My surprise was Clemson only being able to put up 6 points on Alabama’s badly depleted defense. Bama had a lot of injuries to their LBs this year. But, the DL played very well, especially the big #9 dude. Bama’s O played just well enough. GA and Bama should be decent.
They had 5 weeks to get healthy. Alabama needs to replace their fullback pretending to be a QB for someone who can really play quarterback.
You point out one of the flaws of the current system. That Bama can get away with playing one less game, not having to risk injury and having an additional week to plan and get healthy.
That’s why there needs to be a play-in game between the best at-large teams, to eliminate that advantage. Bama should have played UCF to get to the Semi-Finals.
I don’t see how anyone has Bama as a favorite, especially with the game in UGA’s backyard.
Georgia will run roughshod over Bama’s Defense, although Bama’s defense was much better last night than I expected.
And Bama’s offense isn’t nearly as potent as OU’s.
But that all being said, you can’t underestimate Saban.