INDIANAPOLIS — The game plans are finished, the opening series’ scripted and the Georgia and Alabama game day routines are underway leading up to the CFP Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Alabama coach Nick Saban held their final pregame Zoom press conference on Sunday and the countdown has begun to the 8 p.m. kick off in Indianapolis, the self-styled Crossroads of America.
The Tide beat the Bulldogs 41-24 in the SEC Championship Game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta some five weeks ago, on Dec. 4.
Alabama, however, lost go-to receiver John Metchie to a knee injury in the second quarter of that win over the Bulldogs, and that could prove to be a game-changer.
Here are three keys for Georgia when Alabama has the ball, and when the Bulldogs have the ball:
When Alabama has the ball ….
Key 1: Slow the run game
Alabama tailback Brian Robinson is a fifth-year senior from Tuscaloosa who bleeds crimson and typifies the “warrior” mentality the Tide plays with. Robinson was coming off a hamstring injury the last time he faced Georgia and was limited to 55 yards on 16 carries.
Robinson is considerably more healthy now and has momentum after a 204-yard rushing performance in Alabama’s 27-6 Cotton Bowl CFP win over Cincinnati.
“I don’t really embrace the pressure, it’s nothing I’ve not seen before,” Robinson said. “I’ve seen this team, I’ve seen this defense before. I’ve been under these lights before multiple times, I have experience playing games like this, against teams like Georgia.”
2. Catch the Gingerbread Man
Tide quarterback Bryce Young is as elusive as they come, and his scrambling ability was no doubt the difference in the teams’ first meeting.
Young, however, figures to greatly miss his security blanket with Metchie out, and that figures to make third down and scramble plays considerably less comfortable for the Alabama quarterback. The Bulldogs front seven averaged more than 3 sacks per game this season, and after getting shutout in that department by the Tide in the last game, they’ll be eager to catch up to Young and record multiple sacks on Monday night.
Sacking Young is pivotal in two respects: One, it would create more difficult down-and-distance circumstances, and, Two, as cool and poised as Young has been, getting hit and landed on by big people takes effect physically and psychologically.
3. Contain Jameson Williams
The speedy Tide target carved up UGA for 184 yards on 7 catches, including a 67-yard touchdown. Kirby Smart has said the long touchdown was a result of busted coverage — not a man getting beat — and that’s notable.
Georgia has confidence that if it plays assignment sound, Williams can be contained, especially with Metchie missing the game.
The Bulldogs tried too many different things in coverage in the last meeting, leading to a lack of execution. The plan will be simplified this time, and that should allow Georgia defenders to play faster and looser.
When Georgia has the ball …
1. Stay ahead of the chains
Georgia was 3-of-12 on third down conversions in the last meeting, the result of finding itself in predictable, passing situations on third downs.
Offensive coordinator Todd Monken came out with an aggressive, and efficient, game plan against Michigan, mixing up the pass and run on first downs to set up several third-and-short situations that kept the Wolverines on their heels.
Gains of 5 and 6 yards on first down will be critical in keying extended drives and keeping Stetson Bennett out of trouble.
2. Find Brock Bowers
Make no mistake about it, Bowers is the offensive MVP on this Georgia football team and might ultimately be the most irreplaceable.
Bowers, the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year, has been Bennett’s go-to target, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound matchup nightmare for defenses who features a ridiculous catch radius and explosive run-after-the-catch ability.
Bowers left the Orange Bowl with a shoulder injury, but Smart has said it’s nothing new for true freshman from California, and the Bulldogs will do well to continue to lean on Bowers with their championship hopes on the line.
3. Run Stetson run
Kirby Smart has been confident in Bennett throughout the season, even when the fifth-year senior has had his struggles in games against Florida, and again in the SEC Championship Game to Alabama.
Bennett’s legs, Smart said, are what make him special and those running skills figure to be on display against the Crimson Tide and Pete Golding’s defense.
Golding said Alabama will look to confuse Bennett with different looks, “changing the picture,” as Nick Saban says, after the snap.
That’s when Bennett needs to tuck and run and avoid the sort of negative plays that have held him back before. Bennett’s running skills are crucial, and they should keep the Alabama defense off-balance.
