College Football Playoff Playoff National Championship: Second-Half Open Thread

Man, what a half. DeVonta Smith is cementing himself as the most dominant player in college football as well as the most deserving Heisman winner ever. With north of 200 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns in one half, he’s been absolutely uncoverable.

Outside of one fumble, Alabama scored a touchdown on every single possession until they ran out of time on the final one, with Najee Harris and Smith racking up yard after yard on an Ohio State defense absolutely determined to live or die by the cover-3.

The Alabama defense had a few tough drives, but overall only allowed one full length touchdown drive. The other touchdown came after a Mac Jones fumble that gave the Buckeyes a 10-yard field. Other than that, the Alabama defense has mostly kept Justin Fields at bay, especially with Trey Sermon leaving the game after the first play of the game when he got piledrived on a tackle for loss by 4 Alabama defenders.

Alabama has a nice 18-point lead, but will also be playing the second half without safety Jordan Battle (ejected for targeting). If they keep the intensity up, then this game will be over by the 4th. Ohio State is just way too good for Alabama to come out lax, though, and that 3-score lead can evaporate in a hurry. This game isn’t over yet.