Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic Recap

Friday, December 31, 2021 | 2:30 p.m. CT No. 1 Alabama 27, No. 4 Cincinnati 6 AT&T Stadium | Arlington, Texas

SCORE BY QUARTERS	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	FINAL
UC #4 Cincinnati (13-1)	3	0	3	0	6
UA #1 Alabama (13-1)	7	10	0	10	27

2021 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

GAME BOOK

Attendance:
76,313

Kickoff Time:
2:40 p.m. CT

End of Game:
5:59 p.m. CT

Game Duration:
3:18

SCORING SUMMARY

QTR	TIME	SCORE (V-H)	TEAM	SCORING PLAY	DRIVE
1st	09:51	0-7	Alabama	Slade Bolden 8 yd pass from Bryce Young (Will Reichard kick)	11-75 (05:09)
1st	04:52	3-7	Cincinnati	Cole Smith 33 yd FG	13-60 (04:59)
2nd	14:56	3-10	Alabama	Will Reichard 26 yd FG	13-67 (04:56)
2nd	01:36	3-17	Alabama	Ja'Corey Brooks 44 yd pass from Bryce Young (Will Reichard kick)	8-94 (02:03)
3rd	09:57	6-17	Cincinnati	Cole Smith 37 yd FG	11-56 (05:03)
4th	13:52	6-24	Alabama	Cameron Latu 9 yd pass from Bryce Young (Will Reichard kick)	9-70 (04:02)
4th	06:20	6-27	Alabama	Will Reichard 43 yd FG	9-49 (04:02)

CINCINNATI STARTERS

POS.	NO.	OFFENSE
QB	9	Desmond Ridder
TE	11	Leonard Taylor
WR	12	Alec Pierce
WR	21	Tyler Scott
RB	24	Jerome Ford
OL	50	Dylan O'Quinn
OL	51	Lorenz Metz
OL	56	Jake Renfro
OL	72	James Tunstall
OL	74	Jeremy Cooper
TE	81	Josh Whyle

POS.	NO.	DEFENSE
LB	0	Darrian Beavers
DB	1	Ahmad Gardner
DB	3	Ja'von Hicks
S	6	Bryan Cook
DB	7	Coby Bryant
DB	9	Arquon Bush
LB	13	Ty Van Fossen
DL	18	Jowon Briggs
DL	21	Myjai Sanders
LB	41	Joel Dublanko
DL	92	Curtis Brooks

CINCINNATI RESERVES

0 - Charles McClelland, 2 - Wilson Huber, 4 - Ethan Wright, 5 - Jaquan Sheppard, 7 - Tre Tucker, 8 - Michael Young, 10 - Bryon Threats, 12 - Todd Bumphis, 14 - Wyatt Fischer, 15 - Taj Ward, 17 - Cole Smith, 20 - Jadon Thompson, 20 - Deshawn Pace, 22 - Ryan Montgomery, 23 - Daved Jones Jr., 24 - Jaheim Thomas, 29 - Jacob Dingle, 30 - Michael Kopaygorodsky, 31 - Mason Fletcher, 35 - Ryan Royer, 36 - Will Adams, 39 - Bryce Burton, 42 - Malik Vann, 47 - Nate Lawler, 60 - Joe Huber, 65 - Cody Lamb, 70 - Joey Groeber, 71 - Colin Woodside, 75 - John Williams, 77 - Vincent McConnell, 78 - Luke Collinsworth, 82 - Noah Davis, 90 - Jabari Taylor, 91 - Alex Bales, 96 - Cayson Pfeiffer, 99 - Marcus Brown.

ALABAMA STARTERS

POS.	NO.	OFFENSE
WR	1	Jameson Williams
RB	4	Brian Robinson Jr.
WR	7	Ja'Corey Brooks
QB	9	Bryce Young
WR	18	Slade Bolden
OL	55	Emil Ekiyor Jr.
OL	56	Seth McLaughlin
OL	70	Javion Cohen
OL	73	Evan Neal
OL	79	Chris Owens
TE	81	Cameron Latu

POS.	NO.	DEFENSE
DB	1	Kool-Aid McKinstry
DB	2	DeMarcco Hellams
DB	5	Jalyn Armour-Davis
LB	8	Christian Harris
DB	9	Jordan Battle
LB	10	Henry To'oTo'o
DB	14	Brian Branch
LB	31	Will Anderson Jr.
DL	47	Byron Young
DL	48	Phidarian Mathis
DL	94	DJ Dale

ALABAMA RESERVES

3 - Daniel Wright, 5 - Javon Baker, 6 - Trey Sanders, 6 - Khyree Jackson, 10 - JoJo Earle, 11 - Kristian Story, 11 - Traeshon Holden, 12 - Christian Leary, 13 - Malachi Moore, 14 - Thaiu Jones-Bell, 15 - Dallas Turner, 16 - Will Reichard, 18 - LaBryan Ray, 19 - Jahleel Billingsley, 20 - Drew Sanders, 27 - DeVonta Smith, 30 - King Mwikuta, 35 - Shane Lee, 37 - Demouy Kennedy, 41 - Chris Braswell, 42 - Jaylen Moody, 50 - Tim Smith, 51 - Kneeland Hibbett, 60 - Kendall Randolph, 65 - JC Latham, 74 - Damieon George Jr., 75 - Tommy Brown, 78 - Amari Kight, 84 - Agiye Hall, 86 - James Burnip, 92 - Justin Eboigbe.

