Most Alabama football fans watched both semi-final games Saturday. What did we learn and what remains unanswered from the two contests?
Alabama football fans wanted a win most of all on Saturday. But we also wanted to further understand the probability of another Crimson Tide national championship. We offer some midnight Saturday night answers, that may or may not hold true after seeing replays of both games.
The Cotton Bowl
What was most clear in the Cotton Bowl was also no surprise. Notre Dame was not one of college football’s four best teams. Georgia should have played Clemson. The Irish were so out-classed, it is hard to accurately assess Clemson. We’ll give it our best shot.
- The Clemson defensive front is deep enough and talented enough to overcome the loss of Dexter Lawrence.
- Trevor Lawrence is very different from Kyler Murray, but the freshman plays like an upperclassman. He is stronger than we realized and he has a big, accurate arm.
- The Clemson receivers are very good again. Smart, tough and physical guys who will challenge the Alabama football secondary.
The Orange Bowl
- The best thing about the Orange Bowl is Alabama football coach, Nick Saban will not be satisfied with his team’s performance. There were far too many miscues and boneheaded plays. Raekwon Davis, Keaton Anderson, Jedrick Wills and Damien Harris will hopefully learn from their mistakes and Nick’s robust response. The Crimson Tide will need to be more mentally disciplined against Clemson.
- Josh Jacobs is the Tide’s best running back, by far. Any third and short yardage play next Monday night, Jacobs needs the ball, either through an RPO or from the wildcat.
- Mike Locksley, Dan Enos and Josh Gattis may have a tendency to focus too much on using too many weapons. From a first look, the Tua-Jalen onfield together schemes may need to be re-thought. We love Jalen as a player and as a person. What he did against Georgia was marvelous. But are the extra looks the opponent must defend worth fewer plays not triggered by Tua? We are not sure. In fairness to the trio of offensive coaches, Nick Saban may be driving the include Jalen approach.
- It is hard to find fault when a team scores 45 points while only throwing 28 passes. But, Tua missed maybe one throw in his 27 attempts. Since he appeared healthy enough to push off with his feet when throwing, maybe a little more passing would have resulted in even more success. Completed passes chew up clock almost as well as running the ball.
- Ending these observations with a tipped hat to Kyler Murray is warranted by his sensational play.
Alabama football fans, check in with us often. The Bama Hammer staff will review and discuss every facet of the upcoming National Championship game.