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Paolo UggettiESPN
ARLINGTON, Texas — The house that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones built continues to be the house that Alabama coach Nick Saban owns.
In No. 1 Alabama’s seventh appearance in the College Football Playoff, the sport’s dominant power over the last decade defeated No. 4 Cincinnati, the playoff’s first non-Power 5 team, 27-6 in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.
The win puts Alabama (13-1) in the title game for the fifth time in six years and one step closer to winning their fourth title since the introduction of the playoff system. The school will try for a seventh title since Saban became the program’s head coach, against No. 3 Georgia on Jan. 10.
Behind Bryce Young’s three touchdowns, as well as Brian Robinson Jr.’s 204 rushing yards (an Alabama bowl record), and a defense that held the ninth-best scoring offense in the nation to single digits, Alabama outgained the Bearcats 483-218 and controlled the pace of the game from start to finish.
“We knew the battle in the trenches would be a big deal,” Cincinnati coach Luke Fickell said. “That’s where the game was won.”
Said Robinson Jr.: “We just proved we were the more physical team.”
The Crimson Tide are now 6-0 at AT&T Stadium under Saban.
Alabama established the winning formula for this matchup early by monopolizing the ball for 10 of the first quarter’s 15 minutes and rushing for 106 yards on 18 carries. It would go on to finish the game with over 33 minutes of possession.
“We’ve had a couple games like that this year,” Saban said. “A lot of these running plays we had, had [run pass options] and passes attached to them. But the way they lined up on defense, it was a give read. They took the RPOs away sometimes. I thought [Young] made really good decisions.”
With the Heisman-winning quarterback Young under center, the Tide ran the ball 10 times for 62 yards on their first…
Source : espn
