The Clemson Tigers have avenged last year’s loss, defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide 35-31 to win the College Football Playoff National Championship. </s> The Clemson Tigers needed a big performance to unseat defending champion Alabama. The Tigers got plenty of them from start to finish. Clemson led by a freshman quarterback toppled college football’s greatest dynasty again to become the first perfect playoff champion.

Trevor Lawrence passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns and the second-ranked Tigers beat No. 1 Alabama 44-16 on Monday night in the College Football Playoff national championship game.

In the fourth consecutive playoff meeting between the Tigers and Tide, Clemson evened the series and beat ’Bama for the national championship for the second time in three years. Clemson is the first college football team to finish 15-0 since the 1800s, and the first team since the playoff started five seasons ago to get through a season unscathed.

Alabama coach Nick Saban and the Tide (14-1) were looking for a sixth national championship in 10 years, trying to add to an already unprecedented run in the sport.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Trevor Lawrence passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns and No. 2 Clemson rolled No. 1 Alabama 44-16 on Monday night in the College Football Playoff national championship game.

In the fourth consecutive playoff meeting between the Tigers and Tide, Clemson evened the series and beat 'Bama for the national title for the second time in three seasons. Clemson is the first team in the AP poll era, dating back to 1936, to finish 15-0.

Coach Nick Saban and the Tide (14-1) were looking for a sixth national championship in 10 years, trying to add to an already unprecedented run in the sport. Instead, Clemson crushed Alabama, becoming the first opponent to beat the Tide by more than 14 points since Saban became coach in 2007. </s> The Clemson Tigers stunned Alabama on Monday night, rallying for a wild 35-31 victory, snapping the No. 1-ranked Crimson Tide’s 26-game winning streak and clinching the school’s second-ever national championship.

Clemson clawed back from a 14-0 deficit, and Hunter Renfrow hauled in the winning 2-yard pass from Deshaun Watson with one second left.

With less than five minutes left in the game, Clemson’s Wayne Gallman punched into the end zone to give the Tigers the lead for the first time, 28-24. But Alabama promptly marched downfield and reclaimed the lead on a 30-yard run by freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts with two minutes left. But that was enough time for Watson to drive the Tigers 68 yards for the winning score.

After a defensive struggle in the first half, the second half opened up for both offenses. Watson passed for 420 yards and three touchdowns against the nation’s top defense.

It was the second year in a row the two teams squared off in the NCAA College Football Playoff National Championship Game, and the rematch was every bit as exciting as last year’s 45-42 shootout.

Clemson’s win denied Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban a fifth undisputed national championship, which would have tied him with Alabama legend Bear Bryant for the most ever. Saban had led Alabama to four championships in the previous seven seasons.

It was Clemson’s first win over Alabama since 1905, and their first national title since 1981. </s> Three games just weren't enough. It's time for Part 4 between Alabama and Clemson, teams that will once again meet in the College Football Playoff championship.

For the third time in four years, the Crimson Tide and Tigers will play for the national championship. Each school has won one of those games, and the Tide prevailed over the Tigers last year in the Playoff semifinal in the Sugar Bowl before eventually beating Georgia for the championship.

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Alabama-Clemson IV is stuff movies are made of

This year, the stage will feature two underclassmen starting quarterbacks who have never played against the opposition. Alabama sophomore Tua Tagovailoa led his team to a national championship in 2017 and is coming off a season that saw him finish as the Heisman Trophy runner-up. Clemson freshman Trevor Lawrence took over under center midseason, throwing for 27 touchdowns to only four interceptions. He could become the first true freshman to start and win a national title game since Oklahoma's Jamelle Holieway in 1985.

History says we may be in for a high-scoring affair, but the stats show that the offenses could struggle, as both defenses are among the top 10 in the country in fewest yards allowed and points surrendered per game.

Sporting News is providing live scoring updates and highlights from the 2019 College Football Playoff championship game. Follow along below.

8:19 p.m.: A short run in between two incompletions for the Tigers and they go three-and-out to start the game.

8:15 p.m.: Alabama wins the toss and defers to the second half. Clemson will start with the ball.

8:06 p.m.: Lee Corso submits his selection for the winner.

7:20 p.m.: Both teams entered Levi's Stadium in style earlier in the day.

6:57 p.m.: A look at tonight's venue. It won't be so empty come game time.
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• Alabama-Clemson fatigue a tired criticism that should be put to rest
• Alabama-Clemson IV adds to history of best bowl rematches
• Josh Jacobs looks to live up to Alabama's championship game lineage </s> Alabama-Clemson: Part IV. Once again, two powers meet in the National Championship game. Find a prediction and preview below.

The College Football Playoff is in is fifth year. This is the fourth time coach Nick Saban and the Tide and coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers have played in the CFP. This will be the third time it's for the title, this time dueling at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

Through all the twists and turns during the months-long college football regular season, this matchup always seemed like a potential option.

The two 14-0 teams have barely been tested this season. Those close games (Clemson vs. Syracuse, 'Bama vs. Georgia) stand out because they were so shocking.

