Lane Kiffin's mid-title-game departure to FAU — announced before the championship — left Alabama's offense in Steve Sarkisian's hands for the last game. The decision shaped the final drive.
2016 — One Play From the Double
Alabama went 14-1, reached the national championship game for the second straight year, and lost it on the last snap — a Deshaun Watson touchdown pass with one second left.
The Shape — week-by-week · cumulative W–L below
Who carried it
- Jalen HurtsQB2,780 passing yards
- Damien HarrisRB1,040 rushing yards
- Bo ScarbroughRB812 rushing yards
- Josh JacobsRB564 rushing yards
- ArDarius StewartWR864 receiving yards
- Calvin RidleyWR769 receiving yards
- O.J. HowardTE595 receiving yards
- Reuben FosterLB115 tackles
- Ronnie HarrisonDB83 tackles
- Jonathan AllenDL69 tackles
- Tim WilliamsLB9 sacks
- Ryan AndersonLB8.5 sacks
- Rashaan EvansLB4 sacks
Season leaders, 2016.
Clemson 35, Alabama 31. Deshaun Watson, 1 second left, touchdown to Hunter Renfrow. Alabama had led 24-14 in the third; the defense held until the final possession; it did not hold through it.
A 14-1 season that ended without a crown sits differently in the Process ledger than in most programs' — the season was not a disappointment, it was a near-miss. The program calibrated that way publicly and internally.
"One play."
2016 is the other side of the 2015 title. Two years in a row the Process reached the final Monday; one year it left with the trophy, one year with the loss. Both seasons are in the peak tier of the era's ledger. The 2016 chapter's load-bearing fact is how close the Process came to back-to-back titles and how fine the margin was — one play, one second, one coaching-transition lingering from the pregame.