Football fans who didn't care who won Monday night's College Football Playoff National Championship Game were able to kick back and watch one of the best title games in recent memory.
Alabama's 45-40 win over Clemson at University of Phoenix Stadium was the Crimson Tide's fourth championship in seven seasons, and it was the highest-scoring college football national championship game ever.
Here are three big takeaways from Monday night's thriller in Glendale.
1. Special teams the difference maker
For all the talk about Alabama's intimidating defense and Clemson's up-tempo offense, special teams got lost in the shuffle. But the Crimson Tide locked up the win Monday thanks to a pair of incredible plays on kickoffs during the fourth quarter.
After Bama tied the game with a field goal, coach Nick Saban pulled an onside kick out of his bag of tricks. Two plays after an Alabama recovery, QB Jake Coker hit a wide-open O.J. Howard for a 51-yard score.
Boom. @AlabamaFTBL with the quick strike after an onside kick. Tide lead, 31-24. #SidelineVine https://t.co/RDj4Kheppy
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) January 12, 2016
After Clemson responded with a field goal to trim the lead to 31-27, Bama's Kenyan Drake scored on a remarkable 95-yard kickoff return to put the Crimson Tide ahead by two scores midway through the quarter.
2. Derrick Henry caps Heisman season in style
Those on the West Coast who haven't seen much of Alabama's Heisman Trophy-winning tailback this season were treated to the Derrick Henry Show on Monday night. The junior opened the scoring with a 50-yard first-quarter run, and he added two more scores, including this one to ice the game with 1:07 to play.
After review: Yes, he got in.
Did he get in? https://t.co/59uKCFr7Nz
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) January 12, 2016
For the game, Henry churned in a workhorse-like effort, gaining 158 yards on 36 carries -- and in the process, he broke Shaun Alexander's all-time school record for career rushing yards.
3. Deshaun Watson is ridiculous
I predicted Clemson would score 10 points Monday night due to Alabama's dominant D.
Whoops. Instead, Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson proved for the 15th time this season that he's the real deal, and not even the Crimson Tide had much luck slowing him down.
Watson made just one major mistake Monday night -- an interception on an ill-advised throw in the second quarter. Other than that, the Heisman finalist was superb on the ground (73 yards on 20 carries) and through the air (405 yards, yards touchdowns).
The bad news for the NCAA is Watson is only a sophomore, meaning he'll return to Clemson for at least one more season -- and meaning the Tigers will likely be a popular pick to return to next year's national championship game.
