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Home , Bo Scarbrough, Damien Harris, DeVonta Smith, Hale Hentges, Jalen Hurts, Minkah Fitzpatrick

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018 SERVING THE UNIVERSITY OF VOLUME 124 | ISSUE 26 ALABAMA SINCE 1894 TUA 3 SABAN 5 BIG PLAYS 10 Freshman The CW sports editor argues Remembering the top fi ve steps up in the second half that Saban is the greatest plays from 2017 that led to a for a Tide championship football coach of all time national championship

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION

Nick Saban leads the Crimson Tide to its fifth title in nine years CW / Sam MacDonald THURSDAY 2 January 11, 2018 FIND US online cw.ua.edu facebook The Crimson White instagram thecrimsonwhite twitter @TheCrimsonWhite

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cw.ua.edu WHAT’S INSIDE P.O. Box 870170 414 Campus Drive East Tuscaloosa, AL 35487 Newsroom: (205) 348-6144 Fax: (205) 348-8036 WINNING PLAY: A frame-by-frame look at Advertising: (205) 348-7845 the overtime catch by DeVonta Smith, securing 4 the Tide’s victory. EDITORIAL STAFF CW / Sam MacDonald editor-in-chief Elizabeth Elkin [email protected] managing editor Sam West REVIEW: Remembering the digital editor Jake Stevens thrilling season that culminated in a production editor Nick Privitera visuals editor Mary Kate Holladay 17th national championship. 12 CW / Hannah Saad chief copy editor Alise Wenner opinions editor Marissa Cornelius [email protected] news editor Arielle Lipan STATS: Top players posted impressive [email protected] culture editor Ellen Johnson numbers this season on both sides of [email protected] sports editor Matthew Speakman 15 the ball. CW / Sam MacDonald [email protected] photo editor Caroline Japal multimedia editor David Jones lead page designer Shana Oshinskie social media editor Michaela Hancock UPCOMING EVENTS Photo courtesy of @uacccis Photo courtesy of @mallorikay ADVERTISING STAFF ad representatives Trent Wilson Lauren McDowell Lizzie Mizenko Jack Amthor creative services Serenity Lamprakes Alexis Craft

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All material contained herein, except advertising or where indicated otherwise, is Copyright © 2017 by The Crimson White and protected under the “Work Made for Hire” and “Periodical Publication” categories of the U.S. copyright laws. Material herein may not be reprinted without the expressed, written permission of JAN 11 JAN 12 JAN 20 APR 26 The Crimson White. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP January 11, 2018 3

