-0 297 83.3 9.9 4 210.5
RECEIVING LEADERS (19 100-yard games)
Player, School No. Yards Avg. TD Long
DeVonta Smith, Alabama 12 215 17.9 3 44
Jaivon Heiligh, Coastal Carolina 13 178 13.7 0 45
Cornell Powell, Clemson 8 139 17.4 2 29
George Pickens, Georgia 7 135 19.3 1 51
Chris Olave, Ohio State 6 132 22.0 2 56t
Austin Ogunmakin, North Texas 7 131 18.7 1 34t
Jacquarii Roberson, Wake Forest 8 131 16.4 3 39
DeVonta Smith, Alabama 7 130 18.6 3 34t
Jason Ivory, Memphis 7 126 18.0 1 51
Ainias Smith, Texas A&M 6 125 20.8 0 54
FIRST HALF LINER NOTES
First Possession Score: Alabama joined Oregon in the first CFP
title game as the only teams to score on their first possession
(Oregon also scored a TD, against Ohio State in the 2015 game at
Arlington: Marcus Mariota 7 pass to Keanon Lowe; tonight: Najee
Harris 1 run on fourth down).
–Alabama mixed it up on the drive (8 passes, not hurried on any, 4
rushes, completing passes to five different receivers).
Fifth of the seven title games where both teams scored in the first
quarter.
Alabama: 19 of its first 23 plays were run in plus territory (gaining
87 yards) and wound run 25 of 43 overall in the first half.
Ohio State couldn’t pressure UA QB Jones on his first 15 pass
attempts; when it got through, Baron Browning recorded a stripsack, leading to the tying touchdown. It was Alabama’s 12th
turnover of the season (never more than one in a game, and the Tide
did not have one against Notre Dame in the semifinal).
Alabama’s Jordan Battle was ejected for targeting with 6:13 to
play in the first half (on a 3rd-&-11 for OSU at the UA 16).
HEISMAN TROPHY WINNERS IN NAT’L CHAMP GAMES
Alabama’s DeVonta Smith became the 19th player to play in a
national championship game, the first wide receiver to do so. How
he fared against the previous winners (^—denotes MVP in bowl/title
game; *—BCS Championship games; #—CFP Championship games):
Player, School Heisman Season Game Result / Stats
^O.J. Simpson, USC 1968 L 28-171, 1 TD rush; 8-85 receiving
^Herschel Walker, Georgia 1982 L 28-103, 1 TD rush
Vinnie Testeverde, Miami 1986 L 50-26-5, 285, 0 TD; 9-(10) rush
Gino Torretta, Miami 1992 L 56-24-3, 278, 0 TD; 5-1 rush
^Charlie Ward, Florida State 1993 W 43-24-0, 286, 0 TD; 8-(-3) rush
*Chris Weinke, Florida State 2000 L 51-25-2, 274, 0 TD; 4-7 rush
*Eric Crouch, Nebraska 2001 L 15-5-1, 62, 0 TD; 22-114 rush
*Jason White, Oklahoma 2003 L 37-13-2, 102, 0 TD; 7-(-46) rush
^*Matt Leinhart, USC 2004 W 35-18-0, 332, 5 TD; 2-(-11) rush
*Reggie Bush, USC (vacated) 2005 L 13-82, 1 TD rush; 6-95, 0 TD rec
*Troy Smith, Ohio State 2006 L 14-4-1, 35, 0 TD; 10-(-29) rush
*Sam Bradford, Oklahoma 2008 L 41-26-2, 256, 2 TD; 2-(-18) rush
^*Mark Ingram, Alabama 2009 W 22-116, 2 TD
*Cam Newton, Auburn 2010 W 34-20-1, 265, 2 TD; 22-64 rush
^*Jameis Winston, Florida St. 2013 W 35-20-0, 237, 2 TD; 11-26 rush
^#Marcus Mariota, Oregon 2014 L 37-24-1, 333, 2 TD; 10-39 rush
Derrick Henry, Alabama 2015 W 36-158, 3 TD rush
^#Joe Burrow, LSU 2019 W 49-31-0, 463, 5 TD; 14-58 rush
DeVonta Smith, Alabama 2020 W 12-215, 3 TD (239 all-purpose)
He is also the 17th player to win the Heisman and play on a
national championship team (dating back to 1938, the seventh in
the BCS/CFP era and the third in a CPF game, joining Henry and
Burrow).
FINAL CONFERENCE RECORDS
League (’20 bowl teams) W L Pct. Pts Opp vs. P5
Big 12 (5) 5 0 1.000 205 115 4-0
Mid-American (2) 2 0 1.000 51 23 0-0
SEC (8) 7 2 .778 264 243 5-2
Sun Belt (5) 4 1 .800 198 113 0-0
Independents (3) 2 1 .667 107 81 0-1
Mountain West (3) 2 1 .667 79 75 0-0
Big Ten (4) 3 2 .600 170 153 3-2
American Athletic (6) 1 5 .167 136 177 0-2
Pac-12 (2) 0 2 .000 40 89 0-2
Atlantic Coast (6) 0 6 .000 152 223 0-6
Conference USA (6) 0 6 .000 96 206 0-0
Totals (52) 26 26 .500 1498 1498 …..
LOOKING AHEAD For the 2021 season, the Cotton and Orange
bowls will serve for the third time as the semifinal games, which
will be played on Friday, December 31. The championship game,
to be hosted by Indianapolis, Ind. (Lucas Oil Stadium), will be on
Monday, January 10 … Alabama will open the 2021 season on
Saturday, Sept. 4, against Miami-Fla., in Atlanta, while Ohio State
opens at Minnesota on Thursday night, September 2.
