Clemson won last night's CFP title game 35-31 over Alabama, completing a "stunning second-half comeback capped by a go-ahead touchdown with exactly one second left" (
WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/10). The AP goes with the header, "Tigers-Tide II Gets A Place In The History Of Great Games." If fans "thought last year's College Football Playoff championship game was great," the "rematch was even better." And it "will take a place in the history books" (
AP, 1/10). For "sheer entertainment value, Monday's instant classic grades as the best college football championship contest ever" (
TAMPA BAY TIMES, 1/10). It was a "rare sequel that surpassed the original" (
TAMPA BAY TIMES, 1/10). Clemson QB
Deshaun Watson was "magical in the win," and for the "second consecutive year, he put together a masterful performance against the nation’s best defense" (
Columbia STATE, 1/10).
Front-Page Headlines: Anderson Independent Mail: "Roll Tigers" ... Columbia State: "Believe It! Clemson's No. 1" ... Charleston Post & Courier: "Champions" ... Tuscaloosa News: "Denied" ... Anniston Star: "Tide Denied" ... USA Today (top ribbon): "Tigers Roar To National Title" ... Wall Street Journal: "Sweet Revenge As Clemson Captures National Championship" ... ESPN.com: "Clemson Beats Bama By Being Bama" ... SI.com: "Last-Second Magic"
With the game coming down to the wire, it is likely to produce a solid audience figure for ESPN. SBD/SBJ yesterday on its official Twitter feed conducted a non-scientific poll on predictions for the game's TV audience. Just prior to kickoff, 848 respondents had chimed in, with 43% feeling that the audience would top the 25.7 million viewers for Alabama-Clemson last year, but fall short of the 33.4 million viewers for the inaugural Ohio State-Oregon CFP finale in '15. Another 36% of respondents believed last night’s viewership would fall below the first two CFP title games, while only 21% felt it would top both games (THE DAILY).
