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ESPN Senior Writer- College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.
In a season defined by the unprecedented, two teams are still on course to reach its final night. Alabama and Ohio State will play for the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida (Monday, 8 p.m., ESPN and the ESPN App), but both -- along with the sport itself -- had to endure a seemingly endless wave of obstacles and uncertainty to get there.
From a fight just to play this season to ongoing COVID-19 issues -- with some very bright moments along the way -- here's the converging path the Buckeyes and Crimson Tide took to have a shot at glory.
'We want to play for the players'
Ohio State: Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day rarely sounds off on social media, but with the Big Ten season on the brink of cancellation, he made his displeasure known. After Big Ten team physicians and others had expressed concerns about myocarditis and other potential effects for those diagnosed with COVID-19, the league's presidents and chancellors met Aug. 9 with commissioner Kevin Warren. A large majority of the league's leaders favored postponing the fall season.
"Swinging as hard as we possibly can right now for these players!! This isn't over! #FIGHT," Day tweeted on Aug. 10. But the following day, the decision to postpone was made, with Big Ten presidents and chancellors voting 11-3 to call off the fall season.
"You work your whole life for an opportunity to coach a team like this," an emotional Day told reporters on Aug. 12. He immediately started calling for a season to begin in early January, rather than later in the spring.
As criticism of Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren and other league leaders ramped up, Ohio State became the epicenter of the campaign to restore the fall season. Randy Wade, the father of Buckeyes star cornerback Shaun Wade, after rallying other Big Ten parents on social media and traveling to Chicago from his home in Florida, led an Aug. 21 protest alongside other parents of Big Ten players outside a vacant league office building in Rosemont, Illinois, near the runways of O'Hare Airport. Three days later, eight Nebraska players sued the Big Ten seeking to invalidate the decision to postpone the season.
The Big Ten ultimately wouldn't budge without different medical evidence that playing football could be done safely. Again, Ohio State led the way, as team physician Dr. Jim Borchers and the medical subcommittee of the Big Ten's return to competition task force addressed the concerns of the presidents, specifically around access to cardiac testing for players who tested positive for COVID-19, and testing. They outlined rapid antigen testing options and stringent requirements for athletes who tested positive for COVID-19. "You want to be confident in what you're presenting," Borchers told ESPN.
On Sept. 16, the Big Ten announced a delayed fall season, to kick off the weekend of Oct. 23-24. Said Northwestern president Morton Schapiro: "The facts change, our minds change."
Alabama: From the beginning, the SEC took a wait-and-see approach to playing football in the fall. But the pressure was immense when the Big Ten and Pac-12 initially decided to postpone in early August. Had the Big 12 followed their lead, the SEC and ACC might have had no choice but to do the same.
Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban was careful as he lent his voice to the debate, acknowledging that whatever he said was likely to be criticized. But he pushed back on one key point: that players were somehow safer not playing football.
"Look," Saban told ESPN in August, "players are a lot safer with us than they are running around at home. We have around a 2% positive ratio on our team since the Fourth of July. It's a lot higher than that in society. We act like these guys can't get this unless they play football. They can get it anywhere, whether they're in a bar or just hanging out."
Saban, who repeatedly encouraged mask-wearing and social distancing, also supported players on his team such as running back Najee Harris and quarterback Mac Jones, who were active in the college football-wide "#WeWantToPlay" movement on social media.
— Mac Jones (@MacJones_10) August 10, 2020
#WeWantToPlay pic.twitter.com/6kTPmMTR8s
— Najee Harris (@ohthatsNajee22) August 10, 2020
Harris said he was already 22 years old and that waiting another year might hurt him when it comes to NFL talent evaluators.
"Everybody acts like we want to play for the money," Saban said. "We want to play for the players. I want to play for the players."
Play begins, and Heisman contenders step out
Ohio State: When the Buckeyes' season finally kicked off on Oct. 24, quarterback Justin Fields, whose 2019 numbers would have led to a Heisman Trophy in almost any other year, continued his brilliant play.
