The Alabama Crimson Tide and Georgia Bulldogs meet up in this season’s national championship on Monday. Follow along as the Yahoo Sports college football crew breaks down all the action.
Bennett to Pickens deep ball ignites Georgia offense
Georgia gained a total of one yard on its first two possessions with quarterback Stetson Bennett looking really shaky in the face of the Alabama pass rush.
And on Georgia’s third possession, the offense was backed up at its own 8-yard line to start. The Bulldogs got some room when Bennett found Darnell Washington for their first first down of the game. A few plays later, Bennett finally had a clean pocket. He let one loose and found George Pickens behind the defense for a 52-yard gain.
Pickens, expected to be UGA’s No. 1 receiver, missed most of the season with a knee injury. He showed why with this play, going full extension to haul in a beautiful ball from Bennett.
A few plays after the Bennett-to-Pickens connection, Georgia would have a first-and-goal but eventually had to settle for a 24-yard field goal. That tied the score at 3-3 with 12:35 left in the first half.
Georgia defensive TD called back, Alabama takes 3-0 lead
In the SEC title game, Georgia struggled getting pressure on Bryce Young. In the early going on Monday night, the Bulldogs got a hit on Young, the Heisman Trophy winner, and appeared to have opened the national title game with a defensive touchdown.
Jordan Davis blasted through the Alabama front and jarred the ball loose from Young. Nakobe Dean then scooped up the loose ball and waltzed in for a touchdown.
However, after a review, it was determined that Young’s arm was going forward. It was ruled an incomplete pass and the ball went back to the Alabama offense.
From there, Alabama marched down the field and opened up the scoring with a 37-yard Will Reichard field goal. The drive went 14 plays and 56 yards and gave Alabama an early 3-0 lead.
Can Georgia finally break its national championship drought?
It’s finally game day!
The College Football Playoff National Championship is here and it features a rematch of the SEC title game. Georgia was undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the country at that point, but was upset 41-27 by Alabama. More than a month later, Georgia gets an opportunity for revenge on the biggest stage.
Alabama, which defeated Cincinnati 27-6 in the semifinals, is in pursuit of its seventh national championship in the last 13 seasons, all under Nick Saban. Georgia, on the heels of a 34-11 blowout over Michigan, is in pursuit of its first national title since 1980.
Georgia has lost seven straight to Alabama, including four during the tenure of Kirby Smart, who was a longtime Saban assistant before becoming UGA’s head coach. The Bulldogs have had the lead in all four of those Saban-Smart showdowns, but the Tide has always come out on top.
Can the Bulldogs reverse those fortunes on Monday night in Indianapolis? We’re all anxious to find out.