TUA GOOD

TOTua Tagovailoa replaced JalenBE Hurts in the second half and threw threeTRUE passes. CW / Sam MacDonald becomes newest Bama legend By Matthew Speakman | Sports Editor He turned heads throughout his Alabama legend. relationship,” tight end high school career with his ability to “I thought Tua would give us a better said. “Especially at a position like Drenched in confetti with cameras in make dynamic plays and spread the chance and a spark, which he certainly quarterback, where you’re not always his face, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa ball around. did,” Saban said of the decision. “I best friends with the guy. Those two tried to process what had just happened. couldn’t be prouder of him taking are really best friends. That just goes to He had not seen meaningful game advantage of the opportunity.” show you what kind of person Jalen is.” action all season. He thought he would I don’t know how The touchdown pass won Alabama Some would think it would be mixed spend most of his time on the sideline, the game, but the circumstances leading emotions for Hurts. Getting pulled in a watching Alabama’s offense move Coach Saban found up to it seemed to be disastrous for the national championship was probably without him. Crimson Tide. not how he thought the night was going Next thing he knew, he was taking me all the way in Alabama missed a field goal at the to go. Still, not a lot of people love wining snaps in the final game of Alabama’s from end of regulation. Georgia took the lead the way Hurts does. quest for a 17th national championship, on a field goal four plays later in the first The words “I hate to lose” left his looking to lead Alabama back from a Alabama. Thank God overtime possession. On Alabama’s first mouth all season. He truly hates to 13-point deficit. He did just that. play, Tagovailoa took a 16-yard loss on lose, much like his head coach. Because Tagovailoa came in for he found me. a sack. of that, he could only feel happiness when Alabama left the locker room None of those plays fazed him, even when the confetti flew down after for the second half, down by 13 points. on the biggest of stages. On 2nd-and-26, the touchdown. Nearly two hours later, he threw a he looked off a Georgia safety and “The goal coming into this game was game-winning, walk-off touchdown pass – Tua Tagovailoa delivered that season-defining strike to to win the game,” Hurts said. “That’s in overtime to wide receiver DeVonta Smith that made him look like an NFL what we did as a team.” Smith to give his team a 26-23 win veteran handling a late-game situation. Hurts still had to watch from the over Georgia. He drew comparisons to Heisman The two freshman players remained sideline as Tagovailoa experienced Replacing a starting quarterback winner , who came from calm when no one else could. similar ups and downs that he has in a national championship is almost the same high school as Tagovailoa in “I wasn’t nervous at all,” Smith said seen numerous times as the starter. unheard of, but for Alabama, it was the Hawaii. Fans who were frustrated with while reflecting on his emotions as The low came when Tagovailoa threw difference it needed. Alabama’s lack of a downfield passing the ball flew through the air. “That’s an on what looked like a “This moment means the world, but game wanted him to get a shot as what everybody that’s here comes here designed run call. all glory goes to God,” An emotional Alabama’s starting quarterback. to do.” Alabama’s defense gave Tagovailoa Tagovailoa said after the game. “Who Finally, after 54 quarters, Alabama Tagovailoa led Alabama down another chance. He took advantage, would’ve thought I would’ve ever been Head Coach gave the the field on his second drive as helping Alabama’s offense tie the here right now in this moment?” fans what they wanted. He put in quarterback. He finished 14-of-24 game up. He proved he was the man He was right. Nearly no one could Tagovailoa in the second half of the for 166 yards and three , they needed. have predicted Tagovailoa’s first national championship. and earned the game’s offensive “If you’ve got to go in, if your meaningful game action to come in the “I don’t know how Coach Saban found MVP honors. number’s called, then you’ve got to national championship. People called me all the way in Hawaii from Alabama,” A 7-yard touchdown pass to Henry do what you’ve got to do to give the for it, despite Hurts doing nothing Tagovailoa said. “Thank God he Ruggs III capped off Tagovailoa’s team the best placement … to give but winning, but it never came until found me.” second drive for Alabama and showed the team the best opportunity to win,” Monday night. Tagovailoa settled in and led Alabama that Alabama meant business. The first Tagovailoa said. Tagovailoa entered the season as back to a familiar place: the top of player to congratulate Tagovailoa after Saban put his trust into a 19-year-old Alabama’s five-star recruit embedded ’s food chain. Not only the play? Hurts. kid from Hawaii. It won him his sixth in the country’s top recruiting class. did he live up to the hype, he became an “Jalen and Tua have a phenomenal national championship. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 4 January 11, 2018 Final touchdown pass goes down in history 1

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Alabama missed a field goal that sent the game into overtime against Georgia. The Bulldogs kicked a 51- yard field goal to take the lead. So, Alabama took over and needed to score. After taking a 16-yard loss on first down, quarter- back Tua Tagovailoa dropped back to pass. He kept his head turned to the right, deceiving Georgia’s secondary. The Bulldogs’ safety got out of position, and Tagovailoa took advantage. He launched the ball to the left and connected with wide receiver DeVonta Smith. Smith walked into the endzone for the winning touchdown in the national championship.

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. CW / Sam MacDonald NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP January 11, 2018 5 Column: Bold decisions make Saban the G.O.A.T. that I was going to start the among the sea of plays that Matthew Speakman | Sports Editor second half,” Tagovailoa said. “It was a Saban has coached in his 10 years team effort.” at Alabama. Alabama head coach Nick Saban It was no doubt one of the toughest He recruits to sustain success, and had a choice: play it safe, or make a decisions a coach can make. Hurts because of this, it can often become potentially risky change. Thankfully was proven. He could win games, but boring to watch Alabama steamroll for Alabama, he made a bold decision. at times, his inability to stretch the various teams, even if games are Heading into the locker room at field made Alabama one-dimensional. supposed to be competitive. But, halftime, Alabama was down 13 points The team needed to be able to hit big every so often, there comes a moment to Georgia, but it felt like much more. passes because its running game had where his team needs him to make The Crimson Tide had only 94 yards of no success. a major adjustment to put them in a offense and four first downs. Alabama’s It was a daring choice, but it proved position to be successful. defense couldn’t get off the field, and why Saban is considered the greatest More often than not, he makes its offense couldn’t stay on it. college coach of all time. He makes the that adjustment. He makes that “We just can’t move the ball decisions no one else can make at the change when it matters most. Two effectively,” Saban told ESPN at right moments. years ago, it was an onside kick. halftime. “We haven’t been able to “We’ve had this in our mind that if This season it was a unexpected throw it effectively at all.” we were struggling offensively, that we quarterback substitution. The team was heading towards a would give Tua an opportunity, even in That proves why Saban has been familiar path-one where Alabama can’t the last game,” Saban said. able to stand out all of these years. score, and its defense is too tired to This wasn’t the first time he’s done Those bold decisions in the biggest be its normal, dominant self. It was this either. Two seasons prior, he made of games can either win teams heading towards a second-straight a call on special teams that basically championships or come back to haunt national championship loss in won Alabama its 16th national them for years. For Saban, you can similar fashion. championship. almost always count on it paying off. So, Saban flipped the script. He He decided to kick an onside kick appeased the flurry of tweets, message with the game tied against Clemson Matthew Speakman is the sports board comments and radio call-ins from with 10:34 left in the national title game. editor of The Crimson White. Alabama fans. He replaced Jalen Hurts Alabama got the ball back and scored. with Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback. It completely shifted the momentum. It was a decision no one thought The play came out of nowhere. would happen, but it paid off. Saban had never done anything like Tagovailoa led Alabama back to the it, but without it, Alabama would promised land. have still been scrambling to catch-up Nick Saban now has six national championships, “Coach brought out the with Clemson. tying Paul "Bear" Bryant for the most ever. together and said Those two decisions stand out CW / Sam MacDonald

