2021 College Football Playoff National Championship
The 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game played on January 11, 2021, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The seventh College Football Playoff National Championship, the game determined the national champion in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for the 2020 season. The game started at 8:15 p.m. EST and was televised by ESPN. It was the final game of the 2020–21 College Football Playoff and, aside from the all-star games scheduled to follow, was the culminating game of the 2020–21 bowl season. Sponsored by telecommunications company AT&T, the game was officially known as the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T.
| 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 7th College Football Playoff National Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 11, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Hard Rock Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Miami Gardens, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Offensive: #6 WR DeVonta Smith, Sr. Alabama Defensive: #58 DT Christian Barmore, So. Alabama | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Alabama by 9.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Prerecorded due to COVID concerns | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Brandon Cruse (Big 12) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Virtual performance from the Intercollegiate Marching Band | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 14,926 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Chris Fowler (play-by-play) Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) Maria Taylor and Allison Williams (sideline) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 10.31 (18.71 million viewers) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN Deportes ESPN Brasil | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | ESPN Deportes: Eduardo Varela and Pablo Viruega ESPN Brasil: Ari Aguiar (play-by-play) and Paulo Mancha (analyst) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The championship featured the winner of the Rose Bowl, the top-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) defeating the winners of the Sugar Bowl, the third-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes from the Big Ten Conference, 52–24. The win gave Alabama head coach Nick Saban his seventh national championship, breaking Bear Bryant's record for the most by a Division I college football coach.