Penn State was in command early, despite early foul trouble for Mike Watkins. A 24-0 run midway through the first half enabled Alabama to erase a 14-point deficit and take a six point lead into halftime. In the second half the Crimson Tide got rolling on offense, dominant inside, and making a high-rate of their three point attempts.
Both teams flirted with running away with this one, but after double-digit leads for both sides, we were back in a dead heat with 8 minutes remaining as PSU took a one point lead into the under-8 media timeout.