He completed 20 of 21 passes in a 52-17 opening win over Nebraska, accounting for three total touchdowns. Ohio State then went into an eerily empty Beaver Stadium on Halloween night and beat Penn State 38-25, with Fields passing for 318 yards and four touchdowns, and completing 28 of 34 attempts. Through three games, he had as many touchdown passes (11) as incompletions, and zero interceptions.
But Fields and the Buckeyes later showed some cracks in their biggest regular-season game, a Nov. 21 home showdown against surging Indiana, enjoying its highest AP poll ranking (No. 9) since 1967. Fields threw three interceptions, matching his season total from 2019. Although Indiana converted none of the picks into points, the Hoosiers rallied from a 35-7 third-quarter deficit to close to within a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. IU quarterback Michael Penix Jr. passed for 491 yards -- the second-highest single-game total in team history -- and five touchdowns, as the Hoosiers picked apart a vulnerable Ohio State secondary. Ohio State emerged with a 42-35 win, but also doubts about its CFP viability.
Alabama: There had been a school of thought during the summer that perhaps Mac Jones wasn't the answer at quarterback. Five-star freshman Bryce Young had joined the program as an early enrollee, and he had intriguing tools as a passer and runner.
But when Alabama released its initial depth chart on Sept. 21, there was no "OR" listed at the quarterback position. It was Jones' job, and his alone. Young would be his backup and wouldn't play a meaningful snap all season.
And Jones, who had patiently waited behind Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa early in his career, didn't disappoint as he managed to lead an offense that was as explosive as it was efficient. Jones would finish third in the Heisman Trophy voting, throwing for 4,036 yards and 36 touchdowns through 12 games, all while completing 77.0% of his passes with only four interceptions.
But the defense, which was replacing four of five starters in the secondary, didn't have quite the same rosy start. Against Ole Miss in Week 3, it barely survived a back-and-forth battle that lasted until late in the fourth quarter, giving up 48 points and a school record 647 yards of offense. Saban received a false positive COVID-19 test the following week, and against Georgia the defense once again struggled in the first half, giving up 24 points as Alabama trailed by three at halftime.
Coming out of halftime is when the turnaround started, though, as the defense pitched a shutout in the second half and allowed an average of 8.8 points over the next six games. Dylan Moses, who was still recovering from season-ending knee surgery, started playing with more confidence, and freshmen defensive backs Malachi Moore and Brian Branch gained valuable experience.
But the march to a perfect regular season came at a cost as star receiver and return specialist Jaylen Waddle broke his ankle during an Oct. 24 win against Tennessee. It was a potentially catastrophic blow as Waddle, a likely first-round pick, was arguably the most explosive player in college football. The junior from Houston had at least 120 receiving yards in each of Alabama's first four games and ranked sixth all time in school history in punt return yards.
Somehow, the offense didn't miss a beat. Sophomore John Metchie III stepped up, catching seven passes for 151 yards against the Vols, and DeVonta Smith took his game to another level, morphing from someone who was already one of the best receivers in college football into the Heisman Trophy front-runner -- and its eventual winner.
Smith caught a whopping four touchdowns against Mississippi State the week after Waddle went down. He would score a pair of touchdowns in each of the next two games against Kentucky and Auburn, before returning home to Louisiana and scoring three more times against LSU.
Smith wound up leading the FBS in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. And to prove he was more than just a receiver, he'd score a rushing touchdown and a punt return touchdown en route to the trophy.
Both coaches get COVID-19 as virus threatens title hopes
Alabama: The drama of Saban's false positive test in October, as he tested out of COVID-19 protocols hours before the game against Georgia, made for one of the strangest news cycles of the college football season. But when he tested positive again a month later, there was no doubt that he had contracted the virus and would miss 10 days, including a pivotal Iron Bowl matchup against No. 22 Auburn.
