Extra Points: Can Tide roll one more time?
Tony Barnhart (Mr. College Football) and Mark Blaudschun (A Jersey Guy) both love college football, but have different perspectives.
Topic: Who's No. 1?
A Jersey Guy:
This is the deal Mr. CFB. I think Georgia has a good, ,maybe great team. I think they are good enough to win on Monday night, which would give the Dawgs their first national championship since 1980.
I can see why the wise guys at Vegas have even listed Georgia as a slight favorite over the Tide, even though the Dawgs only defeat was a thrashing in the SEC title game in Atlanta.
I also know that it is very, very difficult to beat a good team TWICE in one season.
Having said all that, Georgia is NOT going to win on Monday night.
Why?
The rule of thumb I've used in making any projections involving a Nick Saban coached team is NEVER pick against him in a game in which a championship is on the line.
Oh, it has happened. Clemson did it a few years ago, but not this time and not with the Heisman Trophy winning QB (Bryce Young) playing for the Tide.
How much do I believe in St. Nick?
If he were coaching Georgia, I would pick the Dawgs
But until someone does it, I'm sticking with Saban, which means Alabama wins again.
MR. CFB
Jersey Guy, I'm really going to miss our weekly discussions. It has been a wonderful opportunity to hear another point of view and the fact that you've been wrong most of the time in no way has diminished my enjoyment of our debates.
As we put a wrap on the 2021 college football season I understand why you would pick Alabama and Nick Saban to win Monday night's CFP championship game in Indianapolis.
It is, by any measure, the logical choice.
I take a back seat to no one in my admiration for Nick Saban and the job he has done at the University of Alabama. He is, without question, the greatest college football coach of all time. A win Monday night would give him eight national championships overall and seven at Alabama. He would stand alone ahead of Paul "Bear" Bryant, who won six in Tuscaloosa
And in my mind this has been Saban's greatest coaching job since he came to Alabama in 2007. After cruising to a national championship in the COVID season of 2020, Alabama lost 10--that's right--10 NFL Draft choices (six in the first round). Alabama lost the best offensive line in college football, the Heisman Trophy winner (DeVonta Smith), a first-round quarterback (Mac Jones), and a first-round running back (Najee Harris).
But here is Alabama with a chance to win yet another national championship. That's coaching.
So of course you're going to pick Alabama to hold up the hardware on Monday night.
But sometimes the logical choice isn't the RIGHT choice. Sometimes the stars align for a team at just the right time. For Georgia, this is one of those times.
Alabama played its best game of the season in beating Georgia 41-24 in the SEC championship game on Dec. 4 in Atlanta. Georgia played its worst. It was the proverbial wake up call for a talented team that had really been challenged in the fourth quarter only once (vs. Clemson) all season.
Now I will concede two points:
1--If Georgia cannot make Alabama quarterback Bryce Young uncomfortable, the Bulldogs can't win. There is a reason Auburn was able to sack Young seven times on Nov. 27. Georgia needs to figure out what it is.
2--And I know you disagree with me on this, but I think the game has to be in the 20s for Georgia to win. I don't think they can win a shootout. I know you do.
So while it isn't smart to bet against Nick Saban, it is worth noting that he has lost a couple of times in the national championship game (Clemson 2016 and Clemson 2018).
This is going to be another one of those rare times that Saban loses everything on the line.
Kirby Smart, who has built Georgia into an elite program that has knocked on this door before, finally gets to walk through it and hold the national championship trophy aloft. At 46, the former Saban protege will finally get his moment of validation.
Georgia wins.