first down marker If the Tigers could make a stop on fourth and 1 they would likely run out the clock and win the national championship SUCCESS IN LOSS Deshaun Watson had one of the greatest performances in college football history in a losing effort in the CFP national championship game played in January 2016 Watson's 405 passing yards were the most ever in a national championship game And with 73 rushing yards he also broke the record for most total yards in a Instead Alabama running back Damien Harris barreled forward for a first down Just two plays later Hurts ran for a 30 yard touchdown and the Crimson Tide led 31-28 Just over two minutes remained in the game For Clemson it was starting to feel like the previous year's title game when the Tigers and their star quarterback Deshaun Watson came up just short losing to Alabama 45-40 title game Now Watson had another chance He'd already put up huge stats He would end the season with 4,593 passing yards and 41 touchdown passes He had been a finalist for the Heisman Trophy But he wanted the national title most of all Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney had brought Watson to Clemson Since taking over as head coach in 2008 Swinney had become known for recruiting elite talent Watson was one of the top high school quarterbacks in the country But Swinney could also spot talented players who didn't get as much attention from the scouting services
Dabo Swinney center meets his players to discuss strategy against Alabama One of those players was Hunter Renfrow The skinny wide receiver was not offered a scholarship by any team in the top division of college football But Swinney met Renfrow and thought he could play Swinney himself a former walk on receiver at Alabama offered Renfrow a chance to walk on at Clemson Renfrow and Watson would play a major role in the end of the game Clemson started at its own 32 yard line with 2:01 to go A field goal would tie the game and likely force overtime But a touchdown could win it for the Tigers Watson immediately got to work moving the Clemson offense down the field 7
Deshaun Watson took charge on the game's final drive On first down Watson made a 5 yard completion On second down he looked to his left and saw wide receiver Mike Williams streaking down the sideline Watson lofted a high pass and Williams leaped over the Alabama defender to catch it Just like that Clemson was in Alabama territory 8
NEW RIVALS Despite both being premier football programs from the South Alabama and Clemson had played only 15 times in 116 years before they met in back to back CFP national championship games Clemson had not beaten Alabama since 1905 when it won 25-0 in Columbia South Carolina Before their first national championship meeting the teams had last met in the opening week of the 2008 season when Alabama won 34-10 Clemson coach Tommy Bowden resigned later that year with Dabo Swinney replacing him Alabama and Clemson went on to meet in the CFP four years in a row starting after the 2015 season Watson completed a short pass on first down and the clock kept running He scrambled on second down but could not reach the first down marker Clemson had two timeouts left but chose not to use them The clock ticked down under 30 seconds Watson hit Renfrow for a six yard gain to give the Tigers a first down at the Alabama 26 Clemson was running out of time Watson spiked the ball to stop the clock with 19 seconds left The Tigers were in field goal range They could play it safe and try to take the game into overtime But Watson wanted to end it right then and there He hit tight end Jordan Leggett for 17 yards to get inside the Alabama 10. The Tigers took a timeout with 14 seconds left on the clock That was enough time for two or three more plays 9