too ER ma V n E y N championships

GET YOUR CRIMSON TIDE® CHAMPIONSHIP GEAR AND EVERYTHING ELSE YOU NEED WITH FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER $50. ENTER COUPON CODE: CWTIDE2018 Offer expires January 31, 2018. Excludes course materials. C O M M E R A T I V E P O S T E R 2017 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS Jan. 8, 2018 ALABAMA 26 Georgia 23

Dawg Gone

PHOTO BY HANNAH SAAD NOW LIVE LIKE CHAMPIONS! ROLLROLL TIDE!TIDE! WE ARE LEASING FOR FALL 2018 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS 2017-2018 EastEdgeApartments.com NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP January 11, 2018 7 Final AP Poll 1. Alabama (57)* 2. Georgia 3. Oklahoma 4. Clemson 5. Ohio State 6. UCF (4)* 7. Wisconsin 8. Penn State 9. TCU No. 1 Alabama defeated No. 2 Georgia, 26-23, at the Mercedes Benz Stadium on Monday. Photo courtesy of Bill Donaldson 10. Auburn 11. Notre Dame ROLLINGROLLING withwith thethe TIDETIDE 12. USC 13. Miami (Fla.) Alabama versus 14. Oklahoma State 15. Michigan State By Matthew Speakman | Sports Editor hero for Alabama. He threw for first half, with most of that coming three touchdowns and dug Alabama on an 80-yard touchdown pass. Alabama and Georgia needed out of a 13-point hole. He tied the 16. Washington overtime to decide the national game with a touchdown pass to championship on Jan. 8. The . He then won the Deciding factor of the game: Freshmen 17. Northwestern Crimson Tide stormed back from game in overtime with a 41-yard being 13 points down and ultimately touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith. Along with Tagovailoa, five 18. LSU shocked Georgia with a game- freshmen stepped up for Alabama. winning touchdown pass in the 19. Mississippi State Key stats of the game broke a couple of long first overtime period. runs and finished with 65 yards. Most of his carries came in the fourth 20. Stanford Player of the game: Tua Tagovailoa Entering the second half, Alabama quarter. Freshman receivers Smith, only had 94 yards, including and III all 21. South Florida 23 yards passing. Tagovailoa made plays with Tagovailoa in the Tagovailoa’s entrance into the came in the game and ignited game. Ruggs III caught Alabama’s 22. Boise State game brought a change in energy the offense. The team finished first touchdown of the game. On the for the Crimson Tide. His ability with 187 yards passing and offensive line, 23. NC State to stretch the field with vertical 371 yards total. Alabama also came in and held his own against passes made Georgia’s defense outscored Georgia 26 to 10 to one of the toughest defensive lines 24. Virginia Tech back off the line of scrimmage. That take control of the game. in the country. opened up running backs Damien During that time, Alabama’s “This was, I think, one of our best 25. Memphis Harris and Najee Harris to make defense looked rejuvinated. Georgia recruiting classes, this freshman plays on the ground. had 17 fewer plays in the second half. class from last year, especially with *First-place votes in parenthesis Ultimately, Tagovailoa was the The Bulldogs gained 142 yards in the offensive talent,” Saban said. STATISTICAL LEADERS Alabama Georgia TUA TAGOVAILOA JAKE FROMM Passing Passing 14 of 24, 166 yards, three touchdowns 1616 of 32, 223232 yards, one touchdown

