Let’s start by being thankful we were able to get here to the end of the College Football season in the middle of a pandemic. We were able to crown conference champions and even bowl winners. Now we just have one more matchup to get to, YOU READY?!
We have the only two remaining undefeated teams set to square off in a clash of blue bloods.
The Alabama Crimson Tide vs The Ohio State Buckeyes
I am going to go through this matchup and see who has the advantage on both sides of the ball and maybe even a little deeper. I’ll start with the passing game.
Through the Air
Both of these teams have a plethora of weapons on the outside to use. Ohio State has arguably a top 2 pick at QB along with explosive receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson at their disposal.
Justin Fields is completing 73.4% of his passes this year with 21 touchdown passes to 6 interceptions. Now 3 of those 6 interceptions came in one game so you he usually takes care of the football. Fields has shown the ability to stand in the pocket and make tough throws but has the wheels to get outside and extend plays as well, which makes him extremely dangerous.
Chris Olave is the big play and go-to guy in the passing game. He leads the team with 42 receptions and 7 touchdowns in only 6 games. That’s what we call efficiency at it’s finest.
On the other side you have three Heisman caliber players. QB Mac Jones leads the nation in QBR this year. Well actually he has the highest QBR since the start of the stat. Pretty good right?
What if I told you Mac Jones might be the 4th or 5th best player on his own offense? Well you have Najee Harris at running back who is third on the team in catches and is a highlight waiting to happen.
There have been reports of Jaylen Waddle coming back to practice this week and possibly could be ready to play on the 11th after missing most of the season due to a fractured ankle. That sounds great but let’s not hold our breath just yet.
The true engine of this year’s Alabama Offense is Devonta Smith. Call him what you want. Slim Reaper, Thin Diesel, The Golden Gazelle, the guy is special we can all agree on that. He should be receiving his Heisman Trophy Tuesday night as well. He would become the first receiver to win the award since 1991 when Desmond Howard won it. He leads the team by a large margin in catches, yards and receiving touchdowns with 105 catches for 1,641 yards and 20 touchdowns. Teams have tried to double and sometimes even triple team him to no avail.
Advantage: Alabama
On the Ground
Ohio State has come alive and has found an identity these past couple games. That identity can be best described as “kicking the defense in the mouth”.
Trey Sermon, the Oklahoma transfer, is on a tear. Over his last two games he has 60 carries for 524 yards, thats 8.73 yards per carry. He is reaching Ezekiel Elliott status reminiscent to his run through the playoffs as a sophomore.
It helps to have a quarterback who can run a 4.5 40 yard dash to keep the defense honest. Justin Fields is very capable of killing you with his legs as well. One thing to keep an eye on is the health of Fields after taking a big hit in the semifinals.
Najee Harris has just about broken every record for a running back at Alabama. His 24 rushing touchdowns in tops in the nation and it seems like he just has a magnet for the endzone in the redzone. In a different year we would be talking about Harris for Heisman. Especially after his 5 touchdown performance in the SEC Championship game.
The most important piece of the puzzle for the Crimson Tides ground game is the 2020 Joe Moore Award winning Offensive Line. This line is made up of 5 – 6 guys who will hear their name called by the NFL commissioner one day. It will be tough losing All-American and Remington Award winning Center Landon Dickerson but Redshirt Senior is no slouch either.
Advantage: Draw
Pass Defense
This game will feature two corners hoping to be first round picks in the 2021 NFL Draft. Shaun Wade leads an inexperienced secondary for Ohio State.
This unit has been under fire all season but had an encouraging showing against Clemson. Sevyn Banks looked like the ball hawking corner fans were hoping he would be, while other members had key plays to hold the lead from the Tigers.
This will be a different animal they are running into on the 11th though. How will the Buckeyes slow down Devonta Smith? How will Steve Sarkisian stress those young safeties with complex route combinations? Will they keep playing one high safety with man on the outside to try and get an extra body in the box against the run?
These are all questions they could be the keys to a win or loss.
Another concern is the lack of a true special pass rusher that Ohio State has seemed to have over the past 5 -6 years. From the Bosa brothers to Chase Young, the Buckeyes always seem to have a double digit sack guy. This year they are lacking that. The high on this team is 3.5 sack and they are going up against possibly the best offensive tackle tandem in the country in All American Alex Leatherwood and former 5 Star Evan Neal. Mac Jones has been one of the least sacked QBs this season and if OSU wants to win this game they will have to change that.
The Crimson Tide Secondary was on a roll until they ran into Florida and let Kyle Trask throw for over 400 yards. I guess the positive for them is that there is no Kyle Pitts coming out of OSU’s locker room.
Patrick Surtain II has had an uneventful season due to the fact that teams are just straight up scared to throw to his side of the field. Notre Dame Head Coach literally said that they were not going to throw at him. That is what you call a shut down corner ladies and gentlemen.
The key here is Freshman DB Malachi Moore. He missed the Rose Bowl due to injury even though Coach Saban said if needed Moore was available to play. He plays the nickle or “Star” position which is like the swiss army knife for this complex defense. If he is healthy enough to play then that allows for fellow freshman Brian Branch to play the “money” position with is the 6th DB on the field in the dime defense. Ohio State will no doubt try to spread Alabama out in this game.
Now, another question for OSU is if they can protect Justin Fields. He has been sacked 20 times in 7 games and that’s just not going to help if he is already dealing with a rib injury that he suffered in the game against Clemson.
Alabama has 4 players in their front seven with 5 or more sacks this season and Pete Golding does a good job with showing you pressure from one side and bringing it from the opposite of the formation. This O-Line will have their work cut out for them.
Advantage: Alabama
Run Defense
Both teams will have to set the edge in this game. Alabama has a very talented pass rush but lacks the ability to be the same 2-gap monster like the old days. Ohio State has two really good tackles in the interior of their offensive line. I think it could come down to who makes the most adjustments on defense and maybe start using run blitzes or even have their linemen run stunts.
Advantage: Draw
Overall
This game is projected to be close by the odds makers and I don’t see why it shouldn’t be. Both teams aren’t the defensive juggernauts of the past and they are going to give up points. I have to take the coaching on Alabama’s staff over OSU in this one. Nick Saban has coached in the game 8 times. He has shown that he knows what buttons to press at the right time to give his team a spark. It was the onside kick against Clemson or the QB switch heard around the world against Georgia. We will have to see if Ryan Day will be able to coach his way to legendary status in this one.
Prediction: Alabama 45 – Ohio State 38
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