A thrilling championship game that will go down as one of the best in history made for a mediocre bowl season.

Deshaun Watson, who is, in my opinion, the most valuable player in college football, outplayed everyone, and the kid’s only a sophomore.

Watson led the mighty Clemson Tigers to a 14-1 record this season while throwing for 405 yards and four touchdowns, and also adding 73 yards on the ground during the championship game.

Watson, for lack of better words, put the team on his back throughout the season, but he did so  especially during the BCS Championship game against Alabama on Jan. 11. Watson, who I believed was going to win the Heisman Trophy back in December, has been the best player in college football this season. My previous predictions can be read here.

However, this year’s College Football Championship was truly a battle between the two best teams in the country, and it was one of the best games I’ve seen. Now, I am not the biggest Alabama fan out there, but both teams proved they belonged on the national stage.

One of the main reasons why I am not a Bama fan is because of their fake fan base. I’m not arguing that the Alabama dynasty isn’t impressive, because it is, but due to their constant hype they have what I would like to call “bandwagon fans”; fans that start cheering for a team just because they’re popular or doing well.

I do believe that Alabama is a great football legacy thanks to the help of head coach Nick Saban. Saban gets the job done. He continually has 12-win seasons while consistently obtaining the number-one recruiting class in the nation.

My standout performers from the National Championship game were Deshaun Watson, Derrick Henry, Hunter Renfrow, and Kenyan Drake. Watson and Renfrow of Clemson both dominated the game offensively, while Henry and Drake added electrifying plays for the Crimson Tide.

Watson’s sophomore campaign was one that will go down in history. He was born to play on the big stage and even tweeted about the opportunity in 2012, before he was even at Clemson. Watson tweeted on Feb. 4, 2012, saying “If I get a chance to play in a national championship game, Imma go ham.”

Derrick Henry, the Heisman winner, was nothing but spectacular. Henry busted open the game’s first touchdown. The guy is a monster with shear size and strength. He will be a dominant force in the NFL next year.

Kenyan Drake provided the game’s most electrifying play, a 95-yard kick return for a touchdown. With Alabama only up by four and Clemson knocking on the door, Drake took the kickoff to the house to give Bama some much needed momentum.

However, the surprise of the night was Hunter Renfrow, a redshirt freshman who played quarterback in high school, provided Clemson’s first two touchdowns. Renfrow, a walk-on player last year, is now on a scholarship and making a huge impact in the receiving game. Renfrow is not your stereotypical wide receiver at 5-feet-10-inches, but even at that size, he is proving everyone wrong.

The College Football Championship was exciting and sent college football out with a bang. However, aside from the Championship game, the bowl season has been disappointing to say the least. There were too many games that ended in blowouts and viewership was at an all time low. Maybe that’s because the college football committee decided to air the two playoff games on New Year’s Eve when everyone was out, but that could just be me.  

Last year’s championship viewership was 7.6 million viewers higher than this year’s. And needless to say this year’s game was much more entertaining.

The college football playoff games, leading up to the championship were pitiful. Number one ranked Clemson blew out number four ranked Oklahoma 37-14 while number two ranked Alabama destroyed Michigan State 38-0. The blowouts weren’t the only reason for low viewership.

Last year’s playoff games were played on New Year’s Day when most people are sitting around watching TV with their family anyway. However, this year’s games were played on New Year’s Eve, a holiday which is known as one of the biggest nights for going out all year.

Although viewership was substantially down this year, the bowl season truly did go out in style as many viewers claimed it was one of the best games they’ve seen in awhile.   

Alex Rasmussen is the Social Media Manager for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.