CFP CHAMPIONSHIP: Bama, Georgia adJusting, maintaining at the same time

Will Anderson and the Alabama Crimson Tide will looked to make it two straight in 2021 against Georgia in the CFP National Championship game on Monday. (UA Media Relations)

By GRAHAM DUNN

To change or not to change. Better yet, what to change or not to change is the question.

The second meeting between top-ranked Alabama and No. 3 Georgia on Monday in the CFP National Championship Game has everybody guessing what the two coaching staffs will do to offset the mistakes from the SEC Championship game, which was a shade over a month ago.

The panic seems to be coming from the fan base of both schools but not from the coaching staffs.

“You have to go back to the drawing board, so to speak,” stated Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien when asked to contemplate the previous meeting.

“You've got to start from scratch. You have to look at the last game. You've got to go back and review the whole season, your season, their season.

“It's a long week. They have a great defense. Almost like a generational defense. They have amazing stats and they play hard. They play good, a lot of great players and coaches on that side of the ball. It's going to be a challenge for us.”

Alabama did something no one had done on the Georgia defense all season…. Score at will. Most of it came in the second quarter when the Crimson Tide put up 24 points on the Dogs’ defense.

Georgia did not record a sack in the game, which may have been more impressive than the points Alabama’s offense scored.

“Ultimately we want to create pressure,” Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning said. “We want to be able to get after (Bama QB) Bryce (Young). As far as how to do it, I don't want to give away our secrets yet, but wait until the game to figure that out. We want to generate pressure.

“And certainly there's a lot of different ways you can do that. And he's really good at avoiding the rush. And they did unique things to protect him. We have to attack it a little bit differently, but how we do that, there's a lot of different ways we can do it.”

The Alabama defense was able to put pressure on Georgia’s Stetson Bennett, forcing two interceptions including one that went for a touchdown.

Now that Bennett knows what’s coming, will there be massive changes in the approach for the Tide defense?

“I think the big thing is, in any quarterback, what they see is not what they need to get every snap,” Bama defensive coordinator Pete Golding said. “And I think you're trying to make him make the decision of what coverage it is, what front is it, what pressure is it once he's got the ball in his hand. I think the key is, in a pre-snap read, he thinks he's getting this look and then the ball turns over now and it's a different coverage or it's a different pressure, it's a different front. And now he's got to think. I think there's no difference in disguises to me on defense from the front, the coverage and like that, and on offense with motions and shifts and trades.”

Alabama had struggles handling Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, who had 10 catches for 139 yards and a touchdown in the first game.

“You've got to be able to mix it up and double them sometimes and bang him, play some zone, get some bigger guys on him sometimes if the push-off is an issue,” Golding said. “If the speed becomes a problem, obviously you've got coverages to try to put a DB on them.

“Because of the run game and they're so successful in the run game as well, you can't design everything to take (Bowers) away because they're going to hurt you somewhere else. They've got a lot of good players. It's being multiple, having a plan for wherever he's at to have things, to be able to help you.”

Georgia will have one less receiver to worry about with John Metchie out for the season with an injury.

“They have talent at wideout, even losing Metchie, those other guys have come in, have shown they're obviously really capable and successful players,” Lanning said. “But it does change your plan. You'll have to do some things differently.

“I know we brought a lot of speed over from the offense at times. We're able to use guys during certain periods to extend the field and push it down the field. And we're getting a really good look from our look team because we're able to use those guys.”

Ja’Corey Brooks looks as the replacement for Metchie. He had a catch for a touchdown in he win over Cincinnati.

“Ja'Corey is a very young impressive player, really good size. Really good work ethic,” O’Brien said. “He's a very serious guy. He takes his game very seriously. He tries to work every single day to get better. I think it's really hard to play receiver at a young age at this level and at the next level. And he's doing it really well at this level. He's getting better every day because of his work ethic.”

Is the outcome as simple as who makes the best adjustments?

“We expect a tough challenge, but there's no more pressure outside the room than the pressure we put on ourselves to perform at a high level,” said Lanning. “I know that. I know how much our players care, how much our coaches care. We have a great plan, and we need to go out and execute, and I think we can do that.”