Usually the sequel doesn’t live up to the original. That was not the case last night during an epic fourth quarter that decided that national championship between Alabama and Clemson. While it wasn’t as high scoring as the first matchup between these two teams, last night’s game packed all kinds of drama right until the final whistle.

Clemson’s 35-31 victory over Alabama will certainly go down in history as one of the best national title games of all time. That’s a not revisionist’s history, or an exaggeration. This game lived up to the insane hype and then some. The pace of the game definitely could have been faster, but those final few minutes were worth the almost three hour wait to get to the fourth quarter.

Alabama had not allowed more than 21 points all season, but Deshaun Watson and company were able to put up 21 in the final quarter to steal the championship away from the Tide. The Tigers survived a precarious 14-0 hole against the top-ranked team in the country and clawed back into the game by halftime. Alabama normally is able to sit on leads and squeeze the life out of its opponents but once Clemson got on the board in the second quarter, you could sense that the momentum slip away from the Tide.

Watson played potentially the game of his career, withstanding the constant onslaught from the vaunted Alabama defense. Just when you thought that the Tigers were dead, Watson would come up with a play to keep his team alive. Whether it was a pinpoint throw to Mike Williams, Hunter Renfrow, Jordan Leggett, or Deon Cain. It was an absolutely gutsy performance from Watson and the Tigers last night.

I do have to give credit to the Clemson defense, which had been gashed early in the game, and even gave up what could have been a backbreaking touchdown to O.J. Howard. They hunkered down and flipped the script on Alabama, which allowed the offense to wear down the Tide’s defense over the course of the second half.

Now I will admit that once running back Bo Scarbrough went out of the game, with what we found out in post-game was a broken leg, you could sense that Alabama was in serious trouble. Scarbrough could not be stopped by Clemson once he got near the redzone, but when it came time to protect the lead late in that game you could see his ability to slam the ball between the tackles was sorely missed. That being said, Alabama still lead by three with six seconds on the clock and the best defense in the country on the field to protect the lead.

In an ironic twist of fate, the game-winning touchdown was scored on the Tide’s five-star defense by former walk-on Hunter Renfrow. You seriously can’t make these things up. Was there offensive pass interference on the final play? That’s up to you. Personally that was a good no-call in that situation. The referee’s picked the right time to let the player’s decide the game. Plus, there wasn’t a blatant pick; two players got locked up which cut off the defender.

It’s only a matter of time until ESPN turns last night’s game into a “30 for 30.” That is how good last night’s game was in comparison to the first matchup. Congratulations to the Clemson Tigers, you gave us one hell of a game last night. Now let’s all hope we get the rubber match between these programs in 2018.

That’s it for me today. I’ll be back tomorrow with “Heat Check” to give my midseason power rankings in the NBA. Be on the lookout for “No Huddle” later this week with my breakdown of the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook