College Football

Tide Ride Smith, Jones to Title Win

Updated Jan. 12, 2021 12:49 a.m. ET

It's another Crimson title for the Crimson Tide.

Alabama handled business on Monday night, defeating Ohio State 52-24 to win Nick Saban's seventh national championship, six of which have come with the Crimson Tide program.

Here are the key takeaways from Alabama's latest championship win.

1. The DeVonta Smith show

King James put it best.

And considering LeBron did indeed spell "DeVonta" wrong, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams' tweet was even more perfect.

DeVonta Smith – the latest Heisman Trophy winner – was in legendary form on Monday night, catching 12 balls for 215 receiving yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half.

Smith last week became the first wide receiver to win the Heisman since Desmond Howard in 1991, and his eye-popping night pushed him further into the record books.

In addition, his 12 receptions are a College Football Playoff National Championship record, and he fell just six yards short of Ja'Marr Chase's national championship receiving record (221).

Smith presumably would have broken Chase's record, but his first-half output also represented his final stat line, after he exited the game early in the third quarter with what appeared to be a hand injury.

Smith did not return.

Regardless, his impact was felt, and several NFL stars took to Twitter to praise Smith's performance.

2. A Tide-al wave of offense

Ohio State clearly had no answer for Smith, but in reality, it had no answer for any member of the Alabama offense on Monday.

'Bama racked up 621 total yards and 33 first downs and also won the time of possession battle, 37:32 to 22:28.

Crimson Tide quarterback Mac Jones completed 36 of 45 passes for 464 yards and five touchdowns, and Alabama running back Najee Harris ran the ball 22 times for 79 yards and two scores.

Harris also caught seven balls for 79 yards and a touchdown, and John Metchie III caught eight passes for 81 yards.

Prior to Monday night, the most points that the Buckeyes had allowed this season was 35 to then-No. 9 Indiana back on Nov. 9.

And despite surrendering 639 yards in the national semifinal against Clemson, the Buckeyes held the Tigers to 28 points.

That wasn't the case in Monday's title game.

3. The legend of Nick Saban

Alabama coach Nick Saban now has seven national championships to his name, making it pretty hard to deny him the title of GOAT when it comes to college football coaches.

Consider this: he passed Paul "Bear" Bryant for the most coaching championships in college football history with Monday night's victory.

In addition to those seven rings, Saban has nine SEC titles, and the Tide have played in the CFP six out of seven years.

Alabama is 8-3 in 11 CFP games, winning three titles in the process.

In other words, it's Saban's world. We're all just living in it.