Chris Low was the featured speaker at this week’s Touchdown Club of Atlanta luncheon.
The On3 national writer sped through several topics, including the possibility of a future 24-team college playoff that nobody wants. He said he’d rather see a four-team playoff than this new super-sized model.
Low settled on Alabama, Georgia, Miami and Ohio State as the four teams he’s most confident in at this stage of the season. Talented Texas is too inconsistent on offense to crack that group.
The wide-ranging conversation touched on Lane Kiffin’s polarizing role in college football.
“The best way I can describe Lane is he’s an acquired taste, and some people never acquire that taste,” he said, recalling the line he used for ESPN’s E:60 piece on Kiffin last year.
It didn’t take long for a guest to address the question on DawgNation’s mind this week: What does he think about Saturday night in Tuscaloosa?
Low, who’s had his eye on Georgia since that 1980 meeting between eventual Heisman winner George Rogers and future winner Herschel Walker, sized up the matchup and each team’s level of difficulty.
“Honestly, the only thing Kirby Smart hasn’t done is beat Alabama,” Low said, referring to that trend in Smart’s career.
He brought up the repeat national titles. Smart’s teams were the last in college football to do that. Nick Saban’s Alabama teams did that in 2011-2012 as well.
“I remember when I talked to him after Nick retired,” Low said. “His first comment was, ‘Well, I’m not going to get any more chances to beat him,’ so I know that eats at him.”
He wove his appreciation for Georgia fifth-year QB Gunner Stockton into his prediction.
“I think Georgia goes in and wins the game,” he said. “I just think this is sort of their year. I thought last year was a bridge year for them having lost two straight in the playoff. They just have, I think, all the pieces in place.”
“I think Gunner’s experience in a place like that probably is the difference. I think both teams will be in the playoff.”
He pointed to a significant matchup.
“My sense of this game is Alabama is much better than they were last year on the defensive line,” Low said. ”I think it gets down to whether Georgia can block them. But Georgia has four of their five starters back [on the line] and their freshman starter [Zykie Helton] is probably one of the better freshmen in the country."
“I think it gets down to how well they can block Alabama’s front and can Alabama get home and put pressure on Stockton with four. They blitzed a little bit last week. Alabama hasn’t had to blitz a whole lot this year so I think a lot of it depends on how well Georgia plays offensively. I just have a lot of faith in Stockton. That he’s going to make good decisions, and he’s not going to turn the ball over, and he’s one of those guys: When you get in the red zone, he’s just money.”
He added one last thing.
“Georgia has not been probably really tested as much as Alabama has,” Low said. “Kentucky’s obviously a pretty good football team. Mississippi State, even though [Kamario] Taylor was hamstrung, is a good football team. Georgia has just not played anyone. I know Oklahoma was supposed to be good, but Georgia could have scored 60 on them. I do think Bama is a little bit more battle-tested.”
He also pointed out how well Stockton has been throwing the football and how Alabama has been giving up “chunk” plays defending the pass so far this season.
Don’t look for 11-play drives in this one, he said.
“Whoever makes the most explosive plays,” Low said. “I think that will be a key factor.”
