CFP National Championship Information
Date: Monday, Jan. 10
Start Time: 8 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: ESPN online
Odds
Spread: Georgia (-2.5)
Over/Under: 52 points
Moneyline: Georgia -140 (bet $140 to win $100); Alabama +120 (bet $100 to win $120)
Preview
On paper, Alabama and Georgia have had very similar seasons.
Finishing the year at 13-1, both have played almost flawless football, while playing the nation’s toughest teams.
So it was almost unavoidable that they’d find themselves here, facing each other in the CFP National Championship
But while these two teams both come in with impressive resumes, it’s the Crimson Tide that comes in with the historical edge over the Bulldogs.
Alabama has the overwhelming upper hand in the all-time series with a 42-25-4 record and then, of course, there’s the last time these two met in the title game.
The Crimson Tide beat Georgia 26-23 in overtime to win the CFP National Championship in 2018 after benching their starting quarterback, Jalen Hurts, in the second half to let Tua Tagovailoa come in and light it up for 166 passing yards and three touchdowns.
And therein lies the danger of facing Alabama: they don’t just have a plan A, they’ve got a plan B and plan C that can be just as deadly as the first.
Head coach Nick Saban’s bunch also knows how to play when they are the underdog, which they are for this game (-2.5).
But don’t count the Bulldogs out just yet.
Sure, they did lose the SEC Championship game after they were ranked No. 1 for most of the year, but this is different, this is now.
Georgia has been the better team all season and this is their chance to prove it.
The Crimson Tide took all the shiny headlines this year with their sophomore quarter Bryce Young winning the Heisman Trophy and winning the SEC title.
But there’s still a chance for the Bulldogs to take the final headline: National Champion.
And they can get it done by doing what they’ve been doing all year—play dominant defense and keep it steady on offense with Stetson Bennett.
The senior quarterback doesn’t air it out like Young, but he can run the offense and make the throws he needs to make.
He threw for 340 yards the last time he faced Alabama and he’ll need to have a repeat performance or better on Monday to get his team over the hump.
Georgia will also need Bennett’s top target, Brock Bowers, to have himself a night, too.
The freshman tight end has been spectacular this season and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by the competition.
“I think this guy is one of the premier players in college football,” Nick Saban told Mike Rodak of Alabama.com last week. “I know he’s just a freshman, but this guy’s got great size. He’s a good blocker. He’s physical. He’s tough. And he’s got wide receiver skills in every way, shape or form, which makes it difficult being a bigger guy for bigger guys to cover him and it makes it also difficult for smaller guys to cover him.
“So this guy is just a phenomenal football player all the way around. They do a really good job of featuring his talents as well. And he’s been extremely productive in a lot of ways.”
No matter what team takes home the hardware, this should be a can’t-miss game for college football fans.
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