CFP: Oddmakers make Tide favorite in battle of traditional powers

Mac Jones and the Alabama Crimson Tide look to add to the trophy case with a win over Ohio State in Monday’s national championship game. (Unv. Alabama Media Relations)

By TIM GAYLE

The oddsmakers had it right, even though they could have never envisioned the path it would take to get to Hard Rock Stadium.

In March, Ohio State and Alabama, along with Clemson, were the favorites to reach the College Football Playoff National Championship. By mid-October, the odds remained the same despite the fact that Ohio State had not yet played a game in a COVID-altered season. 

The Big 10 canceled the football season in August, then revived it, then changed its rules to allow Ohio State to compete in the Big 10 Championship Game. In a season full of twists and turns, both coaches took their final pre-game press conference appearance on Sunday to reflect on the 2020 season. 

“When you think about that, it just kind of emphasizes the point of just how chaotic this past three, four, five months have been,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “Some days you woke up, you didn't know which direction you were going in. Yeah, certainly there was a time where we didn't think we'd have a season, when we weren't sure if we were going to restart a season. I think, again, which goes to show you how strong our guys have been. Every program has gone through some different version of it. All the focus (right now) is on playing in this game but it certainly has been a strange road to get here.”

Alabama is an eight-point favorite to win its eighth national championship in the last 12 years. Both teams feature high-octane offenses (the two combine for nearly 1,100 yards of offense per game), while Alabama features a trio of offensive athletes that finished in the top five in Heisman Trophy voting, including 2020 winner DeVonta Smith.

“Our team has shown a lot of maturity and perseverance throughout the season,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “We told our players basically the team that shows the maturity to be able to handle disruptions is going to have the best chance to be successful in the end.”

Day was asked whether Alabama’s explosive weapons on offense would put a premium on his offense’s ability to keep pace.

“Well, they have a very good defense,” he pointed out. “They have a powerful front. They do a great job on the back end. You've got to take it one play at a time. You never know how games like this are going to play out. They certainly have great weapons on offense. The quarterback is tremendous. The offensive line is as good as I've seen, the running back -- I mean, they're as talented an offense and play as clean as I've seen. So yeah, you've got to be on your game, but you can't go into a game other than just trying to get the first first down.”

Saban said defensive back Malachi Moore was “very questionable” for Monday night’s game, but was a little more positive about defensive lineman LaBryan Ray, calling him “a little bit more probable. He’s been able to practice this week and hopefully we’ll get some contribution from him.”

He offered no insight into wide receiver Jaylen Waddle’s status, but maintained the approach that Waddle himself will make the final determination. 

“He has been able to practice to some degree,” Saban said. “I think the biggest challenge is can he sustain in the game, and it'll be a game-time decision as to whether he thinks he can play and go out there and do his job well enough to contribute to the team. And we won't know that until we get out there after pregame warmup.”

Day was asked the same question concerning quarterback Justin Fields, who took a shot to the ribs in a New Year’s matchup with Clemson. 

“Justin has had a good week of practice,” Day said. “He's done a really good job preparing, and I think that's the thing that he felt like he did a good job going into last game, was just preparing at a high level, and he’s continued to do that this week.”

Saban was pleased with his offense’s efforts this week as well, even as his offensive coordinator, Steve Sarkisian, contends with preparation for the Buckeyes’ defense while dealing with the duties of his new job as head coach at Texas. 

‘“Sark’ is the one guy that has shown great maturity, I think, in how he's handled his situation,” Saban said. “We’re happy for him relative to the opportunity that he's created for himself by the great job that he's done for us here. But I have no complaints at all with the way our coaches have sort of handled the situation, and I think everybody wants to do the best job that they can for the players so that the players have the best opportunity to have success in the game against a very good team.”

Alabama (12-0) is coming off a year that saw the Tide win an unprecedented 10 games in Southeastern Conference play, win its 28th conference title in an SEC Championship Game shootout with Florida, play a Rose Bowl semifinal in Texas, have two players as finalists for the Heisman Trophy and reach the CFP National Championship for the fifth time in the last six years.

Saban doesn’t make comparisons, but there’s no question this team is special to him, especially if they can take care of business on Monday night.  

“Every team has its own personality,” he said. “It’s hard to compare teams. You always want your team to have great togetherness and be positive in their work and what they try to do to accomplish the goals that they have, and people have to be responsible for their own self-determination so they can go out there and do their job at a high level. I think those things probably are similar with all these teams, but the personality of this team has been really good all year in terms of their buy-in and how they've tried to establish those qualities that make them a good team. I'm very proud of what this group has been able to accomplish and what they've done to this point to create this opportunity for themselves. 

Day voiced a similar assessment of his Buckeyes (7-0).

“No one ever talks about getting to the national championship, they talk about winning the national championship,” he said. “Along the way there are certain goals that you have to reach to get to this point, but the ultimate goal is to win this game.”