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JOESKIPPER—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) runs with the ball as Oklahoma defensive tackle Matthew Romar (92) attempts to stop him, during the Orange Bowl college football semifinal playoff Thursday in Miami Gardens, Fla. ByPaulNewberry TheAssociatedPress We'redowntotwo. And, boy, they both look impres- sive. Top-ranked Clemson and No. 2 Al- abama will face off in the desert for the national championship after dom- inating wins in the College Football Playoff semifinals Thursday. The Ti- gers romped in the second half for a 37-17 win over No. 4 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, followed by an even more dominating performance in which the Crimson Tide thumped Michigan State 38-0 in the Cotton Bowl. The Jan. 11 title game in Glen- dale, Arizona, matches a high-scor- ing Clemson offense led by quarter- back Deshaun Watson against Nick Saban's latest dominating defense at Alabama, which limited the Spartans to 239 yards. There's another story line to the ti- tle game. Clemson coach Dabo Swin- ney is an Alabama alumnus who played on the Tide's 1992 national championship team. Now, he's going against the great- est coach of this generation. Saban has won three national titles in the last six years at Alabama, to go along with a BCS title at LSU. Clemson and Alabama will be play- ing for the first time since 2008, when Alabama won 34-10 in a game that signaled the Tide's return to national prominence under Saban. That was also a pivotal year for the Tigers. Embattled coach Tommy Bowden resigned after six games, and Swinney — who was in charge of re- ceivers — took over as head coach. Serving at first on an interim basis, he got the job permanently after lead- ing Clemson to bowl eligibility. Now, he's got the Tigers within one win of their first national title since 1981. "I knew that we would be here," Swinney said. "It was just a matter of when." Alabama is playing for another ti- tle after being upset by Ohio State in the semifinals of the inaugural Col- lege Football Playoff. Saban said his team came into this playoff with a different attitude. "Last year we sort of just partic- ipated in the game," he said. "This year, we really wanted to make a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Clemson,Alabamatorumble Arelastteamsstanding in college football a er playoff semifinal wins Staff Report REDDING A big second quarter from the Weed Cougars was the difference in a Mercy Warriors loss Thursday afternoon at the Liberty Christian tournament 68-61. The teams finished the first tied at 12 but Mercy had trouble scoring and only put up 7 in the second quarter to go into the half down 24-19. The Cougars added another 3 to their lead in the third quarter and matched the War- riors in a high-scoring final frame to hold on for the win. Nick Ornelas was named player of the game for the Warriors, with 19 points and four assists. Other standouts for the War- riors were Teddy Ranberg with 17 points, three rebounds and two steals; Junior Grace with 16 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals; Marcus Kuchle with seven points, 10 re- bounds and an assist and Travis Gorden with nine rebounds and an assist. John Ross had three steals. Thursday's loss was just the second of the season for the War- riors (8-2), who prepare to host the Dunsmuir Tigers (1-3) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 7. As previously reported, the Lady Warriors beat Liberty Christian 53-30 earlier in the day Thursday. The Los Molinos Bulldogs boys' and girls' teams played Thursday, the boys facing Quincy and the girls facing Pierce, but no scores or stats had been reported as of 1 p.m. Friday. BASKETBALL Warriors take 2nd defeat of the season By Josh Dubow The Associated Press ALAMEDA A 4,000-yard season, the franchise single-season touch- down record and other milestones are all in reach for Derek Carr heading into Sunday's season fi- nale at Kansas City. Predictably, those all take a back seat to Carr's main objective. "I just want a win," Carr said. "That's my main goal, is going in there and making sure we come out with the victory. I've had some big stat games that have resulted in losses, and that's not why I play this game." Carr has put up significantly better numbers and more than twice as many wins in Year 2 as quarterback of the Raiders (7-8), solidifying his role as a building block for