Clemson finishes off a perfect season with a 42-21 win over Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship Game in Glendale. Clemson set the tone early, with a 15 play, 72 yard touchdown drive taking just 2 minutes off the clock and they never trailed. The Clemson defense was lights out early, allowing the Tigers to jump out to 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The excitement didn't last long for the Tigers as Oklahoma scored on the very first play of the second quarter. Just a few plays later, Junior quarterback and Heisman runner-up Deshaun Watson completed a pass to Mike Williams but remained on the ground injured. He was able to leave under his own power but was unable to return to the game, leaving Clemson's championship hopes up to true freshman Zach Johnson who played sparingly in mop-up duty this season. Johnson's first pass missed Deon Cain by 20 yards but he was able to use his legs and punch it in from 3 yards out a few plays later to give Clemson a 21-7 lead at the half.
Clemson's defense continued to dominate to open the second half, forcing OU to another 3 and out and letting the Zach Johnson led Tiger offense go back to work. Quarterback Zach Johnson started to get in a rhythm but the drive ended when receiver Artavis Scott fumbled the ball back to OU. Clemson's defense answered once more, forcing a turnover of their own and Clemson took advantage right away as Zach Johnson found Wayne Gallman on the shovel option pitch for a 65 yard touchdown to break the game open and give Clemson a 28-7 lead. OU was able to put together a long touchdown drive in response, but it took the entirety of the third quarter and left OU just a quarter to make something happen. They did not.
Zach Johnson stepped up big in the fourth, completing three consecutive passes of 26, 13 and 22 yards and adding two short runs to set up a 1 yard touchdown run by fellow true freshman fullback Vince Wynn to extend the lead to 35-14. OU answered quickly with a touchdown, but any hope was gone just 4 plays later when senior receiver Mike Williams took the option pitch from Zach Johnson and ran 55 yards for a touchdown. OU threatened again but turned the ball over on downs at which point Clemson ran the remaining two minutes off the clock to win the game. Senior tailback CJ Davidson lined up at quarterback to take the final knee for Clemson, he earned after covering Wayne Gallman's broke ass for what felt like the 10th time.
Clemson's perfect season was clinched in a nearly perfect victory against Oklahoma in Arizona. The Tigers ran 72 plays on offense for 548 yards, converting 9 of 11 conversion attempts and all 4 red zone trips into touchdowns. The Tigers ran the ball 45 times for 346 yards and 6 TD while the two quarterbacks combined to throw 16 of 27 for 202 yards. OU did manage 339 yards, but was just 21 of 38 passing and ran 22 times for just 63 yards.
Junior Deshaun Watson was fantastic when healthy, throwing 7 of 13 for 92 yards and rushing for 29 more in just a quarter and a half. Freshman Zach Johson threw 9 of 14 for 110 yards despite being shaky early and also added 10 rushes for 50 yards and a TD. Tailback Wayne Gallman II ran 12 times for 130 yards and 2 TD while CJ Davidson added 12 rushes of his own for 76 yards and a TD. Fullback Vincent Wynn and Receiver Mike Williams both added touchdown runs. 9 different Clemson receivers caught passes in the game, with Artavis Scott leading the way with 5 for 69.
Defensively, it was more of the same for Clemson as First Team All-American DT Christian Wilkins added 2 sacks and 3 TFL and Senior Corner Cordrea Tankersley forced an interception. As a team, the Tigers defense had 7 TFL, 3 sacks, 6 pass breakups and an interception. Ray Guy Award Winner Andy Teasdall added a 60 yard punt in his only action of the day.