CHICK FIL-A-BOWL – Georgia Dome – Atlanta, GA
Kickoff: Saturday, 3:00 p.m. ET
Line: Alabama -14.0, Total: 54.0

#1 Alabama will be looking to beat #4 Washington in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl on Saturday in order to head to a second consecutive national championship.

Washington was considered one of the favorites to make it here early in the season, but the Huskies sure did make things interesting on themselves. Washington lost a home game to USC on Nov. 12, and the team needed to win out in order to make it to the College Football Playoff. The Huskies did just that, and they actually won each of those games by at least 26 points. Washington is very good on both ends of the floor, but the team is going to need to turn in the performance of a lifetime in order to beat Alabama on Saturday. The Crimson Tide are the defending champions, and they followed their title run up with an undefeated regular season. Alabama covered in nine of its 13 victories, dominating its opponents even with lofty expectations. While USC was a different team at the end of the season, the Trojans were the only common opponent with these two teams. Alabama beat USC at its worst, winning 52-6 in its season opener. That doesn’t bode very well for Washington, considering the Huskies were unable to beat the Trojans. One trend that sticks out when looking at this game is the fact that Alabama is 11-3 ATS versus teams with winning records over the past two seasons. And for those interested in the total, Washington is 25-9 Over in road games versus teams that complete 62% of their passes or better since 1992.

With a spot in the College Football Playoff on the line, the Huskies made a gigantic statement with a 41-10 victory over Colorado in the Pac 12 Championship. QB Jake Browning (3,280 yards, 42 TD, 7 INT) completed just 9 of his 24 passing attempts in that game, but he did throw for two touchdowns and no interceptions. It was his second straight game with no picks, and he’ll need to avoid making mistakes against Alabama. That was what did Washington in against USC, as Browning threw two picks in that game. When Browning does go to the air, he’ll be looking for both WRs John Ross (76 rec, 1,122 yards, 17 TD) and Dante Pettis (50 rec, 796 yards, 14 TD). There might not be a duo of wide receivers in the nation that is better than this one, and Ross, especially, is a serious threat to this Alabama team. Ross is one of the fastest receivers in football, and he should find a way to break free for at least a couple of plays in this one. Browning will just need to make sure he delivers the ball accurately. On the ground, RB Myles Gaskin (1,339 yards, 10 TD) is the guy for this Washington team. He has rushed for over 100 yadrs in two of the past three games and will likely need to hit the 90-yard mark in order for this team to be competitive on Saturday. Defensively, keeping Jalen Hurts from getting out of the pocket will need to be Washington’s top priority. He is dangerous when he begins to improvise, and the Huskies need to turn him into a pocket passer.

If Alabama is going to win this game and another national championship then QB Jalen Hurts (2,592 yards, 22 TD, 9 INT) will need to continue to play like a seasoned veteran. The freshman has been spectacular this season, but he has not faced pressure like this. One thing Hurts will try to do is run the ball whenever he can. He rushed for 100 yards or more in four different games this season. If he can establish that part of his game then it’ll make it a lot easier to pass to guys like WR Calvin Ridley (66 rec, 727 yards, 7 TD) and TE O.J. Howard (37 rec, 445 yards, 2 TD). Ridley was phenomenal all season for Alabama, but Howard was somebody that the Crimson Tide unleashed in the CFP last year. In the national championship, Howard caught five passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns against Clemson. Offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin could have something in store for him in this game as well. Defensively, the Crimson Tide are not going to be very worried about facing a traditional offense like Washington’s. They really only struggle with quarterbacks that can take off and run, which is not the case with Browning.