NAJEE HARRIS Rushing Rushing six carries, 65 yards, 10.7 yards averagee 1414 carriecarries,s 98 yards, 7 yards average

CALVIN RIDLEY RILEY RIDLEY Receiving Receiving four catches, 32 yards, one touchdown six catches, 82 yards Tua Tagovailoa. CW / Sam MacDonald Riley Ridley. CW / Sam Macdonald Jan. 8, 2018 Atlanta ALABAMA 26 CHAMPIONS NATIONAL 2017 TIDE TAKES 17TH Georgia 23 NATIONAL TITLE Photo courtesy ofBillDonaldson PHOTO COURTESY OFBILL DONALDSON Jan. 8, 2018 Atlanta ALABAMA 26 CHAMPIONS NATIONAL 2017 TIDE TAKES 17TH Georgia 23 NATIONAL TITLE Photo courtesy ofBillDonaldson PHOTO COURTESY OFBILL DONALDSON NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 10 January 11, 2018 Top fi ve plays from Alabama’s historic season 5 scampers for a 75-yard touchdown run against Texas A&M

Alabama quickly fell behind on the road against the Aggies. Then, 13 seconds later, Harris exploded on a cut-back run that gave Alabama the momentum back. Harris, who had been caught behind on runs the previous year, showcased his newfound speed. From there, Alabama never looked back, capturing an important road win.

CW / Sam MacDonald

4 Jalen Hurts throws a strike to DeVonta Smith with 25 seconds left to stun Mississippi State

For the fi rst time all season, Alabama had its back against the wall. The Crimson Tide trailed by seven in the fourth quarter. After leading Alabama on a game-tying drive, Hurts once again proved that he thrives in high-pressure situations. He marched Alabama down the fi eld in fi ve plays, ending it with a dagger touchdown pass to the freshman receiver. It saved Alabama’s season and continued a winning streak. CW / Sam MacDonald

3 intercepts a tipped Jake Fromm pass in the third quarter of the national championship

Alabama’s comeback plans came to a grinding halt when the team threw an in- terception in the third quarter. Georgia had the ball, up by 13 and looking to score. Fromm dropped back to pass, but the pocket around him started to collapse. He threw a pass that tipped off of defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand and landed in the hands of Davis, who ran it into Georgia territory. That set up an Alabama fi eld goal that cut the lead to ten. If Davis hadn’t intercepted it, Alabama might not have been national champions. CW / Hannah Saad

2 Da’Ron Payne catches a 1-yard touchdown from Jalen Hurts in the against Clemson

Rarely do you see a 308-pounder catch a touchdown pass. Payne came in all year on Alabama's jumbo package, but it was usually just to block for a so he could reach the end zone. Finally, after advocating all season for it, Hurts threw Payne the ball. He made a toe-tapping catch that seemed to defi ne Ala- bama's season and dynasty as a whole. It's not often 308-pound players possess that type of athleticism, but at Alabama, it's the norm.

CW / Hannah Saad

1 Tua Tagovailoa connects with DeVonta Smith for a walk-off 41-yard touchdown against Georgia

After taking a sack on fi rst down, Tagovailoa shocked the Georgia defense in overtime. He threw a deep pass to Smith for the game-winning catch. Tagovailoa entered the game in the second half and led Alabama back from a big defi cit. The pass ended the game and made Alabama national champions once again.

CW / Sam MacDonald C O M M E R A T I V E P O S T E R 2017 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS Jan. 8, 2018 Atlanta Crimson ALABAMA 26 Crowd Georgia 23

PHOTO BY SAM MACDONALD

Never too many championships Never Enough GEAR CRIMSON TIDE® CHAMPIONSHIP GEAR AVAILABLE NOW! NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 12 January 11, 2018 SEASON IN REVIEW

CW / Sam MacDonald CW / Sam MacDonald CW / Sam MacDonald FLORIDA STATE 24-7 VANDERBILT 59-0 TEXAS A&M 27-19 After Florida State turned the ball over on its own 11-yard line, Damien It took just 36 seconds for Alabama to score a second time against the Quarterback Kellen Mond had the Aggies in scoring position. Down by 14, Harris took the handoff from Jalen Hurts, bounced off two defenders and Commodores. Damien Harris caught a nine-yard pass from Jalen Hurts, they were on Alabama's 10-yard line. Mond stepped back, threw it to the scored Alabama's last touchdown of the game. then broke free for 61 yards on the ensuing run for the touchdown. end zone and was intercepted by cornerback .

