GLENDALE, Arizona -- The No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide outlasted the dynamic offense of the No. 1 Clemson Tigers to take home the CFP National Championship 45-40 on Monday night.
There was a ton of action in the first quarter, which was started by a 50-yard carry by Derrick Henry, the 2015 Heisman Trophy winner, to the end zone with 7:55 to play. The score gave Alabama an early 7-0 lead over Clemson. It was Henry's 20th straight game with a rushing touchdown to set a SEC record.
Deshaun Watson and the offense of the Tigers bounced back with two straight scores. Watson found Hunter Renfrow for a 31-yard touchdown with 5:18 left in the first quarter and an 11-yard passing score to the same receiver as time expired in the quarter. The second score was set up after Adam Griffith, the kicker for Alabama, missed a 44-yard field goal.
In the BCS Championship games (2009, 2011, 2012) for Alabama, they gave up a combined six points in the first quarter. Against Clemson in 2016, the team gave up 14 points. The score from the Tigers was the second touchdown scored on Alabama in the first quarter this season.
Down by seven, Henry took a one-yard carry into the end zone for the Crimson Tide to tie the game with 9:35 left in the first half. Eddie Jackson got the ball switched to the offense as he picked off Watson at the 42-yard line of Clemson.
Both defenses stood tall and Greg Huegel, the kicker for the Tigers, was blocked on a 44-yard field goal attempt as time expired to end the first half in a 14-14 tie between the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country.
Henry had an outstanding first half and picked up 100-plus yards on the ground for the 10th time this season to pass Trent Richardson and Mark Ingram as most games with 100 yards in team history.
Alabama had something positive to look forward to because they outscored opponents in the second half in all 14 games this season. However, in the previous three National Championship games under Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide led by an average of 18.3 points at halftime. The tie at half was the first since 2008, which the Florida Gators played the Oklahoma Sooners.
Just two minutes into the second half, Alabama started it off with a huge play. A miscommunication on defense allowed O.J. Howard to streak down field without a man on him for a 53-yard reception from Jacob Coker. The touchdown gave the Crimson Tide a 21-14 edge over the Tigers. Clemson responded with a 37-yard field goal from Huegel and a one-yard rushing touchdown from the legs of Wayne Gallman with 4:48 to go in the third quarter to jump ahead by three points in the National Championship.
The Crimson Tide trailed after three quarters just once this season. Alabama trailed after the third in their only loss of the season to the Ole Miss Rebels. Meanwhile, Clemson won 51 straight games with the lead heading into the fourth quarter, which is the longest streak in College Football.
On third-and-11, Coker found ArDarius Stewart for a 38-yard gain to the 18-yard line of Clemson. The big play set up the game tying field goal from 33 yards out by Griffith just four and a half minutes into the fourth quarter.
Nobody saw it coming, but Alabama executed a perfect on-side kick, which was kicked by Griffith and recovered by the team at the 50-yard line.
"It was tough. It really was," said Saban, who now has more national titles than every other coach but Bear Bryant, the man who first made Alabama synonymous with college football greatness.
"I made the decision to do it because the score was (tied) and we were tired on defense and weren't doing a great job of getting them stopped and felt like if we didn't do something or take a chance to change the momentum of the game that we wouldn't have a chance to win," Saban said.
On the second play of the drive and with 9:45 to play in the game, Coker found Howard wide open down the field for a 51-yard touchdown to take a 31-24 advantage over the Tigers. The score allowed Alabama to become the first team to take a lead on Clemson in the fourth quarter this season. Howard had two touchdowns on his career coming into the game, but by midway through the fourth quarter he added two more to his name.
Clemson responded very quickly with a six play drive that took up 1:58 off the clock. It ended in a 31-yard field goal from Huegel to cut the deficit to four points with under eight minutes left in the action.
The next drive for Alabama, however, was even quicker. Huegel kicked off for 60 yards, but it was a 95-yard return to the end zone by Kenyan Drake to give the Crimson Tide a solid lead, 38-27 over the Tigers with 7:31 left in the game.
Drake's kick return was the third in a national title game. The others include: Kermit Whitfield (2013 - Florida State Seminoles) and Ted Ginn ( 2006 - Ohio State Buckeyes). The Crimson Tide rank 29th in special teams efficiency this year, while Clemson sits at 123rd in the country.
Watson turned the momentum back in favor of Clemson just under three minutes after the kick return from Drake and the Crimson Tide. The quarterback hit Artavis Scott for a 15-yard score, but the two-point conversion failed. After the score by the Tigers, Alabama held just a five point lead.
Coker to Howard is the name of the game. The duo connected for a 63-yard reception to the 14-yard line of Clemson, which helped give the Crimson Tide another score. Coker took off for a four-yard carry on third-and-three to pick up the first down. A few plays later, the Crimson Tide found themselves ahead 45-33 on a one-yard plunge into the end zone by Henry with 1:07 left in the championship game.
Henry's third time into the end zone pushed him to second on the list of most rushing touchdowns in the national title game, just one score behind Ezekiel Elliot of Ohio State in 2014. The 45 points scored by Alabama was the third-most in school history for a bowl game.
Watson is a fighter and he proved it with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Leggett with 12 seconds left in the game. Clemson was down five after the trip to the end zone, but Alabama recovered to win the CFP National Championship Game.
"We stand toe-to-toe with everybody in the country," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "This program doesn't take a backseat to anybody."
Alabama was just the fourth team to win a National Championship game when trailing entering the fourth quarter. Clemson has not beaten Alabama since 1905 and the loss marked the 13th straight against the Crimson Tide. The championship victory was the 100th win for Saban.
With the win in the National Championship, Alabama has finished No. 1 in the AP Poll, while Clemson dropped a spot to No. 2 in the country.