B&S crew title game preview: Dawgs year or another Bama championship?
Alabama looks to play spoiler again to Georgia’s title hopes.
By: Bossman Slim, The Hammer, The Waco Kid
Student looks to become the master in Monday night’s battle for college football supremacy. (Photo: Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images)
The long, winding road of the 2021 season has reached its end. On Monday night, the college football world will crown a champion. Will it be more hardware for Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide machine? Or can Kirby Smart finally crack the code of beating his old boss and lead the Bulldogs to their first title in 41 years?
The question from fans around the country ahead of the 2021 season about Georgia was: if not this year…when? Georgia is loaded with talent after hoarding the top of the top-level blue-chip recruits since Smart took over. It all seemed to line up for the Dawgs this year - two returning QBs with starting experience. A veteran defense that could vie for being one of the greatest units in college football history. Explosive weapons on offense. Then, as the season wore on, it was clear that the SEC East was a trainwreck and no one had a chance to seriously challenge the Dawgs. Then the SEC Championship happened…and Dawgs fans found themselves in a familiar spot: heading back into the dog house with their tail tucked between their legs.
The Crimson Tide find themselves in familiar territory, but this has been the bumpiest road to the national championship in Nick Saban’s tenure. Standing at 11-1 with an SEC Championship, a Heisman Trophy, and many other accolades would not lead you to believe this - but if you watched the Tide all year, you know that this team has vulnerabilities that fans have been unaccustomed to seeing during Nick Saban’s reign of terror. The run defense broke down against Florida in week 3, nearly costing Alabama in a game where the Tide led by 17. Texas A&M caught Alabama sleeping in week 5, notching a win on the back of a suffocating defense and a Zach Calzada who was in the zone. Add in an ugly win against a depleted LSU team and the Scare at Jordan-Hare, and you can see how much of a roller coaster it’s been.
This one is going to be one for the ages. For one final time in the 2021 season…let’s get the thoughts and picks from the B&S crew.
AT&T College Football National Championship: #1 Alabama vs. #3 Georgia
January 10 at 8:00 pm ET on ESPN (UGA -2.5)
Bossman Slim: I have no idea. This game has me completely torn. Since the beginning of this year, I’ve felt like it was the year of the Dawg, and thought that the Bulldogs looked inevitable. And then I watched the SEC Championship Game and my confidence plummeted. Watching Alabama all year, you’d know that this team can be beaten. Yet, they beat the Dawgs like a drum in Atlanta and are playing their best football of the year at just the right time. Plus, there’s that pesky devil in my ear saying, “every time you pick against Nick Saban, he makes you pay for it - dearly.”
With that said - I am ready to get hurt again. I’m throwing caution to the wind and daring Nick Saban to put me out of my misery one more time…but I think this one is ripe for Kirby’s revenge. It’s always difficult to beat a team twice in a season, and I think this Alabama team is vulnerable enough that Smart and co. will make the necessary adjustments to win this one. Add in the fact that Alabama will be missing stars John Metchie III (6 receptions, 97 yards and a TD in the SEC title) and Josh Jobe, and that Georgia is the healthiest they’ve been all year, and you’ve got a recipe for a Dawgs win.
In order for that to happen, Stetson Tombstone Bennett will have to play a helluva a lot better than he did in Atlanta, with much sharper decision-making. He’ll have to protect the ball and limit turnovers. Against Michigan, it looked like Bennett was able to correct his undoing against Alabama. You darn well know that the Tide plan to load the box and take away the run again to make Bennett beat them, so he’s got to be on point all night or Georgia will lose. On defense, the Dawgs have to get some pressure on Bryce Young to try and limit the bomb TDs that we’ve become too familiar with to from Bama in recent years. As I mentioned before, I think Georgia will have made the right corrections from the SEC title game, will pressure Bryce Young, and hound the Tide rushing attack.
And sometimes, all you need to do is answer a simple question when predicting a game: Who wants it more? Georgia wants it more. Georgia needs it more. The players will be hellbent on giving the Tide a dose of revenge and ending the 41-year title drought. Gimme the Dawgs in a close one.
#3 Georgia 31 - #1 Alabama 28
The Hammer: As if anyone doubted that Georgia and Alabama were the two best teams in the country, both sent a message in the CFP semifinals by dismantling Michigan and Cincinnati. For those around the nation who have “SEC fatigue” I have one message: get better. Y’all don’t want to see the SEC win championships or have an all-SEC title game? Then beat them. Now back to the game. The rematch. I thought Georgia would win in the SEC Championship. Alabama had been tested by far more opponents than Georgia up to that point, so it seemed like the Dawgs were a better team based on their body of work. For instance, Arkansas played Alabama very close and Georgia blew them out. Alabama needed multiple overtimes to defeat Auburn, Georgia blew them out. Yet, none of that mattered in Atlanta. Shame on me for doubting Nick Saban. The “yummy rat poison” and spectacular play from Bryce Young fueled the Tide to a resounding victory in Atlanta. Football is a funny game, especially college football. But we aren't here to rehash the SEC Championship.
