Phidarian Mathis Dominates Veteran Cincinnati Front
On Friday afternoon in the Cotton Bowl, Phil Mathis certainly "#MadeEmmPhilit", dominating the Cincinnati offensive line to the tune of three tackles, two of which for loss, a sack and two pass breakups.
The former four-star out of Monroe, LA was sensational for the Crimson Tide against a Cincinnati team that managed to keep the score close for much of the game by having a similar performance against Alabama's offense.
While Bama's offense appeared to sputter at times, the defense was locked in from start-to-finish. Mathis wreaked havoc from the inside, helping the Tide finish the game with six sacks.
Will Anderson may have taken home the game's defensive MVP award, but his success was aided by Mathis' constant pressure that was instrumental in holding Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder to just 144 passing yards and no touchdowns.
The Bearcats came into the matchup averaging over 400 yards of offense and 38 points per game, but left Dallas with just six points and 218 yards.
Mathis has been an anchor of the defensive line all season for Alabama, but truly made his presence known against Cincinnati, and likely made himself a lot of money in this year's draft as well.
With their Cotton Bowl win, the Crimson Tide advance to their second consecutive national title game, and will face off against the winner of the Orange Bowl between Georgia and Michigan. Regardless of who Alabama matches up with, the Tide will certainly have their hands full and will have to recreate the success found on defense against the Bearcats.