the franchise. Carr needs 207 yards against the Chiefs to join Rich Gannon and Carson Palmer as the only 4,000-yard passers in Raiders history. He's three touchdown NFL Raiders' Carr can achieve big milestones By Greg Beacham The Associated Press PASADENA The first time Christian McCaffrey touched the ball in the 102nd Rose Bowl, he took it 75 yards for a spectac- ular touchdown. A few hundred yards later, Stanford's sopho- more star had smashed the old- est bowl game's record for all- purpose offense while leading the Cardinal to a blowout win over Iowa. Sure, McCaffrey didn't win the Heisman Trophy, and Stan- ford barely missed out on the College Football Playoff. McCaffrey and the mighty Cardinal are still headed into the new year with the Pac-12 champions' most coveted post- season trophy — and the bright- est of futures. McCaffrey caught a touch- down pass on the opening snap and returned a punt 66 yards for another score while racking up 368 all-purpose yards, pro- pelling No. 5 Stanford to a 45- 16 victory over the sixth-ranked Hawkeyes on Friday. Three-time Rose Bowl starter Kevin Hogan passed for 223 yards and three TDs in his fi- nal game for the Cardinal (12-2) as this unlikely Bay Area foot- ball powerhouse won the Grand- daddy of Them All for the sec- ond time in three trips over the past four years. "It's so fun when a team can come together," McCaffrey said. "We've got a bunch of fighters on this team that will never give up. Just love playing with these guys." McCaffrey was sublime in his Rose Bowl debut, breaking the all-purpose yards record set by Wisconsin's Jared Abbrederis in 2012. McCaffrey finished sec- ond behind Alabama's Derrick Henry in the Heisman voting, but the speedy running back left no doubt about his brilliance with one of the most dynamic performances in the Rose Bowl's lengthy history. "I think he was the best player in America before this game, so I think it's just the icing on the cake," Stanford coach Da- vid Shaw said. "I do think it's a shame that a lot of people didn't get to see him during the course of the year. Apparently the games were too late." The world was wide awake to see McCaffrey in Pasadena — and he scored 11 seconds in. Ho- gan's opening throw to McCaf- frey was the second-longest TD pass in Rose Bowl history and the longest play given up all sea- son by the stingy Iowa defense. McCaffrey finished with 172 yards rushing, 105 yards receiv- ing and 91 on kick returns, put- ting an appropriate cap on the season in which he set the NCAA record for all-purpose yards. He also became the first player ever to rack up more than 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving in a Rose Bowl — and he even became the single-season rush- ing leader in Stanford history with 2,109 yards on the ground. "No one doubted that he was going to do that, and I have the best vantage point in the sta- dium," Hogan said of McCaffrey. "He's a special player. He plays with a chip on his shoulder. He does it all." Stanford and Iowa finished in the final two spots outside the College Football Playoff field, but the Cardinal showed they belong among the best with their 12th win in their final 13 games. With a powerful offensive line and a sturdy defense, they also ruined the first trip to Pasadena in 25 years for the Hawkeyes (12-2), who followed up their re- markable 12-0 regular season with two postseason losses. C.J. Beathard passed for 239 yards and two fourth-quar- ter touchdowns for the Hawk- eyes, whose thousands of fans proudly filled the venerable sta- dium with old gold and black. The faithful had painfully little to cheer after Iowa fell behind in the opening seconds, putting a daylong damper on Kirk Fe- rentz's first Rose Bowl after 17 ROSE BOWL STANFORD ROMPS WITH MCCAFFREY Cardinal's do-it-all, star running back sets game's record for all-purpose yards JAE C. HONG — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Stanford quarterback Kevin Hogan celebrates a touchdown against Iowa during the second half of the Rose Bowl on Friday in Pasadena. MARK J. TERRILL — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey scores against Iowa during the first half of the Rose Bowl on Friday in Pasadena. STANFORD45,IOWA16 Stanford: Finishes 12-2. Iowa: Finishes 12-2. THESCORE TITLE PAGE 2 RAIDERS PAGE 2 ROSE PAGE 2 SPORTS » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, January 2, 2016 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B1