Can Kirby and Georgia slay the beast? Will the “1980” jokes come to an end? I think so, and I’m ready to look like an idiot again for doubting Saban and the Tide. To me, Georgia is the better team from top to bottom. Alabama has an advantage at coach and quarterback, two of the most important pieces to success, but my gut is telling me the Dawgs find a way to win so I’m rolling that way. I anticipate a close game, but I think Georgia will do a better job of mixing up their front seven, bring exotic blitz looks and find a way to make Bryce Young’s job harder than they did in Atlanta. Those bombs he threw to Jameson Willaims take time to develop. Georgia cannot allow Bryce Young to have all day again. Possibly more important than getting some pressure on Young is actually getting home and putting him on the turf. Young is so good at buying time, moving around the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield. The Dawgs have to get pressure and get Young on the ground, or at least force him into errant, off-timing and off-platform throws. I don’t think Alabama will be able to run the ball with much success, so again this one falls on Young’s shoulders, and without John Metchie, who is unfortunately out with an injury, it’s going to be a tall task for the Heisman winner. For the Dawgs offense, Stetson can’t turn the ball over and they need to find some running room somehow. Bennett has been a good, efficient quarterback in 2021, but the recipe for a Georgia win is not to put this game on his back and have him throw 40+ times. They need to be able to run with some success and take calculated shots downfield. Both Alabama starting corners are injured so if there was ever a time to hit Alabama over the top on play-action, it's now. You just have to make the Tide respect the run game. At the end of the day, this has all the makings of a classic, hard-fought, and close title game. I think it's going to be a back and forth slugfest likely decided by a few big plays and turnovers. I already feel like an idiot for picking Georgia but I’ve been going with my gut all year so I’m not stopping now. Don’t let me down, Kirby.
#3 Georgia 24 - #1 Alabama 20
The Waco Kid: It’s the Thrilla in Manilla, David and Goliath, and the Jack and the beanstalk of college football games. And what is it all for? A national title and single shot at glory that may forever live in CFP lore. You have the underdawg fighting his predecessor and trying to slow the Alabama roll that hasn’t stopped throughout the 2010s and now into the 2020s. Kirby Smart will look to overcome the Saban curse and beat his former mentor in a national championship game. But let me tell you, unlike previously noted, this ain’t no freaking fairy tale. Do not expect the Tide to just let an opponent upset them without a fight. However, if any team can do it, it will be the Georgia Bulldogs. This one has the makings of a 2005 Texas vs. USC championship. You have Heisman winner Bryce Young taking on Heisman candidate Jordan Davis. A top defense taking on some of the most dynamic offensive players in the nation. Will there be fireworks? Absolutely, but no one will really know if the sky will be illuminated with the Red and Black of the Dawg faithful or the Crimson and White of the unassuming, expecting Tide fan base until late Monday night.
Kirby Smart brings in what may be one of the most dominant defensive units in college history. While Nick Saban brings in well…Nick Saban. A coach that has been unmatched for the past decade and has yet to meet a foe worthy enough of taking his crown outside of a couple of Dabo Swinney appearances. This year could change the direction of the Tide. The Dawgs have been on the brink of greatness during the new CFP regime, but have yet to stamp their name in the history books as the top competitor in college football. Saban will do everything possible to stop this from happening but the reality is, the Belichick of college has a good 5 more possible Natty’s in his future while the Red and Black view this as their best shot. A team with nothing to lose and everything to gain is the most dangerous squad. I look forward to seeing the chess match that will ensue between these two great coaches and what they can dial up to maybe put the other in a checkmate-type scenario.
We know Bryce Young can throw and Brian Robinson can carry the rock, but can they do it again versus a nasty Georgia front out for blood? No, they can’t. Young will make mistakes in this one and the Dawgs will make him pay. Robinson will put in 150% but between the tackles will meet the terrifying duo of Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter on almost every play. Beating those guys once is a spectacle. Beating them twice, well that’s a miracle. Stetson Bennett now has George Pickens back in his normal prickish form, a great player but a horrible competitor. With him though, they can expect a huge increase in the passing game alongside Brock Bowers. The running attack has been no stranger to Smart’s offense since he arrived and he will continue to lean on it in this game to take the ball out of Bryce Young’s hands and force the Tide to play catch up rather than setting the pace. I see The Dawgs all the way in this one, mainly because it is extremely difficult to beat a top team twice in one season and that is the task at hand for the Bama football team. I believe the Tide fall short in this one and after all of the Richt ‘what ifs’ years, UGA will finally bring back a title to the deserving fans waiting in Athens.
#3 Georgia 34 - #1 Alabama 17