Football Holds Final Full Practice Prior to College Football Playoff National Championship Game
1/7/2017 4:14:00 PM | Football
TAMPA, Fla. - The top-ranked Alabama football team put together a final full practice on Saturday, working nearly two hours in shells at the University of South Florida campus.
Alabama's Saturday began at Amalie Arena for a media day that featured head coach Nick Saban and the entire team. Following the hour-long interview session, the Tide returned to the hotel for lunch and meetings prior to departing to South Florida for practice. The team will finish out the night with a comedy jam and free time after the full day of preparations for Monday's game.
Saturday's practice was the final of five total practices for the Crimson Tide prior to Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship Game at Raymond James Stadium. Alabama will square off with ACC champion Clemson on ESPN at 7:17 p.m. CT with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit covering the game from the booth while Tom Rinaldi and Samantha Ponder work each sideline. The contest with the Tigers will be the Crimson Tide's fifth time in eight seasons playing in college football's final game of the season to determine a national champion.
The Tide will make its first trip to Raymond James Stadium on Sunday afternoon, traveling to the game site for a team picture and a final walkthrough leading up to Monday's game. The final day before the game will close out with a movie and meetings at night.
Alabama and Clemson will meet for the 17th time in the history of the two programs, with the Crimson Tide owning a 13-3 all-time advantage in the series. While the Tigers won the initial three meetings, the Tide have won the last 13 contests, outscoring Clemson 435-94 over that span. The most recent meeting between the two teams occurred in last season's College Football Playoff National Championship Game when Alabama rallied for a 45-40 win to capture the program's 16th national championship. Tight end O.J. Howard earned offensive MVP honors in the victory after catching five passes for a career-high 208 yards and two touchdowns.
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Get all the latest information on the team by following @AlabamaFTBL on Twitter and Facebook and AlabamaFBL on Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and AlabamaAthletics on Facebook.
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