Final Record

CW / Hannah Saad CW / Hannah Saad FRESNO STATE 41-10 13-1 ARKANSAS 41-9 Up by seven, Alabama started on its own fi ve-yard line. After three Bo It took Damien Harris just one play to fi nd the end zone against the Scarbrough runs, Jalen Hurts found Calvin Ridley on a slant route that he Razorbacks. Harris took the handoff to the right side and sprinted 75 yards took 78 yards to the end zone. ahead of the Arkansas defense, scoring in just 15 seconds.

CW / Sam MacDonald CW / Sam MacDonald CW / Sam MacDonald COLORADO STATE 41-23 OLE MISS 66-3 TENNESSEE 45-7 It took Alabama 39 seconds to fi nd the end zone against the Rams. Cam After a record-setting season, Alabama's defense found the end zone for found the end zone twice against the Volunteers. Both times Sims took a screen pass 18 yards on the fi rst play and was followed by the fi rst time of the year when cornerback Levi Wallace returned Shea were one-yard runs where he jumped over the offensive line. Jalen Hurts, who ran to the right and scored on a 55-yard run. Patterson's pass 35 yards.

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CW / Sam MacDonald CW / Hannah Saad CW / Hannah Saad LSU 24-10 MERCER 56-0 CLEMSON 24-6 Trailing by seven, LSU began with its best starting fi eld position of the On the opening play of the second quarter, Jalen Hurts found Calvin With 5:40 left in the third quarter, Jalen Hurts faked a handoff to Damien game. stepped in front of running back Ridley down the sideline where he took the ball 66 yards, capping off a Harris, rolled to the right and found Da'Ron Payne in the corner of the end and intercepted quarterback Danny Etling, setting up an Alabama 98-yard drive. zone, sealing the game for Alabama. touchdown drive.

CW / Hannah Saad CW / Sam MacDonald CW / Sam MacDonald MISSISSIPPI STATE 31-24 AUBURN 14-26 GEORGIA 26-23 After trailing for most of the game, Alabama had the ball on its own 48-yard On third-and-goal, running back took the direct snap, On second and 26, Tua Tagovailoa looked to the middle of the fi eld, drawing line. Jalen Hurts found Calvin Ridley for a 31-yard gain, taking the ball to faked the draw and found wide receiver Nate Craig-Meyers on a jump pass in the safety. He then launched a 41-yard pass to freshman DeVonta Smith, Mississippi State's 26-yard line. Hurts found DeVonta Smith on the next for the game's fi rst touchdown. winning the national championship. play, who broke a tackle and scored the winning touchdown.

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SQUADBANKING.COM | MEMBER FDIC NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 14 January 11, 2018 Stellar seniors leave mark on Alabama program CB Levi Wallace LB 48 total tackles 74 total tackles 15 pass breakups 3 pass breakups 3 7 quarterback hurries

4.5 tackles for loss 13 tackles for loss CW / Sam MacDonald

2 sacks CW / Sam MacDonald 6 sacks 1 forced P JK Scott CB 54 punts 48 total tackles 42.96 yards average 8 pass breakups 64 yards: longest 1 interception punt CW / Hannah Saad 4 tackles for loss 27 fair catches called 17 punts over 50 on his punts yards 1 sack CW / Sam MacDonald

Order these collectable commerative posters online at: store.osm.ua.edu NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP January 11, 2018 15 Superstars show up for Alabama all season long

JALEN HURTS DAMIEN HARRIS CALVIN RIDLEY passing rushing receiving 2,081 yards 135 rushes 63 catches 17 touchdowns 1,000 yards 967 yards 1 interception 11 touchdowns 5 touchdowns 60.39 percent completion 7.4 yards per carry

CW / Sam MacDonald CW / Hannah Saad CW / Hannah Saad

MACK RASHAAN RAEKWON RONNIE WILSON EVANS DAVIS HARRISON interceptions tackles sacks tackles 4 interceptions 74 tackles 8.5 sacks 74 tackles

CW / Hannah Saad CW / Sam MacDonald CW / Hannah Saad CW / Sam MacDonald C O M M E R A T I V E P O S T E R 2017 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS Jan. 8, 2018 Atlanta ALABAMA 26 Aloha Georgia 23

PHOTO BY SAM MACDONALD