Dawgs and BAMA Meet for College Football Playoff Championship

Is the Passing of the Torch at Hand in College Football Playoff Championship?

The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs will meet in the College Football Playoff Championship Game on Monday. The Southeastern Conference foes meet at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8:15 pm EST on ESPN.

Oddsmakers opened the Crimson Tide as -4-point favorites versus the Bulldogs, while the game’s total opened at 47. The line is back to -4 now after getting up to 5.5 earlier last week, then last night went to Alabama -3.5. The total is down to 45.5 at the moment.

The SEC is about to take it’s ninth national title in the past 12 seasons as the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs meet Monday night. Talk of the SEC being down was way overrated and tonight in Atlanta, Georgia the Conference can shine in prime time.

Alabama is playing in its third straight College Football Playoff championship game. The Tide is seeking its fifth national title in nine years under coach Nick Saban. Georgia has went out and hired former Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. He has Georgia in the title game in only his second season.

This is Georgia’s first national title shot since losing the 1983 Sugar Bowl to Dan Marino and the Pitt Panthers. They have not won a National Championship since 1980 with NCAA, and UGA legend, Herschel Walker leading the way.

Both Teams Looked Impressive in Semi-final Wins

The Crimson Tide proved they belonged with a 24-6 victory over defending national champ Clemson at the Sugar Bowl. It was a rematch of last year’s title game.

Georgia assured that one SEC team would be playing for the title earlier in the day. They beat Oklahoma 54-48 in double-overtime at the Rose Bowl. Sony Michel’s touchdown run ensured the win and made the game an “Instant Classic”. The Bulldogs rallied from a 31-14 deficit in the second quarter.

Alabama and Georgia are in different divisions of the 14-team SEC. They have played just four times in Saban’s 11 years in Tuscaloosa. Bama is 3-1 in those games.

The most painful for Georgia was the 2012 SEC Championship Game. A late drive fess just short in a 32-28 loss. Alabama went on the crush the overrated Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

College Football Playoff Will Feature Strength Versus Strength

Georgia running backs Michel and Nick Chubb combined for 326 yards rushing and five touchdowns against Oklahoma. Michel also scored on a pass from freshman quarterback Jake Fromm.

Georgia’s defense that gave up 531 yards to the Sooners in the national semifinal. That number doesn’t tell the whole story. The real story is that Georgia’s defense won that game by generating five straight stops to start the second half.

Georgia needs to find just enough stops against the Tide to get it done. It starts with Julien Rochester, Trenton Thompson, Roquan Smith, Lorenzo Carter. They make up a very fast and physical defensive front seven.

This is by-far Saban’s best rushing offense at Alabama. They are averaging 255.8-yards per game. That’s second to Georgia in the SEC by an average of 12 yards per game.

There are no 1,000-yard rushers at Alabama but five players have run for at least 276 yards. In fact, Hurts has the most carries. Look for a series of designed runs from Hurts. He has 28 percent of all Alabama rushes since he walked onto the field for the Tide.

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Alabama Crimson Tide

 

Georgia Bulldogs

College Football Playoff Supergrid

Title	Stat	Rank	Stat	Rank
Away Team Overall Scoring vs Home Team Overall Defense	37.92	12	15.71	5
Home Team Overall Scoring vs Away Team Overall Defense	36.29	17	11.08	1

Head To Head Summary

Head To Head Detail

College Football Playoff Betting Trends

Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games
Alabama is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Georgia
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Alabama’s last 6 games when playing Georgia

Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Georgia is 14-1 SU in its last 15 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Georgia’s last 9 games
Georgia is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Alabama
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Georgia’s last 6 games when playing Alabama

Alabama Crimson Tide

Georgia Bulldogs

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