College Football Playoff Preview: Championship Game 2022

๐Ÿ”น 12 goals
๐Ÿ”น 53 shots
๐Ÿ”น 24 on target
๐Ÿ”น 8.9 xG
๐Ÿ”น 3.1 goals over expected
๐Ÿ”น 5.6 xA
๐Ÿ”น 20.8% conversion
๐Ÿ”น 4.4 touches in opposing box (per game)

In all of the above metrics, @FCKobenhavn‘s Viktor Claesson sits in the 95th percentile of all #sldk players (at least).

#fcklive

๐™’๐™ž๐™ฃ ๐™ฅ๐™ง๐™ค๐™—๐™–๐™—๐™ž๐™ก๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ฎ ๐Ÿ“Š

๐Ÿ”ต #LCFC win: 49%
โš’๏ธ #WHUFC win: 27%
๐Ÿค Draw: 24%

That point at Newcastle might just come back to save Dean Smith’s @LCFC today. But they’ll need all three points against West Ham, and a favour from Bournemouth.

#PremierLeague | #LEIWHU

๐™’๐™ž๐™ฃ ๐™ฅ๐™ง๐™ค๐™—๐™–๐™—๐™ž๐™ก๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ฎ ๐Ÿ“Š

๐Ÿต๏ธ #LUFC win: 36%
โšช๏ธ #THFC win: 39%
๐Ÿค Draw: 25%

Sam Allardyce’s @LUFC need to beat a flagging Spurs team – and for results elsewhere to go their way – if they are to remain a Premier League club. A huge ask for Leeds.

#PremierLeague | #LEETOT

Share this:

Division 1 college football, or the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), concludes its season later today, with the College Football Playoff National Championship. Up until 2014, FBS was decided by polls and rankings to determine the top two teams in the country to play for the national championship. The process changed and evolved over the years, but there was always debate over who the โ€œtrueโ€ national champion should be. Therefore, the CFP was created and the top four teams would be chosen to play in semi-final games and the winners in the championship. One could devote an entire novel to the flaws in their system and necessary changes, but the system we have now is much improved and gives two more teams the opportunity to play for a championship.

This year, the class of the SEC meet in what will be a rematch of the 2018 CFP championship where Alabama beat Georgia in overtime. This year, Alabama won the SEC championship over Georgia and went on to defeat Cincinnati in the semifinal. Georgia bounced back from their regular season loss to beat Big Ten Champion Michigan in their semifinal setting up this rematch.

Hereโ€™s an in-depth look at the matchup from Genius Sports and NCAA LiveStats.

The University of Alabama Crimson Tide

Alabama has absolutely been the football program on the hill since Nick Saban took over as head coach. Saban took the LSU Tigers to a national championship in 2003 and leveraged that success into an NFL head coaching job with the Miami Dolphins. His success didnโ€™t translate – as is often the case – and he bolted for the Alabama position in 2007 immediately following another losing season with the Dolphins. Since Saban joined the Crimson Tide the team has a 183-24 (.884) record along with six national championships. Every college program tries to emulate Alabamaโ€™s success, but few can match up.

This year, Saban has led his team back to the national championship to try for back to back wins, something Alabama hasnโ€™t done since 2011 and 2012. Alabama is led by Heisman trophy winning quarterback Bryce Young, who led the SEC in touchdowns with 46, and was second in the SEC with 4,503 passing yards. This is Youngโ€™s first year starting and has stepped up to every major challenge. Young will make it back to back Heisman trophy winners from Alabama to win the national championship (WR Devonta Smith).

As always, Alabama has been led by a stout defense and playmakers all over the field. Their star defensive player is Will Anderson who barely missed out on being a Heisman finalist himself, despite his impressive numbers. The 6-4, 235 linebacker is only a sophomore, but tallied a gaudy 31.0 tackles for loss and 17.5 sacks along with 97 total tackles. Georgiaโ€™s offense will need to focus on Anderson and insure everyone knows where he is on the field and how to block him.

University of Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia under head coach Kirby Smart has bounced back from mediocrity to be the premier team in the SEC East (Alabama is in the SEC West). Smart took over the head coaching job in 2016 and has brought Georgia to the SEC championship game by winning the SEC East four times (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021). His Bulldogs won the SEC in 2017 beating Auburn and helping his team reach the championship that year. Smart was hired away from Saban and his staff where he was the defensive coordinator, and the decision was, wellโ€ฆ a smart one. Georgiaโ€™s defense has remained one of the fiercest in the country and this year averaged only 6.9 points allowed per game. That’s less than a touchdown a game!

However, Georgia has not faired well against Alabama with Smart. The two teams met in this yearโ€™s SEC Championship game after Georgia went undefeated in the regular season and was the number 1 team in the country for basically the more or less the entire year. Alabama wasnโ€™t afraid of the challenge or the stage and beat Georgia 41-24 behind Youngโ€™s SEC championship game record 421 passing yards. But Georgia bounced back in their semifinal match against Michigan, defeating the Wolverines 34-11 with 521 yards of total offense and giving up only 328 of total offense.

Kirby Smart will be focused on beating his former coach and mentor at Alabama. Smart has never beaten Saban as a head coach, but isnโ€™t alone in that. Sabanโ€™s former assistants are 1-25 against him all-time, with the one victory coming this year from Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M. Smart aims to be the second former assistant to do so and earn his redemption from the SEC championship. The win will also be Georgiaโ€™s first national championship since 1980. A drought many Bulldogs are ready to put behind them.

Share this:

Related Posts

Four Burning Questions as the March Madness Run-In Begins
Now that the Super Bowl is in the books, the next big-ticket item on the U.S. sports calendar is March...
CFP National Championship: TCU looks to upset dominant Georgia
College Football Playoff, National Championshipย  TCU Horned Frogs (3) vs University of Georgia Bulldogs...
12 Days of Bowl-mas: A Guide to the Festive College Football Schedule
Bowl Season is upon us. While everyone knows to tune into the Peach Bowl for Georgia-Ohio State and the...

๐Ÿ”น 12 goals
๐Ÿ”น 53 shots
๐Ÿ”น 24 on target
๐Ÿ”น 8.9 xG
๐Ÿ”น 3.1 goals over expected
๐Ÿ”น 5.6 xA
๐Ÿ”น 20.8% conversion
๐Ÿ”น 4.4 touches in opposing box (per game)

In all of the above metrics, @FCKobenhavn‘s Viktor Claesson sits in the 95th percentile of all #sldk players (at least).

#fcklive

๐™’๐™ž๐™ฃ ๐™ฅ๐™ง๐™ค๐™—๐™–๐™—๐™ž๐™ก๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ฎ ๐Ÿ“Š

๐Ÿ”ต #LCFC win: 49%
โš’๏ธ #WHUFC win: 27%
๐Ÿค Draw: 24%

That point at Newcastle might just come back to save Dean Smith’s @LCFC today. But they’ll need all three points against West Ham, and a favour from Bournemouth.

#PremierLeague | #LEIWHU

๐™’๐™ž๐™ฃ ๐™ฅ๐™ง๐™ค๐™—๐™–๐™—๐™ž๐™ก๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ฎ ๐Ÿ“Š

๐Ÿต๏ธ #LUFC win: 36%
โšช๏ธ #THFC win: 39%
๐Ÿค Draw: 25%

Sam Allardyce’s @LUFC need to beat a flagging Spurs team – and for results elsewhere to go their way – if they are to remain a Premier League club. A huge ask for Leeds.

#PremierLeague | #LEETOT