National Championship Game: Alabama vs. Georgia Live Updates

ATLANTA — They come from bordering states and recruit the same players. They devise schemes with matching strengths and weaknesses. One coach used to work for the other coach. Tonight in Atlanta, Georgia and Alabama meet in college football’s national championship game for the first time.

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Stay here for live updates and analysis from Atlanta.

How to watch: Kickoff is at 8:17 p.m. Eastern. ESPN has the broadcast, but you can stream the game here.

A pregame prediction: Dawgs win a close one.

Joe Drape: The Crimson Tide were 3-2 favorites to win the championship before the playoffs started, even though they were the No. 4 seeded team. They are 4-point favorites right now. Alabama has the best coach in the game, and a roster of talent that is the best in the nation. I’m one of the few people in the know-nothing, effete East Coast football establishment that admires them.

That said, I’m picking the Dawgs. They had some magic going their way against Oklahoma. They were pushed around the first half, but never lost their poise. Kirby Smart and his staff made the necessary adjustments in the second half. There is some sentiment at work. I am a former denizen of Atlanta, and this column explains why. Prediction: Georgia 28, Alabama 24.

Here are the top story lines for the national championship game.

■ Coaches: This is Kirby Smart’s first national title game as head coach. It is Nick Saban’s seventh — and he has won five of six. Can Smart, who served as Saban’s defensive coordinator for several years in Alabama, out-coach his former boss? If he doesn’t, it won’t be a huge knock on his résumé.

■ Who is better? Alabama and Georgia have only played 13 and 14 games, respectively, so we don’t truly know which team is actually better. In the national semifinals, Georgia needed double-overtime to beat Oklahoma, while Alabama controlled Clemson in a 24-6 win. The Sagarin Ratings call Alabama the best team in the country and Georgia the third-best. Betting odds have generally pegged Alabama a 4-point favorite. Sounds about right.

■ Trump attending: President Trump is still scheduled to attend the game. The White House had declined ESPN’s request to interview him, ESPN’s Stephanie Druley said Sunday. “We will obviously show him at the game, when we see where he’s sitting and everything else, but we’re waiting for the White House.”

Outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the uncharacteristic cold front merged with rain, crowds were larger than might be expected waiting to get in, as police along with Secret Service searched bags and attendees had to go through metal detectors.

■ Running the ball: Alabama and Georgia are relatively conservative by college football standards. On offense, the priority is to establish the run; on defense, the priority is to stop the run. Both teams ranked in the top ten of the Football Bowl Subdivision in rush yards per game, while Georgia was 20th to Alabama’s No. 1 on defense. Both teams have talented running back tandems: Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough for Alabama; Nick Chubb and Sony Michel for Georgia. But if you want to look at a variable, Alabama’s starting right guard, junior Lester Cotton Sr., is out with a leg injury sustained in the semifinal win over Clemson. Maybe Alabama can try running to the left?

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■ Quarterbacks: Alabama’s sophomore Jalen Hurts is by far the better athlete. He has experience — two full seasons, a national championship game last year — that Georgia’s Jake Fromm lacks. And he has taken care of the ball, with just one interception the entire season. But Hurts lacks the ability to get the ball downfield to Calvin Ridley and his other talented receivers. Fromm, with his more limited skill set, has been better there, which is what kept Georgia in the Rose Bowl last week. Fromm exceeds Hurts in passing efficiency and yards per completion. That divergence likely shows up on third down. Georgia’s ninth-best third-down conversion percentage in the F.B.S. towers over Alabama’s 45th. Even in the Clemson victory, Alabama was a putrid 2-for-15 on third down. If Alabama loses, this will almost certainly be a substantial reason.

■ Home-field advantage? On Saturday, the Bulldogs made the 90-minute drive back to Athens to practice at their home facilities — the kind of thing the kids call a flex, a show of strength and intimidation. The game is being played in Georgia, after all. But Alabama’s players play in Atlanta nearly every year. Tuscaloosa’s just a few hours away. And Alabama’s fans are everywhere. When we make contact with extraterrestrials, they might greet us with a “Roll Tide!”

Pregame Reads

■ Before, and during, the game tonight, “Glory, Glory” will be played. It’s Georgia’s unofficial fight song. Others might recognize the stirring tune as an older and nationally prominent song: “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” the famous Civil War anthem of the North.

Read Marc Tracy’s story on how the song became such a popular part of the Georgia fan experience.

■ Nick Saban has a chance to win an unprecedented fifth national title in nine seasons. Perhaps the most remarkable detail about that remarkable run is that none of those championship teams — at the program that produced Bart Starr, Joe Namath and Ken Stabler — had an elite quarterback destined for N.F.L. greatness. Here’s a look at what makes a Nick Saban quarterback.