The 3rd time as national champion was truly a charm for Clemson University.

In dethroning Alabama 44-16 Monday night at Levi Stadium, the Tigers reached rarified air in college football.

They became the first team to defeat the Nick Saban-coached Crimson Tide by more than 14 points and finished with a perfect 15-0 record.

The last college football team to win 15 games in a season was Penn in 1897. The NCAA single-season record is 16 co-shared by Yale, which did it twice in 1889 and 1894, and Chicago in 1899.

“I’ve got to congratulate Clemson,” Saban said. “They did a very, very good job. Their quarterback’s really good. Their skill players are really good.”

Clemson broke open a closely-fought first quarter by outscoring Alabama 30-3 the rest of the way. In fact, the Tigers scored 30 unanswered points after falling behind 16-14 with 11:38 left in the second quarter.

Running back Travis Etienne capped two scoring drives in the second quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run and a 5-yard receiving TD to go with a 17-yard scoring run in the first quarter. A 36-yard field goal by Greg Huegel made it 31-16 at the half

In the 3rd quarter, Clemson freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw 2 touchdown passes to Justyn Ross of 74 yards and Tee Higgins of 5 yards.

Lawrence finished 20-32 passing for 347 yards, 153 of those yards on 6 catches by Ross, and was named Offensive MVP.

Defensively, Isaiah Simmons led the Tigers with 9 tackles. Defensive back A.J. Terrell had 8 tackles, including a 44-yard interception return of Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s pass for the opening score.

Defensive tackle Albert Huggins of Orangeburg-Wilkinson, who started the last 2 games after Dexter Lawrence was suspended, had 5 tackles.

Clemson defensive back Trayvon Mullen, who had a 47-yard interception return of Tagovailoa to set up one of Etienne’s scores, was named defensive MVP.

“I felt like we had the better team,” said Clemson head coach Dabo Swimmey of his second national title. “I felt like our leadership, our will to win, I could just sense it. Our guys made plays. We came in with the mindset that we were going to attack and we did the whole night.”