This past Monday, fans of college football were pinned to their television sets. The NCAA Division One FBS Championship took place between the University of Alabama Roll Tide and the University of Georgia Bulldogs.

Both teams earned their spot in the final after winning their respective semifinal bowl games. The University of Georgia, who were ranked number three coming into the playoffs, competed in the Rose Bowl against the University of Oklahoma. The game was predicted to be a close game. The University of Oklahoma was lead by this year’s Heisman Trophy, the award given to the best college football player, winner, quarterback, Baker Mayfield. The game was close alright, going into double overtime. The Bulldogs finally won though, going the distance to win 54-48.

Alabama, ranked number one in the country, was forced to confront the team that beat them in the previous national championship, Clemson, at the Sugar Bowl. Alabama had no issues with the Clemson Tigers, rolling over them to win handily, 24-6.

These bowl games, however, prepared no one for the game that would unfold before millions of viewers’ eyes.

The two teams pushed each other back and forth for the first few minutes of the game, to no real success. Eventually, though, Georgia broke out and took control of the game. After several nonstarters by Nick Saban’s Alabama offense, it seemed that Georgia might win the title they so desperately wanted.

Nick Saban was having none of it, and looked increasingly dissatisfied through the first half. Coach Saban took out his starting quarterback, Jalen Hurst, a player with a 25-2 record in the NCAA, and put in Tua Tagovailoa, a 6’ 1” true freshman from Hawai’i.

Alabama slowly came back over the course of the second half, aided by some questionable play calling by the Georgia offense, and tied the game. Unfortunately, of fortunately depending on your allegiances, Alabama missed a field goal that would have won the game, and regulation expired, and the game headed to overtime,

In overtime Georgia squandered their opportunity at a closure of the game, and merely scored a field goal.

As the Alabama offense came onto the field, the weight of the entire game rested on a college rookie, who after being sacked for a loss of 16 yards, seemed almost too young to be on such a huge stage. Tua quickly proved everyone wrong, and before a huge stadium and millions of television viewers, lobbed a deep ball to an open receiver. The receiver hauled it in, stepped into the end zone, and won Alabama their sixth national championship since 2009.