Official National Championship Game Thread

[Catechol]

Notre Dame had a good defense and slowed down the game.
Notre Dames game plan looked like they knew they were over-matched so they wanted a game plan that would give them a chance if Alabama turned the ball over and made mistakes.

ohio state is really good. They ran a game plan that looked like they thought they could go blow for blow with them. They couldn’t.

I’d pick Ohio state over Notre dame

OSU may have been able to trade blows a lot longer if they had Sermon, who was absolutely the difference maker in the prior 2-3 games. They still would’ve lost though. Maybe if OSU was not missing 2 DL starters as well, they would’ve pressured Jones and stopped the run better.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Well, at least they made it to the natty. And they held tough with them up to 14-14. Even 17-21. But once Bama made it 17-28, then 17-35, it was done. Couldn't hold them for nothing, when it mattered, on D.

Very glad they beat Clemson. Another Bama-Clemson game would've been gross.


Big Ten is still relevant in major college football. That is the most important, of all.

Unlike, sad to say, the PAC, right now.

At this point major college football is pretty much - Bama and Clemson with a few other teams sprinkled in from time to time for good measure. Ohio State is definitely in the mix with those top teams but there is a separation between Alabama and the rest right now and it was on full display last night.

 

[MNVCGUY]

OSU may have been able to trade blows a lot longer if they had Sermon, who was absolutely the difference maker in the prior 2-3 games. They still would’ve lost though. Maybe if OSU was not missing 2 DL starters as well, they would’ve pressured Jones and stopped the run better.

OSU needed the Fields from the Clemson game to show up. He was very mediocre last night and it wasn't all due to the Alabama defense. He missed on a lot of throws. Ohio States offense really struggled against Alabama and Northwestern. In both those games Fields did not play well at all. He needed to be on his game for them to have any shot last night and he wasn't.

 

[Catechol]

OSU needed the Fields from the Clemson game to show up. He was very mediocre last night and it wasn't all due to the Alabama defense. He missed on a lot of throws. Ohio States offense really struggled against Alabama and Northwestern. In both those games Fields did not play well at all. He needed to be on his game for them to have any shot last night and he wasn't.

Or maybe the reason he was “not on” for those games was because Northwestern has the #1 pass efficiency defense, Bama is #18, and Clemson #35. He did miss on some throws but some were hurried and some were over traffic so he was trying to avoid INTs.

 

[Pete smith]

over/under at Vegas before the start 76. Final score 52- 24. Go figure

 

[MNVCGUY]

Or maybe the reason he was “not on” for those games was because Northwestern has the #1 pass efficiency defense, Bama is #18, and Clemson #35. He did miss on some throws but some were hurried and some were over traffic so he was trying to avoid INTs.

Alabama and Northwestern certainly played a role in his struggles but he also didn't play well in those games. The bottom line was that for Ohio State to have any shot against Alabama, he had to be locked in and making all the throws as they needed to score basically everytime they had the ball.

Certainly not trying to pin the loss on just Fields, but he had to play better than he did last night for them to have any shot of keeping up with Alabama. 50% completion percentage isn't going to get it done against a team that loaded.

 

[upnorthkid]

Alabama and Northwestern certainly played a role in his struggles but he also didn't play well in those games. The bottom line was that for Ohio State to have any shot against Alabama, he had to be locked in and making all the throws as they needed to score basically everytime they had the ball.

Certainly not trying to pin the loss on just Fields, but he had to play better than he did last night for them to have any shot of keeping up with Alabama. 50% completion percentage isn't going to get it done against a team that loaded.

Agree, particularly given Day wanted to roll with the strategy that they were going to trade punches with them. It worked for just over a quarter and then imploded on them, which is to be expected when you give a high powered offense the ball many times. Personally I think that was a massive mistake on his part given the guys they had out. Needed to try play keep away and get some luck with a turnover or Bama mistake (Jones gave them one and that was likely to be all they'd get based on Bama's season). Why he thought they could win a track meet is beyond me

 

[builtbadgers]

OSU may have been able to trade blows a lot longer if they had Sermon, who was absolutely the difference maker in the prior 2-3 games. They still would’ve lost though. Maybe if OSU was not missing 2 DL starters as well, they would’ve pressured Jones and stopped the run better.

What if Bama had Smith the whole game, Waddell and their best safety ! Those teams last night are not close. Bama is a incredibly close team with all focus on winning.