TAMPA, Fla. -- Dalvin Tomlinson faced his locker with a white towel draped over his head, utter silence surrounding him.
Ryan Anderson, one of the SEC's most intimidating and boisterous players, also faced his locker, head down and speechless, as he refused to take reporters' questions inside a solemn Alabama dressing room following the once top-ranked Tide's 35-31 loss to Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship Presented by AT&T.
A locker room previously filled with so much joy and so many wins -- 26 straight to be exact -- felt like walking into a tomb, as players trudged in and out, barely speaking to anyone, wondering how the heck the supposed best team in the country let a historic season slip through their fingers.