Bowl picks: 8-3 Season: 93-47
College Football Playoff national championship presented by AT&T in Atlanta
No. 4 Alabama (12-1) vs. No. 3 Georgia (13-1), 8 p.m. ESPN
The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs meet in the SEC champ -- er national championship -- game Monday night in the heart of SEC country in Atlanta. It should be a great atmosphere with both fan bases and schools located so close to the game. The teams did not meet during the regular season. Both lost to Auburn, though Georgia also beat Auburn in the SEC championship. Coincidentally, Auburn lost to Central Florida in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, and the Knights finished the season 13-0 and have declared themselves national champions. It doesn't mean anything, but they ended the season with a flourish and beat a very good SEC team that happened to beat both teams playing tonight, so I have
no problem with it. More power to UCF.
I have no problem with both teams being from the SEC. While I believe the SEC has been a bit down the past couple seasons, as partly evidenced by the ACC's record against the SEC, the top of SEC was very good this year with these two teams plus Auburn. And I was in favor of Alabama making the playoff over Ohio State. It would've been cool to see a team such as UCF given a shot, and I would be in favor of expanding the playoff to at least eight teams, but this year, I don't have an issue with this matchup.
Alabama and Georgia's other common opponents were Vanderbilt ('Bama won, 59-0; UGA won, 45-14), Tennessee ('Bama won, 45-7; UGA won, 41-0), and Mississippi State ('Bama won, 31-24; UGA won, 31-3). In the semifinals, the Crimson Tide stuffed Clemson, 24-6, and the Bulldogs had to survive a shootout with Oklahoma, 54-48 in double overtime. Georgia freshman QB Jake Fromm was an efficient 20 of 29 for 210 yards with two touchdowns and no picks. Georgia ran for more than 300 yards behind Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. But obviously, the Alabama defense, though it is dealing with some injuries, is a different beast. Clemson managed just 188 yards against the Tide. Alabama didn't tear it up on offense, either, but Jalen Hurts was 16 of 24 for 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns with no interceptions. Damien Harris, Hurts, and Bo Scarbrough combined for 141 rushing yards. Alabama lost a starting offensive
lineman, Lester Coleman, during the game, and linebacker Anfernee Jennings, who had three tackles for losses against Clemson, also got hurt. Alabama might have three starting linebackers out, including Shaun Dion Hamilton, who is out for the year, and Dylan Moses, whose status appears to be up in the air. He got hurt in practice leading up to the semifinal.
The thing is, Alabama can replace injured players with incredible five-star depth, and that's what it is going to do tonight. This game pits mentor Nick Saban against mentee Kirby Smart. Saban is 11-0 against former assistants. While someone might eventually win a game against Saban after coaching with him, I don't think it'll be tonight. I think Georgia could have a budding powerhouse in the SEC East, but Alabama is still further ahead at this point with more talent and more depth overall. Georgia's defense should play better than it did against Oklahoma, but Georgia's offense, likewise, is up against a much stiffer test. I expect a pretty good, hopefully close game, that might be somewhat short on offense, but I like Alabama to win its fifth national title in the past nine seasons.
Alabama 24, Georgia 20
College Football Playoff national championship presented by AT&T in Atlanta
No. 4 Alabama (12-1) vs. No. 3 Georgia (13-1), 8 p.m. ESPN
The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs meet in the SEC champ -- er national championship -- game Monday night in the heart of SEC country in Atlanta. It should be a great atmosphere with both fan bases and schools located so close to the game. The teams did not meet during the regular season. Both lost to Auburn, though Georgia also beat Auburn in the SEC championship. Coincidentally, Auburn lost to Central Florida in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, and the Knights finished the season 13-0 and have declared themselves national champions. It doesn't mean anything, but they ended the season with a flourish and beat a very good SEC team that happened to beat both teams playing tonight, so I have
I have no problem with both teams being from the SEC. While I believe the SEC has been a bit down the past couple seasons, as partly evidenced by the ACC's record against the SEC, the top of SEC was very good this year with these two teams plus Auburn. And I was in favor of Alabama making the playoff over Ohio State. It would've been cool to see a team such as UCF given a shot, and I would be in favor of expanding the playoff to at least eight teams, but this year, I don't have an issue with this matchup.
Alabama and Georgia's other common opponents were Vanderbilt ('Bama won, 59-0; UGA won, 45-14), Tennessee ('Bama won, 45-7; UGA won, 41-0), and Mississippi State ('Bama won, 31-24; UGA won, 31-3). In the semifinals, the Crimson Tide stuffed Clemson, 24-6, and the Bulldogs had to survive a shootout with Oklahoma, 54-48 in double overtime. Georgia freshman QB Jake Fromm was an efficient 20 of 29 for 210 yards with two touchdowns and no picks. Georgia ran for more than 300 yards behind Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. But obviously, the Alabama defense, though it is dealing with some injuries, is a different beast. Clemson managed just 188 yards against the Tide. Alabama didn't tear it up on offense, either, but Jalen Hurts was 16 of 24 for 120 yards and a pair of touchdowns with no interceptions. Damien Harris, Hurts, and Bo Scarbrough combined for 141 rushing yards. Alabama lost a starting offensive
The thing is, Alabama can replace injured players with incredible five-star depth, and that's what it is going to do tonight. This game pits mentor Nick Saban against mentee Kirby Smart. Saban is 11-0 against former assistants. While someone might eventually win a game against Saban after coaching with him, I don't think it'll be tonight. I think Georgia could have a budding powerhouse in the SEC East, but Alabama is still further ahead at this point with more talent and more depth overall. Georgia's defense should play better than it did against Oklahoma, but Georgia's offense, likewise, is up against a much stiffer test. I expect a pretty good, hopefully close game, that might be somewhat short on offense, but I like Alabama to win its fifth national title in the past nine seasons.
Alabama 24, Georgia 20
I'm with you on Alabama getting in over OSU. Much as I can't stand the SEC, their resume was better than OSU's. If UCF had scheduled better out of conference, I'd respect their undefeated record a little more. They did get a little screwed when the weather canceled their game with GT, but still.
ReplyDelete