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Rob Goldberg is the featured columnist for December 31, 2021.
Matthew Stockman is a photographer.
Alabama will play for its second straight national championship after defeating Cincinnati 27-6 in the Cotton Bowl on Friday.
The College Football Playoff national semifinal was played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and it was won by Brian Robinson Jr.
The Tide held a 17-6 lead through three quarters, but they were able to control the game everywhere. The favorites were held without a touchdown in the third quarter, but the defense was bend-don't-break and limited the damage.
Cincinnati couldn't get in the end zone.
The winner of Michigan and Georgia will face off in the Orange Bowl on Friday night, with the winner of that game going on to play Alabama in the title game. The Tide are one game away from becoming the first team to win back-to-back titles since they did it in 2011.
Cincinnati was the first team from the Group of Five to earn a spot in the CFP, but it couldn't keep its dream season going.
The Bearcats lost their first game of the season as they were held without a touchdown for the first time all year.
Notable performances.
The quarterback for ALA was 17-28, 181 passing yards, 3 touchdown and 1 error.
Brian Robinson Jr. ran for 204 rushing yards.
The receiver for ALA, Ja'Corey Brooks, had 4 catches, 66 receiving yards and a touchdown.
The quarterback, CIN, had 17-32 passing yards.
Ford had 15 carries and 77 rushing yards.
Michael Young Jr. had 4 catches and 55 receiving yards.
Brian Robinson is the Alabama offense's leader.
The passing attack has gained more attention for Alabama this season, but the team went old school in the Cotton Bowl.
Alabama showed its willingness to run the ball early in the game.
Field Yates has an account with Field Yates.
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Alabama's opening drive:RunRunRunRunRunRunRunPass.
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11 plays, 75 yards.
Carl Prather is a writer.
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Alabama ran 18 plays in the first quarter.
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Bobby Nightengale sent a message.
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Alabama had 140 rushing yards in the 2nd quarter, with Brian Robinson Jr. scoring a touchdown.
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301 rushing yards were achieved and an average of 6.4 attempts. Robinson was unstoppable against Cincinnati, reaching 100 yards in just four of 12 games.
It took the passing game to get into the end zone, as Young connected with wideouts and tight ends.
The star quarterback threw a rare pick-six, which kept the game close, but he wasn't as productive as in the past. He was still a difference-maker with his ability to find teammates.
The offense did enough to come away with the win despite the fact that the Tide fell short of their average points per game.
Upset bid falls flat in Cincinnati.
Cincinnati needed a huge performance from Ridder to pull off the upset, but he wasn't at his best.
In the first half, the Bearcats scored three points, two of which came from a field goal.
BruceFeldmanCFB
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The first half was bad for Ridder. 8 for 17 59 passing yards. Sacked three times. On its opening drive, Cincy had 60 yards, and only had 16 total yards on the next four series. It was very bad.
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Mark Giannotto is the author.
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It felt like a draft stock was damaging the first half.
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Stewart Mandel is on the phone with Slmandel.
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At the half, it's going to get ugly if Desmond Ridder doesn't turn into Vince Young.
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Ridder had better throws in the second half, but it wasn't enough to catch up.
The main difference was the Will Anderson Jr.-led front seven, which created a dangerous pass rush.
Tom Fornelli is a friend of mine.
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That is over. Alabama can't be blocked up front.
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ShannonSharpe wrote "shannon sharpe".
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Will Anderson Jr is the best defensive player in college football. PerIOD.
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Matt Zenitz is the person.
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Will Anderson has posted more than one sack in five of the last eight games, and this is his eighth straight game with a sack.
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He has played in eight of Alabama's last nine games and has played in 59 of them.
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The normal passing offense couldn't run between the sacks and the passes that were thrown at the line of scrimmage.
Alabama's offensive line dominated the other side of the ball, as the battle in the trenches was the main story.
Michael Casagrande is a friend of By Casagrande.
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The Alabama offensive line is playing well.
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Clint Lamb is a friend of mine.
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The Alabama offensive line is having its way with the Cincinnati defense. Hammering B-Rob.
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stan verrett
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A coach once told me that the difference between power 5 schools and others is the size of the lines on both sides. Alabama has an O line.
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Alabama outgained Cincinnati 482-218 in the game.
The individual talent was on display, and that was a positive sign for the Bearcats.
MattHayesCFB
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The Tide pass game was disrupted by the Cincinnati pass rush.
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A lot like the Iron Bowl.
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The whole game was too difficult to hold down.
Cincinnati held its own against a bigger, stronger, deeper opponent, but an upset bid wasn't in the cards.
