2017 College Football Playoff National Championship

2017 College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T
3rd College Football Playoff National Championship
1234 Total
Clemson 07721 35
Alabama 77107 31
DateJanuary 9, 2017
Season2016
StadiumRaymond James Stadium
LocationTampa, Florida
MVPOffensive: #4 QB Deshaun Watson, Jr. Clemson
Defensive: #10 LB Ben Boulware, Sr. Clemson
FavoriteAlabama by 6.5
National anthemLittle Big Town
RefereeMike Defee (Big 12)
Halftime showClemson University Tiger Band
Million Dollar Band
Attendance74,512
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN and ESPN Radio
AnnouncersChris Fowler (play-by-play)
Kirk Herbstreit (analyst)
Samantha Ponder and Tom Rinaldi (sideline) (ESPN)
Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe and Ian Fitzsimmons (ESPN Radio)
Nielsen ratings15.3 (26.03 million viewers)[1]
International TV coverage
NetworkESPN Deportes
ESPN Deportes Radio
AnnouncersEduardo Varela and Pablo Virugela (ESPN Deportes)
Kenneth Garay and Sebastian M. Christensen (ESPN Deportes Radio)
College Football Playoff National Championship
 < 2016  2018

The 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game that was played on January 9, 2017, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The third College Football Playoff National Championship, the game determined a national champion for the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for the 2016 season. It was the culminating game of the 2016–17 bowl season. Sponsored by telecommunications company AT&T, the game was officially known as the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T.[2]

The game was played between the winners of two pre-designated bowl games played on December 31, 2016: the Clemson Tigers, who defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl, and the Alabama Crimson Tide, who defeated the Washington Huskies in the Peach Bowl. Having met in the previous year's championship game, the resulting title game between Clemson and Alabama became college football's first rematch between #1 and #2 in national championship game history.[3]

The Tigers won the game 35–31 on a go-ahead touchdown with one second left, having come back from a 14–0 deficit earlier in the game. Watson threw to WR Hunter Renfrow for the game winner. Clemson quarterback and Heisman Finalist Deshaun Watson set the record for most passing yards in a championship game with 420, breaking his own record of 405 yards set in the 2016 National Championship Game.[4][5] Deshaun Watson and Ben Boulware were named the Offensive and Defensive Most Valuable Players, respectively. It was Clemson’s first national title since 1981.

  1. ^ "TV ratings dip for college football championship on ESPN; streaming up". www.chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. January 10, 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
  2. ^ Patterson, Chip (January 10, 2017). "Alabama vs. Clemson final score, highlights: Tigers win 2017 national championship". cbssports.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2017.
  3. ^ Johnson, Richard. "Bama-Clemson is college football's first-ever true title rematch". SBNation.com. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  4. ^ Hutchins, Andy. "How Deshaun Watson became a superstar". SBNation.com. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  5. ^ Paine, Neil (January 10, 2017). "Deshaun Watson And Clemson Made History Against Alabama". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved January 16, 2017.