Alabama Football: Readers Pick the National Championship
SEC fans have a love-hate relationship with Alabama football, but most will likely be pulling for the SEC this weekend and expecting another national championship for Alabama football.
Since about the midpoint of the regular season, Southbound and Down has made picking games available to SEC fans. We’ll do the same for the national championship. Instead of just picking the winner, though, we’re going to add a little twist.
Before we get to the twist, however, here’s a short preview of the game (taken from our national championship predictions article):
How Alabama can Win:
Jake Coker doesn’t need to have an extraordinary performance like he did against Michigan State for Alabama to pull out the victory here. What the Tide need is for Derrick Henry to not have another average performance. Sure it was a part of the plan and he still managed 2 touchdowns. But no one expected the Heisman Trophy winner to be held under 4 yards per carry. Clemson has a tall and rangy secondary but they don’t have near the front 7 that Michigan State has. Henry should be able to average better than 6 yards a carry and look like an animal leading the Crimson Tide to the National Championship.
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How Alabama can Lose:
Mobile quarterbacks with huge upside have been Alabama’s kryptonite. Bo Wallace wasn’t an all-time great but had the capacity to play like one. He did just that when he guided Ole Miss to a victory against Alabama last year. The key? Extending plays with his feet, 3 passing touchdown and no interceptions. Cardale Jones wasn’t about to scamper like a deer but was able to guide his Buckeyes to a victory against Alabama in last year’s College Football Playoff. The key? Extending plays with his feet, hitting bombs deep once the secondary broke down and Ezekiel Elliott. Chad Kelly quietly had a monster season in 2015, including another Ole Miss victory against Alabama. The key? Extending plays with his feet, a little lucky, 3 passing touchdowns, a rushing touchdowns and (wait for it) no turnovers. Deshaun Watson fits the mold. His 68% completion percentage, 31 passing touchdowns, 3,699 passing yards, 1,032 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns all bode well for the upset bid.
You can make your pick from that or just based on your gut. But, as promised, there is a twist. We’re just picking the game heads up, no spread. But that isn’t the twist. There will be two poll questions this time.
SEC fans have a love-hate relationship with Alabama football. Fans of other teams call Alabama football fans all kind of unkind things. Alabama football fans themselves likely perceive it as jealousy.
The SEC is known for bonding together at bowl season, though. Which leads us to our twist. Even if you think Alabama will win the game, do you even want them to? That will be our first question, with picking the game being second.
I’m actually more interested to see who y’all want to win the game!