MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Bobbing and weaving through a pandemic, the college football season has finally made it to the finish line. After much consternation, we have our national championship game, with Alabama and Ohio State looking to add to their hefty collection of titles on Monday night.
Alabama is the No. 1 seed and heavy favorite after overpowering most everyone during an impressive 12-0 season. Ohio State got a late start because of the Big Ten's decision to postpone the season because of COVID-19, but the Buckeyes still won all seven games and upset Clemson in the semifinals.
It's a matchup for the ages, and it should be a shootout between two of the best offenses in the country.
Here's how to watch the Ohio State-Alabama national championship game:
No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 3 Ohio State
- WHAT: College Football Playoff National Championship Game
- WHEN: Monday, Jan. 11, 8 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla.
- POINT SPREAD: Alabama is favored by 8.5 points on Monday at 5 p.m. ET, according to the DraftKings.com gambling website. That line has stayed very steady since it opened on Jan. 2. The over/under is 74.5.
- TV: ESPN (plus megacast on several other channels)
- Stream: ESPN-Plus
- TV Announcers: Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Allison Williams and Maria Taylor (sideline reporters)
- RECORDS: Alabama (12-0); Ohio State (7-0)
- LAST GAME: No. 1 seed Alabama beat No. 4 seed Notre Dame 31-14 in the semifinals on Jan. 1. The Rose Bowl game was played in Arlington, Texas. No. 3-seed Ohio State upset No. 2 seed Clemson 49-28 in the semifinals on Jan. 1 at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, La.
- ALL-TIME SERIES: Alabama leads the all-time series, 3-1.
- LAST MEETING: Ohio State beat Alabama 42-35 on Jan. 1, 2015 in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff following the 2014 season. Ohio State went on to win the national title that year.
- COACHES: Alabama's Nick Saban has won six national titles, including five at Alabama in the last 11 years. He has a 255-65-1 record during his 25 seasons as a head coach at Toledo, Michigan State, LSU and Alabama. Ryan Day is in his second year as the head coach at Ohio State. He has an overall record of 23-1, with his only loss coming to Clemson last year during the playoffs.
SERIES HISTORY
- Jan. 1, 2015 — Ohio State 42, Alabama 35 (CFP Playoff semifinals)
- Jan. 2, 1995 — Alabama 24, Ohio State 17 (Florida Citrus Bowl)
- Aug. 27, 1986 — Alabama 16, Ohio State 10
- Jan. 2, 1978 — Alabama 35, Ohio State 6 (Sugar Bowl)
Justin Fields (1) and Ohio State coach Ryan Day are hoping to bring home a national title for the Big Ten on Monday night. (USA TODAY Sports)
Here are three things to look for in the Alabama-Ohio State game:
1. How healthy is Justin Fields?
During Ohio State's upset win over Clemson, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields took a huge hit to the ribs in the second quarter that would have knocked out most people. But he stuck around and threw six touchdown passes anyway.
Ohio State has played its cards close to the vest on whether Fields in 100 percent. Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said he had a good week of practice and Fields said he'll ''be good come Monday night.'' But it will be worth watching to see how he handles getting knocked around by Alabama defenders, and if he's at all reluctant to take off running. He has been turnover prone at times – he threw three interceptions against Indiana in their toughest game of the year – and has to avoid those against Alabama.
2. Can Alabama's offense be stopped?
Alabama's offense is so good that people made good arguments for THREE different players from this group that could have won the Heisman Trophy. Quarterback Mac Jones has the highest quarterback rating ever, completing 77 percent of his passes for 4,036 yards, with 36 touchdown passes and only four interceptions. He didn't win. Neither did running back Najee Harris, who rushed for 1,387 yards and scored 24 touchdowns.
The winner was wide receiver DeVonta Smith, who had a whopping 105 catches for 1,641 yards and 20 touchdown receptions. It takes a lot for receiver to win that award, but his season was so overwhelming that the award was well deserved. Ohio State just doesn't have the defense to stop all of those weapons.
3. Nick Saban's Decade-plus of Dominance
I would already argue that Nick Saban is the greatest college football coach of all time, but a win Monday night would give him a seventh national title and put him one ahead of Bear Bryant.
Saban's "Decade of Dominance'' at Alabama has been chronicled in a terrific book that looked at all the best decades in college football history, and it came to the conclusion that what Saban has done at Alabama is unmatched in the history of the game. Adding another title Monday – his sixth in 12 years at Alabama — would just be icing on the cake.
GameDay Prediction
Here is Tom Brew's prediction for the game. CLICK HERE
https://www.si.com/college/indiana/football/how-to-watch-national-championship-game-ohio-state-alabama
2021-01-12 01:39:00Z
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