B&S crew National Championship previews & predictions
One more time in 2020, the crew breaks down the Tide and Buckeyes and give their picks. Get ready for an offensive scorcher in Miami.
By: The Hammer, The Waco Kid, Bossman Slim
#6 (at Bama) to rule them all.
After speculation that the game could be postponed due to COVID issues, both teams are on their way to Miami for the Showdown on South Beach. It’s Tide and Buckeyes for the national title, and man alive is this one shaping up to be an all-time great contest. Except for Justin Fields nursing a rib injury, Ohio State is fresh from only playing 7-games (we had to). Alabama is mostly healthy except for Jaylen Waddle (who is a game-time decision) and Rimington Award-winning center Landon Dickerson. It’s going to be a throwdown, and we cannot wait.
Before we get to the previews and picks, we need to update the final tally on the picks for the season. When we last did this in week 6, The Waco Kid was down bad, posting a 1-2 record and a .333 win percentage. The Hammer was in first at 2-1 with a .667 win percentage, and Bossman Slim was right in the middle at 8-5 with a .615 win percentage. Here’s how we finished out:
The Hammer: 13-2, .866 win pct
Bossman Slim: 21-10, .677 win pct
The Waco Kid: 11-6, .647 win pct
Combined: 45-18, .714 win pct
Thank you. No need to shower us with all that praise. We know we are exceptional.
The Waco Kid redeemed himself and finished strong, getting above .500 and saving himself from an off-season of scorn and jokes. The Hammer kept his spot at the top, losing only one game the rest of the year. Bossman Slim took a big hit during bowl season, but did call the exact score of the Orange Bowl. There have been many lessons to be learned from 2020, but the main one want to pass on is this: you should always listen to us.
Let’s get down one more time for the last rodeo of the 2020 season.
The Hammer
Season record: 13-2
A couple of familiar faces in the College Football Playoff, although they have actually only met one time, in the 2014 playoff. And it wasn't in the title game. It was the first College Football Playoff in 2014 and these teams met in the Sugar Bowl, which was a semi-final matchup. That year, Bama was rolling as usual and most people wrote off Ohio State, who didn't even win the Big Ten. But on that night, Ezekiel Elliot and the Buckeyes had different plans, taking down the mighty Tide 42-35. Will history repeat itself? No.
That Alabama team, although incredible, was very different than what the 2020 Crimson Tide look like. The old Alabama teams built on defense and running the ball are gone. The current version of the Tide will throw the ball all over the yard and put up points all day long. The Tide’s offense is led by the three-headed monster of QB Mac “Daddy” Jones, RB Najee “Hurdle” Harris, and DeVonta “Heisman” Smith. Smith obviously just took home the Heisman Trophy (much deserved) but all three players finished in the top five. Woah.
Alabama’s offense comes into this game averaging over 500 yards and 48 points per game. Ohio State’s defense looked very good against Clemson, especially in how they were able to pressure Trevor Lawrence all game, but even the feared Clemson offense is not nearly as explosive as Alabama. For Ohio State to have any chance, they need to pressure Jones. Something no one has really been able to do thanks in part to the Tide’s Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line and in part to Jones’ quick and precise decision making.
All hope is not lost though - the Buckeyes are extremely talented and Justin Fields showed his talent and toughness against Clemson. Fields had an up and down year but showed up on the biggest stage. They’ll need every bit of that to keep pace with Alabama. Ohio State’s offense is like a souped-up mustang, averaging over 500 yards and 43 points a game in their own right. They are fast, sleek, and have some horsepower. Problem is, the Alabama offense is like the damn Grave Digger combined with a Lamborghini. They have speed, power, and will both plow you over or fly by you in a split second, going 0 to 60 in under 2 seconds. Want to stack the box? Cool, DeVonta Smith and John Metchie (maybe even Waddle) will beat you over the top and Jones will put it on the money. Want to run nickel and double Smith? No worries, Najee Harris will run all day and flatten (or jump over) your defense. Pick your poison, Buckeyes.
Instant replay of Najee Harris taking it 75-yards to the house after Ohio State picked the wrong poison.
As I said, Ohio State needs to get pressure and they need to get it with just four defensive linemen, or else they’re in trouble. I think this one stays pretty close, but I don’t see the Buckeyes being able to keep up.
P.S. Alabama has a good kicker.
#1 Alabama 45
#3 Ohio State 35
The Waco Kid
Season record: Self-declared unbeaten
If history tells us anything it is that the quarterback who loses the Heisman race typically wins the Playoff or National Championship game that follows. In 2006 there was Troy Smith and Tim Tebow, 2014 Marcus Mariota against J.T. Barrett, 2017 Baker Mayfield over self-proclaimed national champion UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton, 2018 Kyler Murray pitted against Tua Tagovailoa. You get the picture. Luckily for both teams, neither play-caller won the most coveted award in college football, rather, that trophy went to Bama receiver DeVonta Smith, and for good reason. Smith was performing at a high level prior to complementary receiver Jaylen Waddle suffering an injury during the Tennessee game. Since then, the Heisman winner has been unstoppable, teams know Mac Jones is looking for his star receiver and yet defenses cannot slow down the senior speedster. Dude went for 1500 yards and 17 touchdowns on the season and recorded another TD returning punts!
