Alabama is on its way back to college football’s national championship game.
The Crimson Tide overpowered Washington 24-7 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl — a College Football Playoff semifinal — at the Georgia Dome on Saturday, earning a berth in the title game Jan. 9 in Tampa, Fla.
Seeking its fifth fifth national championship in eight years and second in a row, No. 1-seeded Alabama (14-0) will oppose the winner of Saturday night’s Fiesta Bowl semifinal between Clemson and Ohio State.
Alabama won the Peach Bowl behind a dominant defense that held Washington, which had averaged 44.5 points per game previously this season, to a lone first-quarter touchdown. The Crimson Tide then outscored the Huskies 24-0 the rest of the way as sophomore running back Bo Scarbrough piled up 180 yards on 19 carries, including touchdown runs of 18 and 68 yards.
“We got more miles to go, and these guys are very committed to it,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said afterward. “They worked hard over the holiday and made a lot of sacrifices.”
Saturday’s game — the first CFP semifinal played in Atlanta — completed a remarkable rise for the 49-year-old Peach Bowl, which once struggled for survival and long was relegated to the lower tiers of college football’s postseason.
The game also was the last college football event scheduled to be played in the Georgia Dome, which is slated to be demolished and replaced in 2017 by the $1.5 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium under construction next door.
The announced attendance of 75,996 was the largest for any football game in Georgia Dome history, a Peach Bowl official said.
The win was Alabama’s ninth in a row in the Dome, where Bama is 10-1 under coach Nick Saban — 5-1 in SEC Championship games, 4-0 in Chick-fil-A Kickoff games and now 1-0 in the Peach Bowl. Saban is 13-1 in the Dome overall, including 3-0 as LSU’s coach.
“They kind of are what we thought,” Washington coach Chris Petersen said of the Crimson Tide. “Really, really elite championship defense and, you know, good players across the board.”
Washington, which had 103 offensive yards in the first quarter, mustered only 91 in the final three quarters to finish with 194, far below their previous average of 477 per game. Alabama’s defense stiffened after the No. 4-seeded Huskies (12-2) took a 7-0 lead on an eight-play, 64-yard drive.
“After we got into the flow of the game … I think our defense did a very good job against the explosive offense they have,” Saban said.
“We started relaxing and playing our game,” Alabama cornerback Anthony Averett said. “We expected them to make big plays early, and we adjusted.”
Alabama led 17-7 by halftime, answering Washington’s early score with a game-tying, nine-play, 78-yard drive — capped by the tackle-breaking Scarbrough’s 18-yard touchdown — and then taking advantage of two Huskies turnovers for 10 more points.
The Crimson Tide claimed the lead for good at 10-7 after a fumble by Washington wide receiver John Ross — forced by Averett and recovered by Jonathan Allen — gave the Tide the ball at the Huskies’ 40-yard line. Alabama got a 41-yard Adam Griffith field goal out of that turnover.
With a little more than a minute remaining in the half, the Tide extended the lead to 17-7 when linebacker Ryan Anderson intercepted a Jake Browning screen pass and returned it 26 yards for a touchdown — Alabama’s 11th defensive touchdown (and 15th non-offensive touchdown) this season.
“It’s great to know that when we’re not playing well on offense, the defense has our back,” Alabama offensive lineman Cam Robinson said.
After a scoreless third quarter, Scarbrough’s 68-yard touchdown run early in the fourth completed a 98-yard drive, extended Alabama’s lead to 24-7 and removed any small amount of doubt about the outcome.
“Bo has really played well for us, especially the second half of the season when he got healthy,” Saban said. “We have been playing him more and more, and he has certainly delivered for us.”
Scarbrough credited his offensive line for his big day.
“You’ve got to trust the plays you’re running, and you got to believe in your offensive line,” Scarbrough said. “When you get to the secondary, you’re on your own, basically, because the offensive line did their job.”
Saturday’s game was the 152nd college football game played in the Dome, a list that includes 25 Peach Bowls, 23 SEC Championship games, 11 season-opening Chick-fil-A Kickoff games, 44 Georgia State games, 23 Atlanta Football Classics (1992-2014), seven Heritage Bowls (1993-99), two Celebration Bowls (2015-16), even one Sugar Bowl (played here on Jan. 2, 2006, after Hurricane Katrina’s devastation forced it out of New Orleans) and assorted other games.
Alabama is scheduled to open next season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a Chick-fil-A Kickoff game against Florida State. But first, there’s the matter of another national championship game.
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