Who has the edge in the college football title game? Breaking down Alabama and Ohio State
The Alabama Crimson Tide and Ohio State Buckeyes face off Monday at Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium in the College Football Playoff national championship game. It’s a rematch of the 2015 Sugar Bowl, one of the semifinals in the first year of the four-team playoff format.
Alabama (12-0) reached the championship by defeating Notre Dame 31-14 in the Rose Bowl while Ohio State pulled off an upset with a 49-28 win over Clemson in the Sugar Bowl.
Here’s a breakdown of how the teams compare heading into the matchup.
Alabama offense vs. Ohio State’s defense
The Crimson Tide’s offense was far and away one of the top in the country. Among teams that played at least six games this season (sorry, Kent State), Alabama led the country in scoring (an average of 48.2 points per game) and ranked fifth nationally in total offense (535 yards per game). The Crimson Tide had three players among the top five in Heisman Trophy voting — quarterback Mac Smith (4,036 passing yards, 77 percent completion rate, 36 touchdowns, four interceptions) and wide receiver DeVonta Smith (105 catches, 1,641 receiving yards, 20 touchdowns) are among the top four finalists while running back Najee Harris (1,387 rushing yards, 24 touchdowns) placed fifth — and once again has one of the top offensive lines in the country.
Ohio State, meanwhile, has held its opponents to an average of 22 points per game and enters the championship game with the second best rushing defense in the country (allowing an average of just 89.14 yards per game). Shaun Wade (30 tackles, two interceptions, three pass breakups) and Sevyn Banks (16 tackles, one interception, seven pass breakups) have impressed in the secondary over Ohio State’s seven-game schedule. The Buckeyes also have six players with at least three tackles for loss.
Ohio State’s offense vs. Alabama’s defense
The Buckeyes averaged 544.9 yards per game, about 10 more than Alabama. While likely top-five pick quarterback Justin Fields gets most of the recognition, it was Ohio State’s run game that was among the top in the country. OSU averaged 272.57 yards rushing this season. Senior Trey Sermon leads the group with 868 rushing yards and four touchdowns, with the bulk of that production coming in Ohio State’s last three games (636 yards, four touchdowns on 70 carries for a 9.1 yards per rush mark).
Now, Fields still left his mark in this shortened season. He has completed 73.4 percent of his passes for 1,906 yards and 21 touchdowns against six interceptions heading into Monday. That includes his 385-yard, six-touchdown outing against Clemson in the semifinal.
Match that up with Alabama’s defense, one that ranks 32nd nationally in total defense (353.2 yards allowed per game) and 13th in scoring defense (average of 19 points allowed per game). Plantation American Heritage alumnus Patrick Surtain II headlines Alabama’s defense. The junior cornerback and projected first-round pick leads the team with 11 pass breakups and is part of a South Florida-laden secondary that also includes cornerback Josh Jobe (Columbus) as well as safties Jordan Battle (St. Thomas Aquinas) and Daniel Wright (Boyd Anderson).
Other players to watch
▪ Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson: The duo has been Fields’ primary targets all season. Olave and Wilson have combined to catch 82 passes for 1,333 yards and 12 touchdowns. No other player on the team has more than 12 catches or 140 yards, although Jeremy Ruckert does have five touchdown catches.
▪ Jaylen Waddle: The junior receiver was one of Alabama’s most explosive players over the first five games of the season before a severe ankle injury sidelined him for the rest of the season to this point. But according to AL.com, Waddle is expected to return to practice this week and could potentially play in the title game. Waddle caught 25 passes for 557 yards — and absurd 22.3 yards per catch rate — and four touchdowns before the injury. Should he return on Monday, he’ll be just another threat for Ohio State’s defense to deal with.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 12:03 PM.
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