Of all the ways that Nick Saban can break an opponent — on the ground, through the air, via lethal defense — the worst is this: he offers up hope. He dangles hope in front of his hapless opponents, giving them the faint belief that their early touchdowns will stand up. They shake off Alabama’s first shots and begin thinking, “Hey, we’re hanging with the Tide! We can do this!”
And then, as inexorable and inescapable as the sunset, Alabama crushes the life out of the opposition. The Tide are seeking their fifth national championship in the last eight years, and their mission took a large step forward Saturday with a thorough 24-7 dismantling of Washington in the first game of the 2016 College Football Playoff.
The script that has defined so many Alabama victories — 119 now under Saban, to just 18 losses — played out to perfection in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl. Washington, the Pac-12 upstart, sneaked in an early punch — a pretty 16-yard touchdown pass from Jake Browning to Dante Pettis — and then didn’t get anywhere close to the end zone while Alabama steamrolled forward.
Beautiful throw from Jake Browning to Dante Pettis to give Washington a 7-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/5IaNB4z2y6— Dr. Saturday (@YahooDrSaturday) December 31, 2016
The Huskies, in theory, had a chance. Alabama’s offense, aside from running back Bo Scarbrough, was a woeful and uncharacteristically jittery lot, scrambling loose and drawing two delay-of-game penalties that had Saban’s veins bulging in rage. Perhaps that was due to outgoing offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin already considering how to decorate his office at Florida Atlantic University, but whatever the reason, the door was open.
Unfortunately for Washington, the door was guarded by Alabama’s defense, which is tougher than battleship steel. Aside from the single early touchdown, Browning looked overmatched and out of control, and could never establish any rhythm other than three-and-out, three-and-out, repeat ad infinitum. Combine that suffocation with a pick-six that Alabama’s Ryan Anderson snared with just over a minute left in the first half, and hope, for the Huskies, vanished before the sun even went down back home.
Washington’s last, best chance came with 6:30 left in the third quarter — yes, really — when Hurts tried to get too fancy and lost the handle on the football. Washington linebacker Psalm Woodching couldn’t reel in the loose ball, and the Huskies saw what would have been their best starting field position of the game slip away. After its first-quarter touchdown, Washington didn’t get any more than two yards into Alabama territory all game. The Huskies didn’t even get a first down in the second half until there was just over a minute left in the third quarter.
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Bo Scarbrough, running all over Washington. (Getty)
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And even the one Washington play of the second half that actually worked — a Jake Browning quick-kick that pinged out of bounds at the 2 — quickly vanished in a crimson mist. Alabama proceeded to march out of the shadow of its own goalpost, and then turned Scarborough loose for an acrobatic, slashing 68-yard touchdown run that put the game out of reach:
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Bo Scarbrough long td
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Ohio State or Clemson, whichever team wins the Fiesta Bowl, will watch the tape of this game, observe Hurts’ erratic play and Kiffin’s peculiar play-calling and the O-line’s inattention to detail, and see what they believe are openings to exploit. They’ll start to plan. They’ll start to dream. They’ll start to hope.
They’d better be careful. That’s exactly what Alabama wants.
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