OFFENSIVE
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Brian Robinson Jr.
Sr., RB, Alabama

DEFENSIVE
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Will Anderson Jr.
So., LB, Alabama

TEAM STATISTICS	UC	UA
First downs	13	27
Rushing	6	16
Passing	7	10
Penalty	0	1
Rushes-Yards	26-74	47-301
Passing Yards	144	181
Passes Comp-Att-Int	17-32-0	17-28-1
Total Offense (Plays-Yards)	58-218	75-482
Punt Returns-Yards	1-12	4-8
Kickoff Returns-Yards	1-40	1-15
Punts (Number-Avg)	5-45.2	2-44.0
Fumbles-Lost	0-0	1-0
Sacks By (Number-Yards)	2-8	6-38
Penalties-Yards	6-39	6-36
3rd Down Conversions	2-of-12	5-of-13
4th Down Conversions	0-of-3	1-of-1

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing:	Cincinnati - Jerome Ford, 15-77; Ryan Montgomery, 1-3; Desmond Ridder, 10- -6. Alabama - Brian Robinson Jr., 26-204; Trey Sanders, 14-67; Jameson Williams, 1-18; Bryce Young, 6-12.
Passing:	Cincinnati - Desmond Ridder, 17-32-0, 144. Alabama - Bryce Young, 17-28-1, 181, 3 TD.
Receiving:	Cincinnati - Michael Young, 4-55; Tyler Scott, 4-43; Jerome Ford, 3-11; Alec Pierce, 2-17; Tre Tucker, 2-12; Josh Whyle, 1-12; Leonard Taylor, 1- -6. Alabama -Jameson Williams, 7-62; Ja'Corey Brooks, 4-66, 1 TD; Slade Bolden, 3-31, 1 TD; Jahleel Billingsley, 1-12; Cameron Latu, 1-9, 1 TD; Trey Sanders, 1-1.
Punting:	Cincinnati - Mason Fletcher, 5-226, 45.2. Alabama - James Burnip, 2-88, 44.0.
Returns:	Cincinnati - Punt: Ryan Montgomery, 1-12; Kickoff: Tyler Scott, 1-40; Intercept: Bryan Cook, 1-0. Alabama - Punt: JoJo Earle, 2- -7; Slade Bolden, 2- -1; Kickoff: Jameson Williams, 1-15; Intercept: None.
Field Goals:	Cincinnati - Cole Smith, 2-2 (33 Good, 37 Good). Alabama - Will Reichard, 2-3 (26 Good, 44 Missed, 43 Good).
Tackles: (Solo-Assist-Total, Sacks-Yds, TFL-Yds)	Cincinnati - Darrian Beavers (4-6-10, 1-6, 2-9); Bryan Cook (4-5-9, 0, 0); Deshawn Pace (3-6-9, 0, 0.5-0); Ja'von Hicks (3-5-8, 0, 0); Ty Van Fossen (2-6-8, 0, 0); Joel Dublanko (3-4-7, 0, 0.5-1); Myjai Sanders (2-5-7, 0, 0); Curtis Brooks (2-4-6, 0, 0); Ahmad Gardner (2-3-5, 0, 1-1); Arquon Bush (3-1-4, 0, 1-2); Coby Bryant (2-2-4, 0, 0); Marcus Brown (1-2-3, 0, 0); Wilson Huber (1-0-1, 1-2, 1-2); Jabari Taylor (0-1-1, 0, 0); Jowon Briggs (0-1-1, 0, 0); Malik Vann (0-1-1, 0, 0). Alabama - Brian Branch (6-2-8, 0.5-2, 0.5-2); Jordan Battle (6-1-7, 0, 0); Will Anderson Jr. (2-4-6, 2-12, 2-12); DeMarcco Hellams (2-4-6, 0, 0); Henry To'oTo'o (1-4-5, 0, 0); Kool-Aid McKinstry (1-4-5, 0, 0); Christian Harris (1-3-4, 0.5-5, 0.5-5); Phidarian Mathis (2-1-3, 1-6, 2-7); Khyree Jackson (1-2-3, 0, 0); Jalyn Armour-Davis (1-1-2, 0, 0); Daniel Wright (1-1-2, 0, 1-6); DJ Dale (1-0-1, 1-9, 1-9); Dallas Turner (1-0-1, 1-4, 1-4); Byron Young (1-0-1, 0, 0); Demouy Kennedy (1-0-1, 0, 0); Justin Eboigbe (0-1-1, 0, 0).