After a year full of chaos, one constant remains in the Crimson Tide. Alabama, making their 7th College Football Playoff appearance, takes on the Cinderella story Cincinnati Bearcats this Friday in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium.
The Crimson Tide sit at 12-1 with an SEC Championship trophy by their side with notable wins against currently third ranked Georgia, eighth ranked Ole Miss, and twenty-first ranked Arkansas. Despite occasionally struggling on both sides of the ball, the Tide managed to find themselves at the top of the CFP Rankings once again.
Although they are heavy favorites for the 93rd time in the last 94 games by a margin of -13.5, their focus remains strong. When the team arrived in Dallas, they unanimously elected to skip out on pre-bowl activities, and instead stay at their hotel to avoid any COVID-19 issues. Head Coach Nick Saban reiterated his statement to the players stating, “You’re not gonna remember what you did Tuesday night in Dallas three months from now, three weeks from now, or three years from now. But you’ll remember for the rest of your life what happens in the game.”
Despite being the favorite, it seems the team still mostly feels like underdogs. “To me, I still feel like we’re the underdog in this game,” LB Will Anderson said Monday. “All year we’ve been disrespected. I’m pretty sure we’re probably getting disrespected out there.”
While Cincinnati has had a historic season as the only Group of 5 school to make the playoffs, their job is not done. A Cincinnati win could change to Power 5/Group of 5 view within college football forever.
Cincinnati sits as the lone undefeated team with a 13-0 record, including wins over fifth ranked Notre Dame as well as twentieth ranked Houston. That being said, Cincinnati still sits 91st in the strength of schedule.
Even with an impressive 22-1 over the last 2 seasons, Cincinnati has been receiving mixed opinions in recent years. A win over the Tide would end all debates against them belonging and possibly prove that the AAC really is a “Power 6” school just like the claim to be.
There are some major matchups going on in this game. Coaches Nick Saban vs. Luke Fickell, Quarterbacks Desmond Ridder vs Bryce Young, but the most notable is Jameson Williams vs Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. Williams is Bama’s top reciever this season. With 1,445 yards and 15 touchdowns, there is no doubt he will threaten the Bearcat defense, but Gardner, who has 3 interceptions and has not allowed a single touchdown this season, will be looking to stop that. Due to John Metchie III being out with an ACL injury, that leaves Williams and Gardner going head to head.
Now, the question will be whether or not Heisman QB Bryce Young wants to test Gardner, or if he will try looking more towards other targets.
Alabama and Cincinnati face off Friday, Dec. 31, in Arlington, TX at 3:30pm ET.
This article was written by Alabama Instagram page @rolltidereport.
