Game To Watch: #1 Alabama vs #4 Notre Dame: January 1, 2021

Alabama will face Notre Dame in the first College Football Playoff semi-final this Friday at 4:00 EST in Arlington. The Crimson Tide was an undefeated 11 – 0 this year and won the SEC Championship with a 52 – 46 win over Florida. The Fighting Irish are 10 – 1 this season after losing the re-match against Clemson in the ACC Championship Game. This is the most important game of the season for both teams and the winner will play for the National Championship.

Recent History

Notre Dame holds the overall edge between the two teams with a 5 – 2 record, but those wins came over 30 years ago. The only time the two teams have played in the last 30 years was the 2013 BCS National Championship Game, which Alabama won 42 – 14. Alabama was dominant in the 2013 contest, controlling the game throughout and winning easily. This Alabama team will look to repeat that performance, while Notre Dame hopes to prove they are ready to compete with the Tide.

Top 25 Players

What To Watch For…

Can the Alabama offense be slowed down?

Alabama’s offense has dominated against every defense they have faced in 2020. At this point it’s fair to wonder if there is a college defense that can slow down the Crimson Tide offense at all. Alabama averages 49.7 points per game and has scored 38 or more points in every game this season. The offense has been even better recently, scoring over 50 points in their last three games. They average a whopping 7.8 yards per play and have been impressive in the passing game as well as the running game. Alabama has some of the best weapons in the country, a strong offensive line and a quarterback that is accurate and make’s good decisions. Notre Dame will get their chance to slowdown the Alabama offense in the semifinal and will look to achieve what no one has this year. The Fighting Irish have played well defensively, holding opponents to 18.6 points per game in 2020. They have two of the best athletes in the country in linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Karamoah and safety Kyle Hamilton, who are both big time playmakers on defense. Notre Dame did struggle defensively in both of their match-ups with Clemson this year, giving up 40 and 34 points in the two games. Notre Dame will have to do a better job defending Alabama than they did against Clemson if they want to have a chance in this game.

Will Ian Book come up big for Notre Dame?

Ian Book has become a good quarterback for Notre Dame. At times this year he has elevated his play and played great, but he has also had some games that were not up to par. Notre Dame’s offense is built around the running attack, but functions best when Book is able to take advantage of defenses committing to stop the run by passing the ball or scrambling himself. In the win against Clemson, Book threw for 310 yards and ran for 67 yards. On the other hand in the loss against Clemson, Book only threw for 219 yards and ran for -35 yards. Alabama’s defense has been good overall this year but they did struggle against Mississippi and Florida. In both of those games the opposing quarterback had a good game. Mississippi’s Matt Corral passed for 365 yards and ran for 40 yards against Alabama, while Florida’s Kyle Trask threw for 408 yards. Those were the two best performances by quarterbacks against Alabama this season and not coincidentally those were the only two teams that scored over 40 points against the Crimson Tide. Ian Book will have to play a great game for Notre Dame to keep up with Alabama.

Which offensive line will impose it’s will on the game?

Alabama and Notre Dame have two of the best offensive lines in college football. All five starters for both teams are among the top 25 at their positions. Both teams will also be without their staring center. Notre Dame has been without Jarrett Patterson for a few weeks now, while Alabama lost Landon Dickerson to a knee injury in the second half of the SEC Championship Game. Alabama’s offensive line has paved the for the running game to average over five yards per carry and has only given up 16 sacks in 11 games this season. Obviously being without Dickerson will be a new challenge but the offensive line has been a strength for the Tide this year. Notre Dame’s offensive line has been impressive in it’s own right. The Fighting Irish have averaged 5.1 yards per carry and given up 23 sacks in 11 games this year. They have been without Patterson for a few weeks and have had some time to adjust to playing without one of their starters. Football games are still won and lost in the trenches and both these teams have the offensive line to dominate at the line of scrimmage. The team that imposes their will at the line of scrimmage will have more success on offense and likely win the game.

Prediction

Notre Dame may be the underdog in this game but they have a talented team and will come out with a strong game plan early. Expect a back and forth game in the first half. In the second half, Alabama’s depth and talented playmakers will prove to be too much for the Fighting Irish and Alabama will pull away for a comfortable win. Alabama 45 Notre Dame 27.

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