This is the 72nd meeting between the No.1 Crimson Tide and the No.3 Georgia Bulldogs with the Tide holding a 42-25-4 series edge over the Dawgs. Nick Saban is 25-1 against his former assistants and 4-0 against Kirby Smart. It has been talked about a lot that Smart and Georgia are very wound up for this national championship game while the Crimson Tide is coming in looser. You don’t know how that works out. Maybe the more charged up team plays better or maybe the team that is looser will perform better. Kirby Smart wants this one badly and Nick Saban always wants to win badly. The matchup is superb in talent. There are a lot of equally elite athletes that will be on the football field tonight at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Will make for a stellar game. Here’s a look at tonight’s clash of Titans.

Record

Bowls, SU, 11-8, Overall, 232-107, 68%, ATS, 12-7, 175-161, 52%

CFB National Championship Game

No.1 Alabama (13-1) vs. No.3 Georgia (13-1)

Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, 70,000

In the dome, it’ll be 70 degrees and outside it’ll be 20 and feel like 9.

7 PM CT

ESPN

Chris, Kirk, Holly, Molly

Laundry, Duane Heydt, ACC

UGA by 2

Coaches

Nicholas Lou Saban

October 31, 1951, 70 years old, Fairmont, West Virginia, Played college football at Kent State.

269-66-1 overall in 25 seasons as a college head coach. 1995-99 at Michigan State, 34-24-1, 2000-2004 @ LSU, 48-16, 2007-present, 15 years at Alabama, 178-24, 88%, SEC 103-16, 87%. 7 National Championships, 2003 at LSU. At Alabama, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020. SEC Championships, 10, SEC West Titles, 14.

Kirby Paul Smart

December 23, 1975, 46 years old. Montgomery Alabama. Played defensive back at Georgia. All SEC selection his senior year. 65-15 in 6 seasons at Georgia, 81%. 4 SEC East titles.

Alabama

The Crimson Tide is led by sophomore quarterback Bryce Young, who has completed 331-of-490 passes, 68%, for 4,503 yards, 46 TDs against 5 ints. In the Crimson Tide’s shellacking of the Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game, 41-24, Young cemented the Heisman Trophy and the team’s spot in the Playoff as he completed 26 of 44 passes for 421 yards and 3 TDs against 0 Ints. He also rushed for 40 yards on 3 carries including an amazing 15 yard TD scamper. Brian Robinson has rushed for 1,275 yards and 14 TDs. Against Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl Semifinal, BRob rushed for 204 yards and dominated the game. Jameson Williams is the Tide’s electrifying receiver on the perimeter. Williams has caught 75 passes for 1,507 yards and 15 TDs. Against Georgia in the SEC title game, he was a game changing player with 7 receptions for 184 yards and 2 TDs. John Metchie III was injured against Georgia in the SEC title game and is out for the season. Metchie III was spectacular this season with 96 receptions for 1,142 yards and 8 TDs. I know Crimson Tide fans hope that Metchie III will come back for his senior season. There’s a pretty good chance he will. Metchie will be missed against Georgia. The Crimson Tide O line is led by big left tackle Evan Neal at 6’7”, 350. Right guard Emil Ekiyor, 6’3”, 324, and right tackle Chris Owens, 6’3”, 305, were injured in the Cincy game, but are expected to play. Freshman JC Latham, 6’6”, 325, a five star, is a capable replacement if Ekiyor can’t make it. Damieon George, 6’6”, 339, can help Owens out at right tackle. The Crimson Tide O line had their share of issues during the season, but against Georgia, they manhandled the vaunted Dawgs’ defensive line. On defense, the great Will Anderson is a dynamic leader and player. The 6’4”, 243 outside linebacker has recorded 98 tackles, second on the team to inside linebacker Henry To’o To’o, who has 106, and has recorded a nation leading 17 1/2 sacks for -108 yards and a nation leading 34 1/2 tackles for loss of 148 yards. Wow. Mind popping numbers. Why Will wasn’t in New York and Aiden Hutchinson was is a total travesty. But Will is in Indy and Hutchinson is in Ann Arbor, so there is some justice there. I’d throw Pitt QB Kenny Pickett in there as well. He was good, but in the ACC, not even close in level of competition to the best conference in the country. As former Vanderbilt Coach James Franklin said one time, “the three best conferences in the World are the NFC, the AFC and the SEC.” Jimmy Frank had that right. Will should have been there. He will next season as a junior if he keeps up this pace and could break through as a defensive player and win it. Will is spectacular. To’o To’o has been an outstanding addition to S’s and Pete Golding’s defense. Along with his 106 tackles, he has 8 for loss of 39 yards and 4 sacks for -29 yards. Defensive end Phid Mathis, 6’4’“,312, added 12 tackles for loss of 56 yards and 9 sacks for -52 yards. He’s a superb football player and another leader on the team. Safety Jordan Battle was third on the team in tackles with 80 and tied for the team lead in interceptions with corner Jalyn Armour-Davis with 3. Jordan took 2 back to the house, including a 41 yarder against Stetson Bennett and Georgia in the Championship Game. Will Reichard is a more than capable kicker, actually an outstanding one. Will is 18-of-23 this season, 4-of-4 from 20-29 yards, 7-of-8 from 30-39, 6-of-9 from 40-49, and 1-of-2 from 50+. His long is 51 yards. S finally found a kicker he can rely on and he can certainly rely on Reichard. Punter James Burnip averages 39 yards per punt. Slade Bolden is averaging 7 yards per punt return and Jameson has returned 2 kicks back to the house, his long being a hundge.

