Alabama Football: 5 keys to win the National Championship

Keys for Alabama football to win the National Championship

1. The gravity of DeVonta Smith should be overwhelming

I love using the concept of gravity to describe a receiver. Can Smitty beat someone in single coverage? Absolutely. He can win in triple coverage, and teams have to at least double him to have a chance of winning.

However, gravity in college football refers to how defenders react to you. Players of high gravity are practically drawn into you due to the worry of getting beat. They will naturally bite on your routes and shade towards you in zone coverage.

With an offensive coordinator like Steve Sarkisian, this becomes easy to exploit. You simply need to send Smith through a zone before the primary target goes underneath. We have seen this all year with players like John Metchie and Jahleel Billingsley. Defensive backs naturally gravitate towards Smith, and that puts them out of position to stop the big play.

Shaun Wade said he wanted to line up against Smith, and he likely will. Even if he does, he will need help. As soon as Smith has a major catch, Sark will open up the rest of the playbook and use the Heisman winner as a decoy.

This is Alabama’s recipe for success. If Ohio State worries too much about DeVonta Smith, Mac Jones will find the other open targets. It will also make it easier for Najee Harris to run through the middle.

If Alabama can do these five things, they will be celebrating their 18th title.