Ohio State junior defensive tackle Zaid Hamdan (57) and senior cornerback Marcus Williamson (21) sit on the bench after the Ohio State vs. Alabama National Championship Game Jan. 11. Ohio State lost 52-24. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
After an up-and-down season, Ohio State’s secondary closed it on a sour note Monday.
The Buckeyes’ backend struggled to limit Heisman Trophy finalists and the quarterback-receiver duo of redshirt junior Mac Jones and senior wide receiver DeVonta Smith. Although the duo only played a half together, the two broke plenty of national championship records in the Crimson Tide’s 52-24 win over Ohio State.
Alabama head coach Nick Saban pointed to the Crimson Tide’s developing offensive scheme as a primary reason for the offense’s success against the Buckeyes.
“We’ve gradually changed through the years to be more spread oriented but still keep post style, drop-back concepts with our offense, legitimate play-action passes,” Saban said Tuesday. “Mac does a great job of executing it. Smitty obviously had a great half.”
Although only playing in the first half, Smith torched redshirt junior cornerback Shaun Wade and the rest of the Ohio State secondary for a record performance. The Louisiana native hauled 12 receptions for 215 yards and 3 receiving touchdowns.
Smith’s 12 receptions and 3 touchdowns shattered national championship records, while his 215 yards were the most by a receiver in a half of the national title game. Smith earned the game’s Most Valuable Player award thanks to his record-breaking performance.
Prior to his duel with Smith, Wade said he was looking forward to the matchup. However, after his struggles against the Heisman Trophy winner, Wade gave him props.
“Really they just gave him the ball in open space and he made plays,” Wade said. “He’s a great player and they had a great scheme.”
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said that he wasn’t sure if he had ever seen a better performance than what Smith produced Monday.
“He just seemed to create a lot of separation. He’s obviously very fast. He plays stronger than he looks. He’s not a very big guy, but his play strength is significant. ” Day said. “He just eats up ground down the field once he gets those strides going. Tremendous ball skills, Heisman Trophy winner and well deserved. He’s a great player.”
Jones played for nearly the whole game — despite being hobbled in the second half. The Alabama signal caller dissected the Ohio State secondary, going 36-of-45 for 464 yards and 5 touchdowns.
The Florida native broke numerous records held by former Ohio State and LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, including passing yards and quarterback rating. Jones tied Burrow’s record for touchdown passes in a national championship game.
Jones also matched former Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson’s record for most completions in a national championship.
Smith attributed his quarterback’s championship performance to his work ethic.
“Just his commitment, his dedication to everything. Him just getting in the film room, getting prepared for moments like this,” Smith said. “I don’t think nobody prepared as hard as him on this team just with everything that he’s done.”
As the duo produced a strong outing, senior running back Najee Harris and sophomore wide receiver John Metchie III each added more than 75 receiving yards.
Despite the game-long struggles in the pass defense, Day said the Buckeyes did not want to stray far from what was working for them in prior games. However, Day said that were forced to make subtle changes while trying to slow the Crimson Tide.
“Well, you know, we wanted to make sure we didn’t change what we do, just fundamentally, but we also had to have some change-ups because if you just sit there, they’re going to pick you apart,” Day said. “We had some things that we did that we wanted to change it up. We also wanted to make sure we were doing the same things that got us to this point, but clearly it wasn’t good enough.”