Georgia

The Dawgs are led by quarterback Stetson Bennett, who has been pretty outstanding outside of facing Alabama, a team he has struggled against, though he threw for 340 yards and 3 TDs, but threw 2 costly interceptions, one to DeMarrco Hellams and the other to Battle for a pick 6. Bennett , a former walk-on who has paid his dues, has completed 168-of-261 passes, 64%, for 2,638 yards, 27 TDs against 7 ints. He can run it too, if necessary. He’s got a strong arm and can really throw the deep ball accurately and can use his wheels when necessary. He has rushed for 283 yards, 5.9 per carry and a 7. Against Michigan, a 34-11 Georgia tail kicking, Bennett was 20-of-30 for 313 yards, 3 TDs and 0 ints. His favorite target is freshman tight end Brock Bowers, a phenom, who has caught 52 passes for 846 yards and 12 TDs. Bowers, a 5 star, is 6’4”, 230 and looks to run a 4.45, 40, 4.5 at the slowest. He can motor, he can block and catches anything that is in sight. He’s a tremendous football player. Wide receiver Jermaine Burton is another threat, He’s caught 24 passes for 469 yards and 5 TDs. Ladd McConkey is another. McConkey looks a lot like Hunter Renfrow from Clemson, who is now with the Las Vegas Raiders and excelling there. The Raiders just clinched a playoff spot with a victory over the LA Chargers at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday Night Football last night, 35-32 in OT. I watched the first half, but went to sleep. My wife, sometimes a night owl, said it was an awesome game. Despite all the controversy surrounding the Raiduh, they still made the playoffs. Pretty stellar stuff. McConkey has caught 30 passes for 444 yards and 5 TDs. Running back James Cook is a superb runner and receiver out of the backfield. Cook has caught 25 passes for 269 yards and 4 TDs. Also, George Pickens is back for the Dawgs. The former 5 star out of Hoover High School had been hurt all season, but made it back for the last 3 games and could be an X factor tonight. He’s a dynamic playmaker. Running back Zamir “Zeus” White has rushed for 772 yards and 10 TDs, and Cook has added 651 yards and 7 TDs. They’re a dynamic duo. Kenny McIntosh has rushed for 342 yards and 3 TDs, and Kendall Milton is expected to play tonight. He’s been hurt a lot this season, but is excellent as well. The O Line is led by big left tackle Jamaree Salyer, 6’3”, 340. He’ll be tasked with blocking Anderson and Mathis among others. The Georgia line had a super game against Michigan, but the competition is a lot more formidable against the Crimson Tide. The great linebacker Nakobe Dean leads the defense with 68 tackles, 10 1/2 for loss of 61 yards, and 6 sacks for -47 yards along with 2 ints, one he took back to the house against Florida. Derion Kendrick came down from Clemson this season and picked off 4 passes at corner. He picked off 2 against Michigan. Linebacker Nolan Smith is a formidable player as well. Defensive tackle Jordan Davis, 6’6”, 360, was handled by the Alabama offensive line in the Championship game, but he’s considered stellar. It’ll be interesting to see what he and the vaunted Dawgs front 7 can do against the Tide this time around. Jack Podlesny has connected on 20-of-25 field goal attempts. he’s 7-of-9 from 30-39, 4-7 from 40-49 and has a long of 46. Jake Camarda averages 47 yards per punt. Kearis Jackson averages 8.59 yards per punt return and has a long of 41. He’s dangerous. Kenny McIntosh and Jackson are the kick returners. No house calls, but solid and possibly electric.

Final Analysis and Decision

There is so much NFL talent on this field, it’s head spinning. The Crimson Tide does have some injuries. Ekiyor and Owens are banged up, Metchie III, is out, cornerback Josh Jobe is out, corner Jayin Armour-Davis is questionable, but could play. In place of Jobe, freshman Kool-Aid McKinstry will start. Kool-Aid is a 5 star, so he’s capable and shown so far that he is. Khyree Jackson will take Armour-Davis’s spot at the other corner, if Armour Davis is unable to play. The Tide defense believes Jackson is more than capable. I like the other receivers to help Jameson out tonight. I like Slade Bolden to take over the possession receptions to free up Williams for explosive plays. Tight end Cameron Latu will be a factor. Ja’Corey Brooks, Jahleel Billingsley, who’s loaded with talent but has been in S’s doghouse some of the season though he seems to have gotten it together but had a couple of drops against Cincy, JoJo Earle, and Traeshon Holden could be factors in the passing game. Young does anawesome job of distributing the ball, and will find Williams in the deep game when he needs him. But Georgia has a lot of weapons, too, and Bennett is determined to have a big game tonight at Lucas Oil. The defenses are both terrific. Alabama is only giving up 19 points per game and Georgia is giving up a nation leading 9.4 points per game. The Crimson Tide is 13th. Still, Alabama scored 41 on Georgia in the Championship game. Young was unstoppable.

I like it a lot closer this time around. Everybody knows that beating an excellent team twice is tough to do. I still like the Saban-Young combination a little better than the Smart-Bennett combination. Give me S to win his 8th national championship overall and 7th at Alabama surpassing the great Paul Bryant in Tuscaloosa, and Young as the MVP in a riveting classic. Alabama wins it all once again. A late drive and Reichard field goal clinches the Natty.

Alabama 31, Georgia 28