Alabama won the game against its in-state rival handily, 42-13, with offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian assuming coaching duties, and Saban cleared protocol just in time the following week to fly with the team to face another rival in Baton Rouge.
There, Alabama avenged its loss to LSU a year earlier. It seemed a cathartic experience for the Tide as it dominated the Tigers 55-17 with Smith, a Louisiana native, announcing his Heisman candidacy with 231 yards and three touchdowns, including a mind-boggling, one-handed grab.
Ohio State: While Alabama cruised toward the SEC title and CFP, Ohio State's road to the Big Ten championship wouldn't be nearly as smooth.
When the Big Ten reinstated the fall season, it did so with stringent protocols around COVID-19 quarantines and participation thresholds, as well as a policy about qualification for the league championship. Teams had to play at least six of eight games -- unless the division average for games fell below six -- to qualify for the division title. Most COVID-19 outbreaks caused teams to miss two weeks, and the Big Ten schedule had no open dates, so Ohio State, like others, had little wiggle room.
Ohio State had a Nov. 14 game at Maryland canceled because of COVID-19 concerns within the Maryland program. Then, days after the Indiana win, COVID-19 cases rose in the Ohio State program. On Nov. 27, Ohio State announced that Day had tested positive. The Buckeyes added an additional round of testing and pushed back their departure to Illinois to the morning of the game Nov. 28. But late on Nov. 27, Ohio State canceled the game, saying positive tests had continued to rise. "If we got on that plane or bus," a team source said, "we could have been a time bomb and blew ourselves up."
The Buckeyes now had to play their remaining two games to reach the six-game threshold. They traveled to Michigan State without 23 players, including three starting offensive linemen and starting linebacker and co-captain Tuf Borland. With Day still in quarantine, someone else would have to lead the team in East Lansing. Although Ohio State has several accomplished assistants, Day picked defensive line coach Larry Johnson to oversee the team. The 68-year-old Johnson became Ohio State's first Black head coach in football.
On Dec. 5, Ohio State thumped Michigan State 52-12 behind Fields and a ferocious defense, dousing Johnson with Gatorade in the closing seconds. But more problems lurked. Michigan had canceled its game with Maryland because of a COVID-19 outbreak. The Ohio State-Michigan game, played annually since 1917, was in jeopardy. Big Ten athletic directors had a Dec. 9 meeting where they were set to discuss adjusting the minimum-games requirement.
On Dec. 8, Michigan canceled The Game, putting Ohio State's Big Ten title hopes -- and CFP chances -- very much in doubt.
Da❌n.
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 8, 2020
"If we don't quite get the games we need to get in the championship game, I think [the rule] needs to be looked at hard, just like anybody else in the conference," Day said. "There's no easy solution in times like this."
Making it in
Alabama: The wheels very nearly came off Alabama's quest for an undefeated season and a No. 1 seed in the playoff during the SEC championship game against Florida on Dec. 19. After jumping out to a commanding 35-17 halftime lead, the Tide let the lead steadily slip away.
The offense stalled in the third quarter and the early- season flaws of the defense were exposed once again by the Gators' talented trio of quarterback Kyle Trask, tight end Kyle Pitts and wide receiver Kadarius Toney. A Pitts touchdown made it a one-score game with 2:07 remaining and Alabama needed to recover an onside kick to hold on and win the game 52-46.
The problem? As Saban took hold of the SEC championship trophy, starting center Landon Dickerson stood on the field in crutches.
Shortly after it was announced that Alabama had earned the No. 1 seed and would play Notre Dame in the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Capital One, Saban was given the results of an MRI that showed Dickerson had suffered structural damage to his knee and would be unable to play the rest of the season.
The job of replacing Dickerson, who was the vocal leader of not just the line but the entire offense, fell to Chris Owens. The fifth-year senior stepped into the starting lineup under immense pressure of a playoff semifinal game in his hometown of Arlington, Texas.
