We've had a fantastic bowl season, and it's all lead up to the final game: The College Football Playoff Championship. The Tide and the Dawgs will clash in Atlanta to take it all, or.... almost all. My reflection post on the season will cover my opinions on UCF claiming a 2017 national title, but for now we'll just focus on tonight's game. I finished the bowl season with a solid 25-14 record while Nate fell short with a 22-17. Even though he won our fantasy league, I'll hold onto my bowl bragging rights for another year! An all SEC title game is what tipped the playoff movement over the edge, and we're here yet again. Let's see what happens!
Both the Tide and Georgia looked very impressive in their Semi-final games, Bama with their suffocating defense and the Dawgs with an unforeseen offense that could not be stopped. Both teams made me eat my words and did exactly what I thought they couldn't. Alabama shut down Clemson's dynamic offense and Georgia was able to keep pace with the reigning Heisman winner, Baker Mayfield. Both of these teams were expected to meet a month ago in the SEC Championship, but nonetheless, the desired match-up will take place. The big stat to watch will be Saban's 11-0 record against his former assistants.
The Crimson Tide have been under a lot of fire this season because of their weaker schedule, but when they dominate like they have been, there's not much to say. Jalen Hurts, while not flashy, has been extremely efficient, throwing for 2,060 yards on the season, with a 61.4% completion rating and an insane 17:1 TD to INT ratio. He's done a much better job of staying in the pocket longer this season and progressing through his reads. Apart from the interception category, his stats aren't all that insane. That's because Bama is Bama and they like to run the ball. Their two headed rushing monster of Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough have accounted for over 1,500 yards and 19 TDs this season. Harris averages 7.6 yards per carry and Scarbrough averages 4.8 yards per carry. Much like Georgia's duo, they provide numerous headaches for opposing defenses. Statistically, the Tide's offense isn't the most threatening in the nation, but they're efficient and consistent. Defensively, they're a wall. There's no better way to put it, their defense is simply immovable. Clemson finished with 188 total yards and were 8/19 on third down. Bama will look to stuff Georgia's offense cold before they can get anything going in this one.
Georgia is much like Alabama when you break it down, young QB, 2 monster running backs and an immovable force called their defense. With the rushing attack, I give the nod to the Dawg Duo of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. These two backs have been incredible to watch throughout their careers and ran all over the Sooners last weekend. Chubb is a bit more of the bruiser back, averaging 6.4 yards per carry with 1,320 total rushing yards on the season and 15 TDs. Michel is the speedster with an 8 yard per carry average, 1,129 yards and 16 TDs on the ground this season. Alabama's rush defense hasn't faced a combination like these two, and I'm not so sure they'll be able to slow them down. Watching Georgia's offensive line against Oklahoma was incredible. Their first two steps drove the Sooners back immediately, putting them on their heels and opening up rushing lanes. Obviously the Tide defensive linemen are a bit more sturdy, but that will be an interesting battle to watch in the trenches! Switching over the Freshman Phenom, Jake Fromm, many people seem to forget how much he can impact a game due to his pedestrian numbers on the year. However, he only missed 9 throws against Oklahoma (20-29 with 210 yards and 2 TDs), which is extremely impressive. Again, Bama has a much better pass defense than the Sooners do, but Fromm's ability to complete passes when needed will be crucial in this game. Finally, with the offensive explosion we saw both for and against Georgia last week, many are predicting Bama to put up some points in this one. Those experts seem to be overlooking the fact that they did play Baker Mayfield. Mayfield will always get his yards and his points, so don't overlook Georgia's defense. They still average just 270 total yards and 13.2 points given up on them on average. Plus, anyone running in the direction of Roquan Smith will likely cry in terror before gaining any yards.
I've been struggling to decide if this will be a higher scoring game or a lower scoring game. Yes, both defenses are nearly impossible to move on, but both offenses have two of the strongest rushing games in the nation. This game will definitely be won in the trenches. It's hard to pick against either of these teams in that sense, but I do have to make a decision. I want to see Georgia win, but it's hard to pick against Alabama (I've been screwed over on that far too many times). I think Georgia is feeling all of this "hand the Trophy to Bama" crap that most experts are saying, and they've been viewed as underdogs a lot. I'll take the Dawgs in this one because I believe their backs are more talented than Alabama's. Plus, I think Georgia's front seven will make some big plays to force Jalen Hurts to win on his own. If they can keep him and the Tide's offense off balance, they can win this game. Buckle in, this should be a good one! Georgia Bulldogs 30, Alabama Crimson Tide 25.
Thanks for reading my prediction and enjoy the game! Last College Football game of the 2017 season, try not to cry too much!
#CollegeFootballKnowItAll
Alex Fenando
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