The national championship game is finally here.
After an unprecedented, tenuous season that at times felt like it might not happen, college football has reached the finish line. On Monday night at the Hard Rock Stadium, Alabama will play Ohio State for the College Football Playoff national championship.
To get insight into what could determine the game, AL.com recently caught up with CBS Sports analyst Gary Danielson. The former Purdue quarterback called multiple Alabama games for CBS this season, including most recently the SEC Championship, and believes there’s one key factor to watch between the Crimson Tide and Buckeyes.
“The biggest storyline of the game is can the defensive line for Ohio State make a game of it?” Danielson said. “If Alabama is able to run the ball with Najee (Harris) and control the line of scrimmage, then their play-action pass game will become devastating for them.”
Danielson said with Alabama center Landon Dickerson out for the title game, Ohio State needs to get inside pressure on Alabama quarterback Mac Jones, a feat few teams have been able to accomplish this season. Ohio State was without two defensive ends against Clemson in the Sugar Bowl, and if that group’s depth remains depleted on Monday, that task gets even harder to accomplish.
Beyond pressuring Jones, Danielson says Ohio State has to limit Alabama’s possessions. Against Florida in the SEC Championship, Alabama had 12 drives and scored 52 points in an offensive shootout. Notre Dame tried to slow the game down in the Rose Bowl, and it worked to some extent. Alabama scored only 31 points on nine possessions -- its lowest scoring output in more than a year -- but the Crimson Tide still easily won because Notre Dame’s offense couldn’t keep up. With Justin Fields and Trey Sermon leading the way, Ohio State has the offense to stay in the game but its defense could struggle slowing Harris and Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith.
“Ohio State can’t get in a game where they get four or five stops but Alabama gets 14 possessions. You still get killed,” Danielson said. “They do it with that offensive line where if they run 80 plays, you don’t have a chance. That’s the key to the game.”
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Fields had a terrific Sugar Bowl performance, throwing for six touchdowns in a 49-28 win over Clemson. He took a big hit during that game leading to some questions about whether he’d be at 100 percent for the title game. Fields has the ability to make big plays with his legs, and Danielson believes Ohio State shouldn’t change its gameplan to avoid letting Fields capitalize on that. Ohio State has “the horses that can play with Alabama,” Danielson says, but will need to have a varied approach to keep the Tide off-balance.
“They’ve got the formula,” he said. “They’ve got a running back, they’ve got two speed receivers, they’ve got big tight ends. Alabama’s defense does not handle the middle of the field well this year. The two inside linebackers are not great cover players.
“(Ohio State) has to continue to run the ball a little bit and take the deep shots. Their receivers are going to put pressure on this Alabama defense. We’ve seen it all year -- people who have quarterbacks who can throw the ball, there’s openings to throw the ball over the middle of the field against Alabama.”
John Talty is the sports editor and SEC Insider for Alabama Media Group. You can follow him on Twitter @JTalty.
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January 11, 2021 at 10:54PM
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Gary Danielson’s keys to Alabama-Ohio State title game - AL.com
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