With QB Tua Tagovailoa and his 3,671 yards and 41 touchdowns, Alabama has the best offense its had during this incredible run of five national titles going back to the 2009 season. Since 2015, Alabama is 55-3 with loses to Ole Miss, Auburn and Clemson. That's it.

Not that Clemson is that far behind. The Tigers are 54-4 since 2015, losing to Alabama twice, Pitt and Syracuse.

The Tigers have a dynamic quarterback of their own with Trevor Lawrence. The freshman took over the starting job from Kelly Bryant and has passed for almost 3,000 yards with 27 touchdowns.

Despite all the deserved attention Lawrence has received, running back Travis Etienne has been a huge star. Clemson averages more than 250 rush yards per game, with Etienne rushing for 1,572 yards this season. Of Clemson's 537 carries this season, Etienne has accounted for 190 (35 percent). That's a huge change from last season, as Bryant led the Tigers with 173 attempts in 2017.

MORE: These stats tell us who will win the CFP title

When the Tide roughed up Bryant and the Tigers in a 24-6 Sugar Bowl win last season, it was clear Clemson didn't have the firepower to compete. It does now.

At the same time, Alabama is even better offensively — and it has Hurts waiting if needed.

The last two title game showdowns between these two have been decided by 5 and 4 points. It wouldn't be surprising if this year's game was even closer.

MORE: How Alabama and Clemson match up statistically

The two biggest names in college football are battling again. Alabama is No. 1, the favorite, the defending national champion and has the (arguably) best quarterback in the country.

But something seems off.

After looking unbeatable for much of the season, Alabama barely beat Georgia thanks to Jalen Hurst heroics. The Tide raced out to a 28-0 lead against Oklahoma, only for the Sooners to get to within 11 points three times in the second half. Sure, Alabama always found an answer against OU. But Clemson isn't Oklahoma.

Huge, undefeated favorites have gone down before. Underdog Ohio State shocked Miami to win the 2002 national title. Texas beat Southern California in a classic Rose Bowl in the 2005 season. Both times, the winners were undefeated but still strong underdogs. Clemson fits that mold. </s> SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — With stunning ease — and a freshman quarterback — Clemson toppled college football’s greatest dynasty again to become the first perfect playoff champion.

Trevor Lawrence passed for 347 yards and three touchdowns and the second-ranked Tigers beat No. 1 Alabama 44-16 on Monday night in the College Football Playoff national championship game.

In the fourth consecutive playoff meeting between the Tigers and Tide, Clemson evened the series and beat ‘Bama for the national championship for the second time in three seasons. Clemson is the first team in the AP poll era, dating back to 1936, to finish 15-0, and the first since the playoff started five seasons ago to get through a season unscathed.

“We’re gonna enjoy this one. We’ve got a nice spot to put it in our facility, right next to that other one,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “We’ve got twins!”

Alabama coach Nick Saban and the Tide (14-1) were looking for a sixth national championship in 10 years, trying to add to an already unprecedented run in the sport. Instead, Clemson crushed Alabama, becoming the first opponent to beat the Tide by more than 14 points since Saban became coach in 2007.

Swinney’s Tigers sealed their status as a superpower, no longer just 1A to Alabama’s 1.

“We’re 15-0, we beat the best team ever, nobody’s taking that away from us,” Clemson All-America defensive tackle Christian Wilkins said.

Two seasons ago it was Deshaun Watson dethroning the Tide with a last-second touchdown pass. Clemson’s new star quarterback didn’t need the late-game heroics. The long-haired Lawrence cut though Alabama’s defense with the help of another fabulous freshman. Justyn Ross made a juggling grab, a one-handed snare and broke a 74-yard touchdown about midway through the third quarter that made it 37-16 and had Swinney high-stepping down the sidelines.

Ross, who scored two touchdowns in the semifinal rout of Notre Dame, had six catches for 153 yards against his home-state team.

Swinney takes a different approach than Saban, running a more fun-loving program than Alabama’s all-business organization. But the results have been every bit as good. And on Monday night at Levi’s Stadium, in a championship game played more than 2,000 miles away from Clemson’s South Carolina campus, the Tigers were way too much for an Alabama team that had spent the season mauling its opposition. The Tide won their first 14 games by an average of 31 points per game.

Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa threw two crucial interceptions in the first half, the first returned 44 yards for a touchdown by A.J. Terrell to put Clemson up 7-0. The Tide came in scoring 48 points per game, but was shut out over the final 44 minutes by an opportunistic Clemson defense that stiffened in key spots.

Saban lamented numerous mistakes: blown coverages on third down (Clemson was 10 for 15), stall outs in the red zone and special teams mishaps, including a fake field goal that flopped on the first possession of the second half.

He laid the blame on himself. The Alabama program has set a championship-or-bust standard under Saban, but he didn’t want this season looked at as a failure.

“One game doesn’t define who you are,” Saban said.

Tagovailoa, the sophomore who came off the bench to win the championship game last year for the Tide, went 22 for 34 for 295 yards and two touchdowns.

“Good is not good enough,” Tagovailoa said.

