Cotton Crowned: Alabama Football Stifles Cincinnati 27-6, Advances to CFP Title Game
ARLINGTON, Texas — Stifling defense and a career performance for running back Brian Robinson Jr. surged No. 1 Alabama football over No. 4 Cincinnati by a margin of 27-6 in the 2021 Cotton Bowl on Friday afternoon.
With the win, the Crimson Tide (13-1) will face No. 2 Michigan or No. 3 Georgia, who play each other on Friday night in the Orange Bowl (6:30 p.m. CT, ESPN).
"I'm really, really proud of our team, our players," Alabama head coach Nick Saban said. "I think they showed great competitive character out there in this game tonight. It was a tough game. We knew it would be a tough game. Guys showed a lot of resiliency all year long to be able to have the opportunity to get to this game.
"They showed a lot of resiliency in the game tonight to overcome a lot of adversity, make plays when we needed to make them, play together as a team — everybody kinda had each others' back — and that helped us get the victory."
While the final result might have been what many predicted, the first half was anything but. On Alabama's first drive, nine of its first 10 plays were called rushes. On the 11th play, quarterback Bryce Young found wide receiver Slade Bolden for an 8-yard touchdown reception.
The nine called rushes on Alabama's opening drive would be a sign of things to come for the Crimson Tide's offense.
“We started out running the ball, we just had some positive runs in the run game and we just had to trust it — just stay with it — and we knew we was going to have the opportunity to run the ball the rest of the game,” Robinson said. “So with that first drive coming off 10 carries let me just get my mind right and be prepared to run the ball the rest of the game.”
The play put Alabama up 7-0, but also put Young in the record books. With his 44th touchdown of the season, Young broke former Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's 2018 record.
On Cincinnati's first drive, the Bearcats drove 60 yards on 13 plays, ultimately hitting a 33-yard field goal to cut Alabama's lead to four points.
The next points to be put up on the scoreboard didn't happen until the second quarter, when Alabama place kicker Will Reichard made a 26-yard field goal to put the Crimson Tide back on top by seven. Another touchdown, this time a 44-yard touchdown reception by Ja'Corey Brooks from Young, increased the Alabama lead 17-3 at halftime.
While the Crimson Tide's passing offense might have had 14 of its points in the first half, it was Alabama's rushing game that was the main star of the first 30 minutes of play. Running back Brian Robinson Jr. totaled 134 yards on 17 carries, giving him more rushing yards than Young's 130 first-half passing yards.
Alabama's defense was also stifling through the first half, holding Cincinnati to just 76 total yards. Of those yards, just 17 came on the ground for the Bearcats. After its opening field goal, the Bearcats were held to three-straight three-and-outs by the Crimson Tide and closed the first half with a turnover on downs.
After storming down the field to open the second half, Cincinnati ultimately settled for a field goal after having its drive stopped in the red zone. After Alabama was forced to punt on its first third-quarter drive, the Bearcats were once again held to a three-and-out.
The Crimson Tide took over at its own 26-yard line with a fair catch fielded by Bolden. On third down, however, Young's pass was intercepted by Bearcats defensive back Bryan Cook at the Cincinnati 49-yard line. The interception was Young's fifth interception on the season.
While the interception did provide the Bearcats with some much-needed energy, it was all for naught on their ensuing drive. Once again, the Cincinnati offense was sent off the field after going three and out. Alabama took over at its own 30-yard line.
At the end of three quarters, the score remained 17-6 in favor of the Crimson Tide.
After taking the ball back, the Crimson Tide composed a nine-play, 70-yard drive that was capped with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Young to tight end Cameron Latu. The touchdown not only signified Young's passing of Mac Jones for the new Crimson Tide single-season passing yards record holder, but also started the beginning of the end for the Bearcats.
On Cincinnati's next drive, quarterback Desmond Ridder was sacked on 4th and 3 at the Alabama 26, giving the Crimson Tide the ball once again. Another nine-play, 49-yard drive gave Reichard another field goal opportunity, and he made the most of it with a 43-yarder, giving Alabama a 27-6 lead with just 6:20 left to play.
Cincinnati turned it over on downs for the third time of the game, and Alabama took over once again. The Crimson Tide would run out the clock, ending the game and giving the Crimson Tide a 27-6 victory.
While Young might have broken multiple records for Alabama football, it was ultimately the Crimson Tide's running game and defensive performance that were the stories of the afternoon. On the ground, Alabama rushers combined for 301 total yards. Robinson finished the game with 204 total yards on 26 attempts, the best single-game performance of his career.
Not only that, but Robinson's 204 yards was the most ever by a Crimson Tide running back in a bowl game. For his efforts, Robinson was named the Cotton Bowl's offensive MVP.
“I think we just showed a lot of physicality,” Robinson said. “We knew they were going to come out fired up, we knew they were going to coming out trying to be physical and we just proved that we were the most physical team with the run game, the defensive front — just the whole defense overall and the whole offense overall — we just proved that we were the more physical team.”
On top of holding Cincinnati to just six points and forcing a total of five three-and-outs, Alabama's defense also forced the Bearcats to turn the ball over on downs three times. In total, Cincinnati's offense accounted for 218 yards, with just 74 coming on the ground. Ridder was also sacked six times, including twice by Alabama linebacker Will Anderson Jr..
Anderson was also named the game's defensive MVP.
While the Crimson Tide scored just 27 points, it totaled 482 offensive yards. 181 of those yards were from Young, who completed 17-of-28 passes. He also threw three touchdowns along with one interception, just his fifth of the season.
For the Alabama receivers, Brooks finished the Cotton Bowl with the most receiving yards with 66, just four more than fellow wideout Jameson Williams. Williams led the night with the most catches with seven, three more than Brooks' four.
"I think you always want to control the line of scrimmage," Saban said. "I think it's always important in any game, and we were able to do that on both sides of the ball and I think that was a big part of having success in this game. Now, we probably didn't make as many explosive plays because of that, but it shrinks the game. You don't have to play as many plays on defense.
"We did a good job on third down and fourth down on defense and got off the field. So the combination of those things with a couple of red-area stops and being able to control the line of scrimmage up front were probably the key to being successful in this game."
With the win, Alabama moves to 13-1 on the season and will take on the winner of the Orange Bowl matchup between No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Georgia. Both Alabama and the Orange Bowl champion will face each other in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship Game (Dec. 10, 7 p.m. CT, ESPN).
Cincinnati's perfect 13-0 season ends with a blemish, tarnishing the Bearcats with a 13-1 record and ending their season.
