The University of Alabama captured its fifth national championship in nine years in a thrilling 26-23 overtime win over the Georgia Bulldogs. The Crimson Tide struggled mightily in the first half, trailing 13-0. QB Jalen Hurts completed only three of his eight pass attempts. He rushed for 46 yards, but the team had only 85 yards of total offense. The 25 win, two loss starter was replaced in the second half.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban turned the signal calling duties over to freshman, Tua Tagovailoa. The Hawaiian born lefthander had only appeared in previous games where the Crimson Tide held at least a double digit lead. After two long incompletions on his first drive, Tua found the range, throwing three touchdowns. His final 41 yard TD toss to fellow freshman wide receiver Devonta Smith in overtime gave the Crimson Tide the national title.
The title was game marred by an incident in the third quarter when Alabama LB Mekhi Brown punched a Georgia player following a kickoff. He was assessed a 15 yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Mekhi continued his rant on the sidelines, shoving coach Kerry Stevenson and later clotheslining kick returner Malkom Parrish early in the fourth quarter.
SEC Country:
UCLA QB Josh Rosen - “Look, football and school don’t go together. They just don’t,” Rosen told Bleacher Report. “Trying to do both is like trying to do two full-time jobs. There are guys who have no business being in school, but they’re here because this is the path to the NFL. There’s no other way. Then there’s the other side that says raise the SAT eligibility requirements. OK, raise the SAT requirement at Alabama and see what kind of team they have. You lose athletes and then the product on the field suffers.”Alan Blondin, MyrtleBeachonline:
The big winner on Monday was Coastal Carolina where their head football coach Joe Moglia returned to work after a five month medical leave of absence. He had taken time off for treatment of a condition that was causing inflammation and damage to his lungs. “The infection is gone and my doctors have given me an all systems go."
The Coastal Carolina football program once again has its four-time Eddie Robinson FCS National Coach of the Year finalist leading the team. “I couldn’t be more excited about rejoining my staff and team,” Moglia said. “From Aug. 1 through the rest of the year, I only met with them three times, and especially the first two were incredibly emotional for me. It wasn’t easy watching the team on game day from either the press box or on television.”
He leads a unique program, which features a "Be A Man" philosophy. The program doesn’t necessarily have rules, it has the BAM behavioral standard that requires players to treat others with respect, be accountable for their actions and live with the consequences of their actions.
The Chants signed 18 players in the new early signing period in December and have at least another 12 scholarships to give in the signing period that begins Feb. 7, so recruiting will be among Moglia’s priorities over the next month.
Moglia has a unique story among college head coaches. Prior to his hiring at Coastal, Moglia last held a paid college football position in 1983 as the defensive coordinator at Dartmouth, which culminated 16 years of college and high school coaching.
He then transitioned into business, rising to the position of CEO of TD Ameritrade from 2001 until his resignation in 2008 to return to coaching. He remains chairman of the board for the successful online brokerage firm and assisted with its 2016 acquisition of Scottrade for an estimated $4 billion and the assimilation of the company that has followed. After stepping down as CEO, Moglia began work as an unpaid voluntary assistant coach/mentor for the University of Nebraska football team under Bo Pelini.
Nick Saban made a great decision in changing QB's at halftime of the national championship contest. He made no decision in walking away from out of control LB Mekhi Brown on the sidelines. Saban's $8 million a year salary will most likely get a bump from the boosters because he won.
In his seven years at TD Ameritrade, Joe Moglia and his executive management team oversaw the company as its client assets grew from $24 billion to over $300 billion. My guess is that Joe Moglia would have told the petulant linebacker, number 48 in your program, to "take a hike."
Paul Murphy
Follow me on Twitter at @_prmurphy
