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Well, we’ve made it folks, the National Championship Game is here. To be honest, I would have loved to see Baker Mayfield in this game, but the Sooners couldn’t get it done in double overtime. Yeah I was 0-2 in my playoff picks, I really didn’t see this matchup coming. I was more comfortable with my Oklahoma pick, in a shootout like that, I expected Oklahoma to roll because I felt Georgia couldn’t compete with that. For the Sugar Bowl, Bama really dominated defensively and did what it had to offensively to win. Anyway, now we have an All-SEC Championship. Here is how both teams can win this one.
How Georgia can win:
The running game will play a huge part into whether the Dawgs can win. The combination of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel was dynamite in the Rose Bowl, accounting for 326 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns. Jake Fromm (20/29 210 yards 2 touchdowns) also played extremely efficient, this was a dream scenario for the Georgia offense. The Dawgs need to be creative on offense if they want to put some pressure on this great Bama defense. Trick plays and misdirection will be key for the Georgia offense, they have the athletes to catch the defense sleeping in this game. If they run their traditional offense, they won’t stand a chance. On defense, Georgia needs to pressure the Alabama receivers and eliminate the easy throws on early downs. Do that, and Jalen Hurts will be forced off of his first option and will buy Roquan Smith and Co. time to get after the Tide quarterback. If Georgia can establish the running game early and hit on some trick plays early in the game, then they can win this game. If they fail to do these things, then Alabama will win its 2nd National Championship in 3 years.
How Alabama can win:
Playing great defense is a given with a Nick Saban coached team. The same will have to be true in this game for Bama to win. In the past 2 National Championship games, a guy named Deshaun Watson accounted for 941 yards and 8 touchdowns, he’s now with the Houston Texans. That’s a breath of fresh air for Alabama, who now can focus their attention on Georgia’s 1-2 punch at running back. The Dawgs ran all over Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl, but that’s an Oklahoma defense that has struggled all year. This Bama defense has not struggled, and for Bama to win they have to really put pressure on the running game by stacking the box. This will force Jake Fromm State Farm to beat them through the air, which isn’t going to happen. Alabama has the better defense even though these teams are built similar. If they can stop Georgia’s running game, they will have a great chance to hoist the trophy. On offense, the Tide need to do what they have done all year, capitalize off mistakes by the opposing team and control the line of scrimmage. In this game, I don’t think Jalen Hurts needs to be special, he just needs to be efficient and free of mistakes. I like the inventiveness of Brian Daboll
here and I believe that he can dial up some plays to lead the Tide to a victory, but if he gets conservative and Georgia gets an early lead, it could be tight.
Prediction:
With all that said, this is going to be a physical and somewhat lower scoring game. I believe that we will see Georgia return to what it was on offense. Run the ball and play defense, they are not going to blow anybody out of the water, especially Alabama. I believe that Alabama is going to control the game early, some long drives, a couple big plays. Georgia will put a scare into them in the second half but I believe Bama will come out on top. I think they are too good defensively for Georgia to control the line of scrimmage and establish their running game. Bama will do just what they need to do to win.
Alabama 24-10