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NEW YEAR'S HANGOVER — If you weren't watching college football all day Thursday, we don't know what's wrong.
What? Was there a holiday to celebrate or something?
The College Football Playoff committee's decision to play the two semifinals on New Year's Eve was met with plenty of derision by a lot of people not named ESPN, but the first year of what may become an annual tradition appears to have finished well enough.
If nothing else, it left us with a few of the Internet's crowning moments from Thursday night.
Here are some of our favorites, from ditching coaches to fake punts to the retirement of "Clemsoning."
Mark Dantonio has no time for ESPN's theatrics
With his Spartans focused on its first College Football Playoff against Alabama, Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio showed his focus on the game as well — cutting his pregame interview short.
Dantonio muttered, "we gotta play, we gotta play" as ESPN's Heather Cox asked her first question, then when Cox asked a follow-up about game prep, he cut her off.
"Don't flinch," Dantonio said, immediately walking away to join the Spartans' pregame huddle.
Mark Dantonio was not trying to do this interview 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/pUNu56SXxO
— Erick Fernandez (@ErickFernandez) January 1, 2016Cox, to her credit, handled the moment well — stepping aside as the coach exited and immediately tossing to colleague Tom Rinaldi and Nick Saban on the Alabama sideline.
And then, in short, this happened.
Alabama wrecks Michigan State pic.twitter.com/VusOZ4YEO5
— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) January 1, 2016
Michigan State lost to the Crimson Tide 38-0. Alabama advanced to face top-ranked Clemson in next week's national championship.
Dantonio probably didn't want to be talking to the media after the game, either.
Clemson pulls off epic fake punt
In the early Orange Bowl semifinal, the Tigers may have pulled off the greatest fake punt of all time en route to a 37-17 win over Oklahoma.
Clemson punter Andy Teasdall stopped mid-punt, rolled out of the pocket, and tossed to freshman defensive tackle Christian Wilkins for a first down that set up the Tigers' first touchdown and a 10-7 lead before Oklahoma took a 17-16 advantage into halftime.
🚨🚨FAKE PUNT ALERT!!!🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/hfWFM8BOkv
— HuffPost Sports (@HuffPostSports) December 31, 2015A fake punt, a first down, a fat-guy reception, and a win in the national semifinals? That's a good play.
Clemson will face Alabama in the championship game Jan. 7 in Glendale, Arizona.
Somebody really did ask Dabo Swinney about 'Clemsoning' again
The Clemson head coach's volatile relationship with a well-known portion of pop culture that even has its own Urban Dictionary definition was in no mood to talk about "Clemsoning" after his Tigers' 37-17 win over Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.
When someone mentioned putting 'Clemsoning' to rest, Dabo Swinney interjects, "Next question. Next question."
— Kirk Bohls (@kbohls) January 1, 2016Reporter: "I guess we can put the term 'Clemsoning' to rest?" Entire podium groaned.
— Adam Lichtenstein (@ABLichtenstein) January 1, 2016Even the most professional Clemson reporter will forgive the coach's reaction — he deserved forgiveness. Also, Associated Press scribe Paul Newberry turned it into a fine lede for his game recap.
We all remember the last time Swinney was asked about "Clemsoning," which gave us arguably the greatest rant of the 2015 college football season. Re-live it here.
