Peach Bowl Playoff semifinal 2016 final score: Alabama squashes Washington, 24-7

Live box score? I recommend ESPN’s.

Alabama 24, Washington 7 (FINAL). Alabama is going for its fifth national title in eight years, the sixth of Nick Saban’s full career. The Tide held Jake Browning to only 3.9 yards per throw and the Huskies to only 1.5 yards per carry, with backup RB Bo Scarbrough running for 180 of Bama’s 327 yards. Total suffocation, after the early TD by the Huskies.

The Tide will now meet the winner of Clemson-Ohio State in Tampa on Jan. 9.

Alabama 24, Washington 7 (4:22, 4Q). UW’s crossed midfield once all game: on the first drive. Don’t even need to know a whole lot more than that. Also:

Alabama 24, Washington 7 (11:56, 4Q). Bo. Scarbrough. The player everyone was yelling for Lane Kiffin to feed all day long finally got to eat, and a 68-yard journey to end a 99-yard drive was the result. The Huskies went from their biggest peak in a couple quarters to being all but out of this game, all in just a handful of plays.

Alabama 17, Washington 7 (END OF THIRD). The Huskies are finally driving near midfield, overcoming (among other things) a fumble forced by Bama’s Ryan Anderson clapping to simulate the Huskies’ signal, which is supposed to be against the rules. Crafty, and got away with it.

Alabama 17, Washington 7 (4:31, 4Q). Again, not much has happened, other than each team recovering a fumble of its own. So I’d like to draw your attention to Nick Saban being so mad about a delay of game that followed one of those fumbles that he is literally hopping mad:

Also, neither offense is doing anything, but Bama’s owned the field position game.

Alabama 17, Washington 7 (HALF). The yardage battle: 145 to 138, UW. The difference: two Bama turnovers that set up 10 points. That’s it. Both teams are even virtually across the board elsewhere, with running backs Bo Scarbrough (80 total yards) and Myles Gaskin (56) the offensive leaders for their teams.

Alabama 17, Washington 7 (1:13). Finally, another score! By Bama’s defense! That’s defensive TD No. 11 this year, this time by Ryan Anderson.

Alabama 10, Washington 7 (1:32). Both defenses continue to dominate, thanks in some part to Bama’s insistence on throwing now and then instead of just handing to Bo Scarbrough on every play. So here’s an uplifting moment for all to enjoy:

Alabama 10, Washington 7 (9:03, 2Q). Neither offense has done much for a while, but Washington’s Tristan Vizcaino has had two of these long-bounding punts now, challenging Alabama’s JK Scott to a vigorous punt duel:

Alabama 10, Washington 7 (14:57, 2Q). Bama’s first lead of the day, but thanks to its defense. Jonathan Allen recovered a fumble to set up a short field.

Washington 7, Alabama 7 (5:01, 1Q). Bama’s offense showed up, with seven runs on an eight-play drive, including power back Bo Scarbrough getting three totes and the 18-yard dunk for the score. The Tide are evidently under the impression they can boss UW around a little bit.

Washington 7, Alabama 0 (8:01, 1Q). WELL WELL WELL. A 48-play drive capped by a 16-yard, over-the-shoulder toss from Jake Browning to Dante Pettis has the 14-point underdog up by seven early. Bama didn’t do anything on its first drive of the game.

No. 1 Alabama (13-0) enters its third College Football Playoff in a row — there have only been three ever — as an enormous, two-touchdown favorite over No. 4 Washington (12-1), which is making its first appearance.

The Tide have the country’s best defense and paraded through an SEC that was a bit below its usual standards, while the Huskies were clearly the Pac-12’s best team on the year, other than a bad loss to USC, which had gotten destroyed by the Tide earlier in the year.

The winner will advance to Tampa on Jan. 9 to play the winner of tonight’s Clemson-Ohio State Fiesta Bowl. That one is expected to be a good bit more even than this one.