The Heisman runner-up was also the second-best quarterback on the field in the championship game. Lawrence finished 20 for 32, and went 18 for 25 for 277 yards over the final three quarters.

The teenager who took over as the starter four games into the season raised the Tigers’ play, giving them an explosive offense to match a suffocating defense, led by All-American linemen Clelin Ferrell and Wilkins.

“It’s been an awesome journey,” Lawrence said. “It’s really unbelievable.”

Clemson hit Alabama with a 31-point first half, capitalizing on the Tide’s mistakes and unleashing Lawrence’s rocket arm.

Tagovailoa threw a second interception in the second quarter, this time into triple coverage, and Trayvon Mullen’s 46-yard return put Clemson in Alabama territory. That led to Travis Etienne’s third touchdown of the half, a 5-yard shovel pass from Lawrence.

With a chance to stamp itself as the best team in Saban’s remarkable 12 seasons at Alabama, the Crimson Tide played maybe the worst half of the coach’s tenure. The 15-point halftime deficit was the largest the Tide has ever faced under Saban.

Alabama seemed panicked in the third quarter, running a fake field goal into a waiting Clemson defense instead of kicking from 40. Three plays later, Lawrence faced down a pass rush and slung a pass to Ross, who was alone after Alabama defensive back Savion Smith went down with an apparent leg injury.

Ross sprinted away and the shocking rout was on.

“We’re just little old Clemson and I’m not supposed to be here,” said Swinney, the former walk-on at Alabama and receivers coach at Clemson who now has as many national titles as Hall of Famers Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno. “But we are here and I am here. How about them Tigers.” </s> No. 2 Clemson (14-0) vs. No. 1 Alabama (14-0) at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, 8 p.m. EST (ESPN)

The winner of the fourth straight playoff meeting between the Tigers and Tide will be the first major college football team in the poll era, starting with the AP poll in 1936, to finish 15-0. Alabama is looking for its second straight title and sixth since 2009 under coach Nick Saban. Clemson is eyeing its third championship and second in three seasons under coach Dabo Swinney. The Tigers lost a classic championship game to Alabama after the 2015 season before beating the Tide on a last-second touchdown for the 2016 crown.

Clemson’s defensive line, led by All-Americans Clelin Ferrell and Christian Wilkins, vs. Alabama’s offensive line, led by All-American OT Jonah Williams and second-team All-American C Ross Pierschbacher. The Tigers are a key man down, with defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence suspended for failing an NCAA PED test. Still, they have enough talent to make things uncomfortable for Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa by applying pressure without blitzing. Williams and Pierschbacher are top-notch, but Clemson could have the advantage in one-on-one matchups against Tide RT Jedrick Wills and LG Lester Cotton.

Clemson: RB Travis Etienne. The sophomore is one of college football’s most explosive runners. The second-team All-American had 22 runs of at least 20 yards, second-most in FBS.

Alabama: DT Quinnen Williams. Maybe the most dominant defensive player in college football this season. The All-American won the Outland Trophy as the country’s best interior lineman and had 18½ tackles for loss. The third-year sophomore will likely be one of the first players selected in the NFL draft if he declares after this season.

Saban has six national titles, including a BCS championship with LSU, matching former Alabama coach Bear Bryant for the most in major college football ... Alabama is trying to become the third team to go wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the AP poll, joining 1999 Florida State and 2004 Southern California. The Tide would also be the 12th team to be preseason No. 1 and win the national championship, and the second team to do it in consecutive seasons. Oklahoma won titles after being preseason No. 1 in 1974 and ‘75. ... The lower-ranked team has won each of the previous four CFP national championship games ... Alabama’s senior class is 55-3. Clemson’s seniors are 55-4. They are the two winningest senior classes in major college football history ... Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence can become the first freshman starting quarterback to lead a team to a national championship since Jamelle Holieway of Oklahoma in 1985 ... With one more solid game, Tagovailoa will break the single-season record for passer efficiency rating. He is at 205.19 coming into the game. Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield had a 198.92 rating last season.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — In a sequel as thrilling as the original, Clemson defeated ‘Bama 35-31 to win its 1st college football title since 1981.

Deshaun Watson’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow with 1 second remaining gave Clemson a wild 35-31 win over Alabama in the College Football Playoff national championship game.

Watson completed 36 of 56 passes for 420 yards and three scores in his last college game, as the Tigers (14-1) got their first national title since 1981.

Renfrow caught two scoring passes for Clemson, which rallied from a 14-0 deficit and snapped Alabama’s 26-game winning streak.

Bo Scarbrough ran for two touchdowns for Alabama (14-1), which failed in its quest to be the first 15-win major college team since Penn in 1897. Scarbrough left the game with a leg injury in the second half.

Alabama beat Clemson 45-40 last season in the title game. This sequel was as thrilling as the original.

Clemson put up 511 yards on Alabama’s defense, held the ball for nearly 35 minutes and scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Clemson then recovered an onside kick, and fittingly that gave Watson a chance to kneel down for the game’s final play — then streamed onto the field in celebration.
Clemson defeats Alabama 44–16 in the College Football Playoff National Championship. The Tigers win their second national championship in three seasons, and third overall.