2018 National Championship Game: Three keys for Georgia/Alabama

By: Joe Smeltzer

Photo creds to SI.Com

It's national title time. Not a lot more needs to be said. Here are three things that both Alabama and Georgia can do to bring it all home tonight.




Georgia
Key offensive players: QB Jake Fromm, RB Nick Chubb
Key defensive players: LB Roquan Smith, LB Lorenzo Carter

Key #1: Don't fall behind early 
Yes, the Bulldogs fell 17 points behind against Oklahoma and came back. But don't expect that to happen again should Georgia start slow against Alabama.

Unlike the Sooners, the Tide have a dominant defense. That dominance was on display in the Sugar Bowl, when 'Bama held mighty Clemson to just two field goals. Another reason for the Tide's triumph was that they jumped on the Tigers early with ten first quarter points, and Clemson never recovered.

If Georgia doesn't come firing out of the gate, a similar result could be in the cards.

Key #2: Force a turnover or three 

Linebackers Lorenzo Carter (7) and Davin Bellamy (17) won't make life easy for Jalen Hurts and company (Photo creds to SB Nation)

Alabama doesn't turn the ball over often. In fact, only one team in the nation has lost the football less than the Tide. As good as Georgia's defense is, the Bulldogs ranked just fifth in the SEC in takeaways with 19.

Turning the Tide over won't be easy, especially through the air.  Of Alabama's nine turnovers on the season, only two have come via interception. To win a national championship, you must do something fantastic, and that thing might have to come in the form of Georgia forcing a Nick Saban coached team to make a big mistake.

Key #3: Stop the run

Bo Scarbrough is one of three runners who Georgia needs to worry about (Photo creds to Saturday Down South)

Georgia allowed 242 rushing yards last week and won. Yeah, that won't fly tonight

Damon Harris, Jalen Hurts and Bo Scarbrough are all threats to do damage on the ground. The good news for Georgia is that the 'Bama running game was fairly quiet against Clemson, running for 141 yards. The bad news is that considering Alabama rushed for 101 fewer yards than Oklahoma last week and still won by 18, you could imagine what could go wrong if Georgia's run defense doesn't do its job.



Alabama 
Key offensive players: QB Jalen Hurts, RB Damon Harris
Key defensive players: LB Rashaan Evans, SS Minkah Fitzpatrick 
Key #1: Set the tone 
Last week, Alabama got out to an early lead and never looked back. If it can do the same in Atlanta tonight, it will be hard for Georgia to recover.

With the way Nick Saban teams play defense and run the ball, it's hard for the other team to come back from a deficit. So if the Tide get a lead of any more than seven points, the Bulldogs are in trouble.

Key #2: Run the football
As mentioned earlier, Georgia's run defense struggled last week. While I don't expect Hurts, Harris or Scarbrough to pull a Rodney Anderson and rush for over 200 yards, the three of them collectively could still do a lot of damage if Georgia isn't up to the task.

Alabama's bread and butter on offense is running the ball. If the Tide can do that effectively tonight, they'll have a good chance at winning another title for St. Nick.

Key #3: Dominate the front 

Da"Ron Payne is a force up front for the Tide (Photo creds to Gridiron Now)

Considering that Georgia had two backs rush for over 140 yards last week, it's fair to say that 'Bama's defense has a lot to handle.

As far as Jake Fromm has come at quarterback, the Bulldogs, like the Tide, get most of their work done on the ground. Alabama, as usual, has a dominant run defense, and it will present a much different tonight challenge than Oklahoma did in the Rose Bowl.

The winner of this game might just come down to who wins the battle up front. If Alabama can get the best of Georgia's o-line and force the Bulldogs to find different ways to get their backs involved, it could be the team that wins that battle, and thus, the national championship.




Final Prediction
It's Georgia's time. They are more complete team than Alabama is all around, have played better football than Alabama this year, especially in the second half, and unlike Alabama, the 'Dawgs haven't been here before.

Georgia has surprised everybody by getting to this point, and the Bulldogs have come this far not to close the deal. In the SEC's backyard, the better SEC team will prevail. Chubb and Michel will be too much to handle on offense, and the confidence of Jake Fromm will shine through. Defeinsivley, the Dawgs will make a big play somewhere along the line.

In my opinion, the 'Dawgs will slightly outplay 'Bama on both sides, and that will push Kirby Smart past his former boss.  Enjoy it, Georgia fans. It's been a long time coming

Georgia 24, Alabama 17