Defense carries Tide by top-ranked Tigers
NEW ORLEANS — The rubber match of the Alabama-Clemson trilogy was a total dud compared with the teams’ previous two meetings. Except to the Crimson Tide defense, which will remember it as a thing of beauty.
In a game in which every yard was a struggle, the ’Bama defenders took matters into their own hands, leading to two touchdowns 13 seconds apart in the third quarter to turn an offensive slog into a 24-6 rout of defending national champion Clemson in the Sugar Bowl semifinal game Monday night.
“That was a relentless defensive attitude,” said Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who earned another shot at his record-tying sixth national title. “They were warriors out there on the field.