Alabama vs. Georgia is a highly anticipated matchup almost every time they face off these days. Ever since the 2008 “blackout” game, it’s provided us with seven blockbuster games over the years, all resulting in Alabama winning. Georgia hopes to turn the tables in this year’s CFP National Championship game.
While Georgia may be the betting favorite, the odds are not all in their favor. Georgia is currently a 3 point favorite over the Tide, but Nick Saban currently sits at 26-1 against his former assistants and 4-0 against Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart. It is also worth mentioning that every year the Tide has had a Heisman winner, they have proceeded to win the title.
Both teams have some elite players that have helped push them to this title game. Alabama has Heisman winner QB Bryce Young in addition to WR Jameson Williams. On the defensive side of the ball, they have star sophomore LB Will Anderson Jr. Young boasts a school record of 46 touchdowns and 4,503 yards. Williams, picking up a lot of the weight after John Metchie III’s ACL injury, has an astounding 15 touchdowns with 1,507 yards. Lastly, Will Anderson Jr. has put up 17.5 sacks (1st in FBS), and 54 solos tackles.
Alabama has its stars, but so does Georgia. Defensive lineman Jordan Davis may not have all the numbers that Anderson has, but he is constantly pressuring QB’s to force big defensive plays. Despite fans hoping for Georgia to start original starter JT Daniels, former walk-on Stetson Bennett’s 27 touchdowns and 2,635 yards has pushed the Bulldogs to a 13-1 record.
Bennett has been able to block out the noise, something Georgia linebacker Quay Walker noted when speaking to reporters Wednesday.
“Stetson don’t really pay too much attention to what’s being said of him. We don’t either. So like I said earlier, I think for the question, the main thing is for us to worry about all the guys that’s there because nobody else matters and their opinion,” Walker said. “At the end of the day, whether you’re doing good or bad, somebody is going to have something bad to say about you anyway regardless. I think it’s the main focus, the way he approaches that is to just cancel out the outside noise, major props to him for that.”
Bennett threw for 3 touchdowns and 313 yards in the Bulldogs’ Orange Bowl win over Michigan. Now we’ll have to see if Bennett will be able to block the noise once more and take down a motivated Bama team.
Alabama and Georgia face off in the 2022 CFP National Championship on Monday, Jan. 10, at 8:00 pm ET.