Alabama won last night's CFP National Championship game in Atlanta with a 26-23 OT win against Georgia, marking the Crimson Tide's "fifth national championship in the past nine seasons, all under coach
Nick Saban." Alabama entered the CFP as a "somewhat controversial No. 4 seed" (
ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 1/9). After a first half that was "fairly quiet," the contest turned into a "heck of a ballgame" in the third and fourth quarters (
WASHINGTON POST, 1/9). Alabama's one-year title drought "didn't last long, but it needed a dramatic comeback from a freshman backup quarterback" in
Tua Tagovailoa (
CNN.com, 1/9).
Front-Page Headlines: Montgomery Advertiser: "Tide Turner" ... Dothan Eagle: "Never Tua Late!" ... AL.com landing page: "On The Night The Alabama Dynasty Refused To Die" ... Savannah Morning News: "Heartbreaker" ... Augusta Chronicle: "Dogs Come Up Short" ... N.Y. Post: "Bama Champs In Thriller" ... ESPN.com: "Title Win Puts Exclamation Point On Bama's Decade Of Dominance"
Kendrick Lamar “staged the first halftime performance” in CFP history with a four-song set outside the stadium, where temperatures “hovered under 40 degrees.” Lamar, a sometime critic of President Trump, “kept things apolitical” (ROLLINGSTONE.com, 1/8).
An Academy Sports + Outdoors store in Tuscaloosa opened its doors as Alabama secured the win last night. As the game wound down, fans were "bustling with excitement outside" as store employees "hurried to get T-shirts, hats and other merchandise laid out to buy" (TUSCALOOSA NEWS, 1/9).