And Owens shined, as did the rest of the team. Notre Dame, which had limped into the playoff after losing to Clemson 34-10 in the ACC title game, was manhandled by Alabama. Jones threw for four touchdowns, Harris ran for 125 yards and Smith added three scores as the Tide rolled over the Irish 31-14.
Alabama had punched its ticket to the CFP title game for the fifth time in six seasons.
Ohio State: The Michigan cancellation meant that Ohio State would finish the regular season at 5-0. The Buckeyes could pick up a game during the Big Ten's champions week, but the door to the league championship in Indianapolis wasn't closed.
Athletic directors and other administrators met Dec. 9 and decided to change the policy, reasoning that Ohio State needed only a sixth game, not even a win against Michigan, to qualify under the original rules. The Buckeyes, who appeared in the top four of the CFP rankings each week, already held a tiebreaker over Indiana, which wouldn't have changed if they had lost to Michigan.
The policy change didn't prompt as much backlash from within the Big Ten. "Although we understand the conference's decision, we are disappointed," Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson said in a statement.
Some saw the decision as further evidence of indecisiveness, or favorable treatment for its top program.
While Ohio State was bound for Indianapolis for the fourth consecutive year, the Buckeyes once again would be shorthanded. Top wide receiver Chris Olave, starting linebacker Baron Browning and others were out against Northwestern on Dec. 19. Fields had his worst game as a Buckeye, completing just 12 of 27 passes for 114 yards with no touchdowns and two more interceptions, while injuring the thumb on his throwing hand. Ohio State trailed until late in the third quarter, when running back Trey Sermon scored the team's first touchdowns. Sermon rushed for a team-record 331 yards and Ohio State's defense clamped down as the Buckeyes won their fourth straight Big Ten title and essentially locked up a CFP spot with a 22-10 victory.
The following day, it became official: Ohio State would face Clemson in a CFP semifinal rematch, after dominating much of the 2019 game but struggling to score touchdowns and overcome Trevor Lawrence and the officiating crew. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney made it clear he didn't think the Buckeyes and their limited profile belonged, ranking Ohio State No. 11 in his final coaches' poll.
Swinney's ranking added even more fuel for an Ohio State team that needed none, after the way the semifinal loss had unfolded the previous year.
Down starting guard Harry Miller and running back Master Teague III, Ohio State paced Clemson for 15 minutes before pulling away during a dominant second quarter behind Fields. The quarterback briefly went to Ohio State's medical tent and received injections after taking a helmet to his right side from Clemson star linebacker James Skalski (who was ejected for targeting). Fields played through the pain to throw six touchdowns -- an Allstate Sugar Bowl record and an Ohio State bowl record -- and 385 yards on 78.6% completions as the Buckeyes won 49-28 to reach the national title game.
The matchup was set.
It figures that a season filled with numerous cancellations and postponements would culminate with a national championship game that for a time seemed as if it was in doubt.
ESPN's Heather Dinich reported earlier this week that COVID-19 concerns within the Ohio State program had prompted discussions about pushing the game back. However, athletic directors from both schools said that the game would be played as scheduled, and CFP executive director Bill Hancock told ESPN there would be "no changes."
On Thursday, Ohio State's Day declined to provide an update on who would and wouldn't be available, but said definitively, "We'll have plenty of players."
So, this close to the end, is it fair to call it a successful season?
Saban said Thursday "it's been good" that football was played this fall, whether it was in college or the NFL.
"I would say under the circumstances that we're pleased with the way this season has gone and the number of games we've been able to play, the players having the opportunity to compete and now to culminate it with actually a playoff and a championship game," he said.
For Ohio State, faced with losing certain players for the game, Day called it a "gut punch" but said it's something they're used to after this year's trials.
"You can feel sorry for yourself, or you can continue to work on and push through it," he said. "For us, that's why the story about this season is so amazing to me. We continue to push through despite all these difficult challenges along the way, and no different this week. We got a new set of challenges this week. We're going to have to figure it out, go down to Miami and play."