10 greatest college football national championship games

9. Clemson downs Alabama 44-16 in 2019 CFP national championship

The most recent installment of the AP No. 1 against No. 2 slots in at ninth in the list of all-time great national championship games featuring the top two ranked teams in the country. Even while Clemson made absolutely short work of Alabama, there is plenty of reason to justify this game’s position on the top-10 list.

First and foremost, the two teams had a combined SRS score that ranked second all-time, showcasing just how strong both sides were when they arrived at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara for the College Football Playoff national championship. More importantly, they were well-matched when they met for the fourth straight year.

Tua Tagovailoa threw the first two touchdown passes of the game. The first was an interception that A.J. Terrell returned 44 yards for the opening score. Then Tagovailoa redeemed himself early with a long ball to Jerry Jeudy, stepping up in the pocket and hitting his receiver with a rainbow in stride for a 62-yard touchdown.

But the Heisman runner-up was outgunned by the true freshman on the other side of the field. Trevor Lawrence, after supplanting Kelly Bryant as the starting quarterback at midseason, was coolly efficient against a stout Alabama defense. The 19-year-old passer finished with 347 yards and three touchdowns through the air on 20-of-32 passing. Tagovailoa, on the other hand, finished with 298 yards and two touchdowns to go with two interceptions on a 22-of-34 day.

Travis Etienne added 86 yards and two touchdowns out of the backfield, helping keep the clock running as the Tigers put the game well out of reach by the fourth quarter. While Alabama was a 5.5-point favorite entering the game, Clemson proved themselves more than a match for the Crimson Tide in their Bay Area duel.