Alabama (13-1), the No.1 ranked team in the nation, advanced to the national championship with a 27-6 victory over No. 4 Cincinnati (13-1) in the College Football Playoff (CFP) semifinal at Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The Crimson Tide defense sacked Bearcats quarterback Desmond Ridder six times and had eight tackles for loss. Will Anderson had two of the sacks and was named the game’s defensive MVP for his performance.
Alabama running back Brian Robinson Jr.’s 204 rushing yards on 26 carries earned him the game’s offensive MVP. The Crimson Tide had 482 total yards of offense, with 301 yards on the ground. Alabama took early advantage at the line of the scrimmage as they opened the game with ten consecutive running plays.
“We knew the battle in the trenches was going to be a big deal, and that’s kind of where the game was won,” Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell said postgame. “In no phase of it did we give ourselves an opportunity.”
Bearcats quarterback Desmond Ridder had his least efficient game of the season facing the suffocating defense of the Crimson Tide. Ridder was constantly under pressure and could only complete 17-of-32 pass attempts for 144 yards. Ridder did not reach 100 yards passing until the fourth quarter.
The running game never got going for Cincinnati, as the team could only muster 74 rushing yards on 26 carries.
“It’s one thing to sit there and watch on film, and to sit there and draw the twists and stunts they do on the board and work it through practice,” Ridder said postgame. “It’s another thing to come down here and play it on a big stage.”
Cincinnati had its most success offensively on its opening drive of the game. The Bearcats drove 60-yards on 13-plays but could not get into the endzone, having to settle for a 33-yard field goal instead. After that, the Cincinnati offense ultimately faltered, going three-and-out in each of its next seven possessions.
A turning point in the game happened on a near costly mistake by Alabama. With the Crimson Tide up 10-3 with 3:39 left in the second quarter, their return man, JoJo Earle, muffed a punt. A handful of Bearcat players were in the area but failed to recover the fumble as an Alabama player came up with the ball.
The Crimson Tide then seized momentum as they drove 94-yards on eight plays, scoring on a 44-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bryce Young to Ja’Corey Brooks. That made the score 17-3 in favor of Alabama at halftime; that deficit would turn out to be impossible for Cincinnati.
“Obviously, this is gut-wrenching and really, really difficult for everybody,” coach Fickell said postgame, “but most importantly for the 30 or so seniors that have brought this program and this team so far.”
Alabama earned its sixth appearance in the national championship game in the last seven years and improved to 6-0 all-time at AT&T Stadium. The Crimson Tide will try to win their fourth championship since the College Football Playoff began in 2014.
Their opponent in the title game will be fellow Southeastern Conference (SEC) rival, No. 3 Georgia (13-1) who defeated No. 2 Michigan 34-11 in the other semifinal game. Georgia and Alabama met in the SEC Championship game on December 4; Alabama handed then-No. 1 Georgia their only loss of the season in a 41-24 rout.
The Bearcats were the only remaining undefeated team in the nation. The school was making its first-ever appearance in the CFP. As champions of the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Cincinnati was the first school from a non-Power Five conference to ever make the playoffs.
Despite the lopsided loss for the Bearcats, Alabama coach Nick Saban still holds a high opinion of the Cincinnati football team.
“There’s no doubt in my mind they belong in the playoff,” Saban said postgame. “I think they gave us all we could handle.”