In the Rose Bowl, Notre Dame’s defensive schemes should have revolved around the Tide passing attack but it seemed as though DeVonta was able to get open and score without a single finger touching him. If Ohio State wants to compete, they will need to do what no other team has been able to and stop the Alabama wideout. The bad news for the Buckeyes is that Bama could be returning another offensive weapon in Jaylen Waddle. Handling one first-round talent is a feat in and of itself, but most teams will just double team and bracket that receiver with an over the top safety and force the quarterback to throw elsewhere or at least hesitate long enough for the defensive line to be disruptive. Throw in two top draft picks and now defenses find themselves in a conundrum. Do they double cover both top receivers and allow the middle or short game to be defended by backers or take their chances and hope maybe Waddle is not up to full speed? Only time will tell.
OSU defensive coordinator, Kerry Coombs, has his hands full this week as he also serves as the teams’ secondary coach. This game will not be won in the trenches but on the outside, the only chance for the Buckeyes is to shut down the Bama air raid. Ohio State’s top cornerback, Shaun Wade implied he wanted Smith when asked who he would like to go up against. What a tremendous joke by a guy who must have a top-tier sense of humor. He is coming off of a game where the third-best Clemson receiver recorded 139 yards and two touchdowns, the majority of which were against Wade. I don’t remember that being the Tiger receiver in the running for the Biletnikoff award but maybe I am wrong. Even if by some miracle the State DBs shut down the outside there just so happens to be a bad man by the name of Najee Harris that will jump or run over you. It will be a long day for a defense that has not really been tested. Ohio State football teams are now ranked on whether or not Urban Meyer would come out of retirement to coach them, in this year Meyer would rather take the Jacksonville Jaguars than his former employer.
Woah and there goes another “health scare” right over his head!
Alabama’s offense seems as though they can score at will, and as good as Justin Fields and Trey Sermon have become, I am a little hesitant to put them in the same category. There is just not a large enough sample size to understand what this team brings to the table. They blew out Clemson, but the games against the only other decent competition they played were very close. Both those teams, Indiana and Northwestern, also had good defenses that were able to slow Fields down. Plus we all know Justin probably has some broken ribs, maybe a punctured lung that he is dealing with, if the B1G wasn’t constantly changing rules to profit off of their teams, they might look into this injury and put the player first. They won’t question that ruling though, the conference understands there are dark days ahead with no legitimate competitors in the foreseeable future so it is now or never.
The Crimson Tide has a few stops in them but a Buckeye squad that gave up 35 to Indiana may have issues slowing one of the top ten offenses in the nation. Yes, Ohio State is ranked higher in offensive production but probably would have fallen a few spots had they played the extra four games Bama did. I think this will be a good one but also believe it might be heresy for me to pick O-H-I-O for the win on an SEC blog, so Alabama by 7 is my final answer. Give the Tide a 28-17 lead at halftime and expect to extend in the fourth by pounding down the opposing D-line with Najee Harris.
#1 Alabama 41
#3 Ohio State 34
Bossman Slim
Season record: 21-10
This gif makes it look like Coach Saban is in “Team America.” And that would be awesome. Put another one on Sir Nick’s finger, #7 happens on Monday.
Oh, baby. I’m frothing at the mouth. And not just for the lil’ smokies and gallon of queso I’m going to consume on Monday, but for this game as well. Mac “Daddy” vs. Justin “One Rib Left” Fields. Najee Harris vs. Trey Sermon. Heisman winner DeVonta Smith and John “Oh Canada” Metchie (and Jaylen Waddle???) vs. Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave. Both of these defenses have big names too - but hardly anyone mentions them because of the blitzkrieg of points that both of these offenses are capable of putting up at any given moment. Defense? What defense? That’s a relic of 2010.
In that vein, I expect this one to be a shootout. Alabama boasts the second-best scoring offense in the country, while Ohio State isn’t far off the Tide’s pace, stopping in at fifth. Justin Fields’ health will be interesting to watch. It is the X-factor in this game. Is he healthy enough to do what needs to be done to take down the mighty Tide? He will need to play as he did against Clemson, and frankly even better, for the Buckeyes to have a chance. On the other sideline, besides Jaylen Waddle, Alabama has all of their skill players healthy. The Tide don’t need Waddle to win the championship. But if he is on the field, it will be that much more difficult for Ohio State’s defense to keep Bama off the board, even if Waddle is only a decoy.
This will be a chess match all night between two of the sports top coaches - Nick Saban from the old guard and Ryan Day from the new kids on the block. Both calculations for the coaches will be similar in terms of stopping the offenses: do I sellout and try to stop one of the top tailbacks in the country, leaving us vulnerable over the top? Or do I hope my defensive line can get some push and do their job, so I can drop back and give some help to my secondary in coverage, who are dealing with total snipers?
As long as Justin Fields is healthy, I have a feeling this game will go down as an all-time classic. In the end, Alabama just has too many weapons, and their defense holds up well enough to get the win as it has all year. Mac Jones has a big game, Najee Harris puts on a show in his final game at Alabama, and Mr. Heisman DeVonta Smith gets his too. Dump the Gatorade on Saban - the Tide win their 18th title and number six for Saban at Bama, #7 overall, surpassing the great Bear Bryant.
#1 Alabama 44
#3 Ohio State 38
Enjoy the last game of the year before we enter the long, rough off-season. We plan to drown in beer and queso on Monday night. And lil’ smokies. Can’t forget those.