■ The first half was all Georgia, who recovered from a first-drive interception to build a 13-0 lead over the favored Alabama. Mecole Hardman’s 1-yard touchdown run with seven seconds remaining gave the Bulldogs the two-score lead.
■ Stay here for live updates and analysis from college football’s national championship game in Atlanta.
How to watch: ESPN has the broadcast, but you can stream the game here.
2Q, 0:07: Bulldogs head into the locker room with a 13-0 lead.
Georgia did not have much time to work with, but they had all three timeouts remaining, so they decided to be aggressive heading into halftime. It paid off, with Mecole Hardman taking a direct-snap into the end zone from 1 yard out for the first touchdown of the game and a 13-0 lead for the Bulldogs.
The drive started with 1:19 remaining in the half, and Jake Fromm immediately found Riley Ridley for a 10-yard gain. Fromm was nearly intercepted a few plays later, but when Alabama’s Anthony Averett failed to get his hands on the ball, the Bulldogs capitalized by getting 14 yards on the ground from Sony Michel on the next play.
An Alabama penalty got Georgia 5 more yards, D’Andre Swift ran for 7 and Fromm, not seeing any good receiving options, pulled the ball down and reeled off a 14-yard run of his own.
Continue reading the main storyWith a short field in front of him, Fromm threw aggressively to Terry Godwin for a 16-yard gain near the goal line setting up a 1st-and-goal from the 3. A roughing the passer call got Georgia all the way to the Alabama 1-yard line, and Hardman took the ball on a direct-snap, running into the end zone easily.
2Q, 1:19: Nothing for Alabama.
Alabama’s offense is not doing anything right now. Georgia forced a three-and-out, with the Crimson Tide getting seven yards on a pair of runs before an incomplete pass and a punt completed their drive.
2Q, 2:14: Georgia’s Javon Wims goes to locker room.
A nice punt resulted in Georgia starting from their own 5-yard line, and with so little room to work they settled for two short runs by Nick Chubb before Jake Fromm stepped back into the pocket and found Riley Ridley in the middle of the field for a huge 16-yard completion. It was Ridley’s third big catch of the game, helping somewhat alleviate the concern of Javon Wims having gone into Georgia’s locker room to be evaluated for an injury.
Georgia quickly found itself in another third down situation, but this time Fromm’s throw was well off its mark, skipping to the ground in front of Mecole Hardman.
The Bulldogs were forced to punt, but thanks to Ridley’s catch the field position is not nearly as bad as it could have been.
2Q, 5:15: Tide offense shows some life, but stalls out.
Alabama got a huge start to the drive on a delayed keeper by Jalen Hurts that went for 31 yards, with Georgia seemingly having been caught on their heels. But the Bulldogs quickly made up for that mistake when Davin Bellamy got a huge 6-yard sack on 2nd-and-9. Josh Jacob ran the ball for 5 yards and then the Crimson Tide punted yet again, showing little sign of having figured out Georgia’s defense.
2Q, 7:33: Another Georgia drive ends in a field goal.
Georgia started using all of their weapons and had the team’s best drive of the game, but after failing to get into the end zone after reaching 1st-and-goal, they settled for a 27-yard field goal from Rodrigo Blankenship that increased their lead to 6-0.
Looking to capitalize on getting the ball back so quickly after they had taken the lead, the Bulldogs started things off when Jake Fromm hit D’Andre Swift with a screen pass that went for 15 yards. Runs by Nick Chubb and Fromm picked up a second first down. Then Fromm aggressively challenged the Alabama defense by throwing downfield, and it worked, with Riley Ridley contributing a 23-yard catch-and-run while Javon Wims made a circus catch on the sideline that stood up to an official review.
That set up a 1st-and-goal from Alabama’s 10-yard line, but the Bulldogs stalled out, setting up Blankenship for yet another kick.
Drape: Wow, how big has freshman Jake Fromm been? That was a big throw to Riley Ridley, and even a bigger one to Wims to take them into the red zone. He almost made a freshman mistake on 3rd & 6. The Dawgs should have had 7 there. A 6-0 lead over Alabama is not enough after you’ve pushed them around.
2Q, 12:52: Alabama fails to answer Georgia’s scoring drive.
After a touchback, Alabama started at their own 25 and they answered Georgia’s scoring drive by going absolutely nowhere. Two runs and an incomplete pass generated only 4 yards before the Crimson Tide punted the ball away. Georgia had an injury delay early in the drive when David Marshall, a sophomore linebacker, was slow to get up after a running play before being taken to a medical tent for further evaluation.
Drape: Here is what Alabama was worried about before the game, and is now in a full blown panic. The Georgia defensive front is strong and harassing. They totally owned Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, the Heisman winner. Jalen Hurts looks lost. Unless the Tide opens up a ground game, Hurts is going to be hurting, and the Dawgs are going to be rolling over the Tide.
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2Q, 14:14: Georgia settles for a field goal, and the lead.
At the end of the first quarter, Georgia finally had something working, but they failed to convert on 3rd-and-11 to start the second quarter and Rodrigo Blankenship came out to hit a 41-yard field goal to give the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead.
It took several frustrating attempts to get Georgia’s running game on track, but on a 3rd-and-20 near the end of the first quarter the Bulldogs chose to run the ball and Sony Michel broke free on the right sideline, sprinting for a 26-yard run that woke up Georgia’s offense.
Prior to Michel’s run it had looked like yet another drive would end in a quick punt. Alabama’s Anthony Averett delivered a huge sack on a 2nd-and-10 play, sending Georgia all the way from Alabama’s 42-yard line to Georgia’s 48-yard line. But despite the Crimson Tide’s powerful front-seven having sniffed out and demolished both Nick Chubb and Michel on most of their previous attempts, Georgia went with a run on the 3rd-and-long and were rewarded with a huge gain, eventually setting up Blankenship’s kick.
Drape: Hot Rod Blankenship, the Dawgs kicker is a helluva story. Him of the Kurt Rambis glasses. He was a preferred walk-on with former Coach Mark Richt. But Kirby Smart was slow to put him on scholarship. He did eventually the day before the Notre Dame game, which Hot Rod won with a field goal. He went for 55-yards against Oklahoma. He may be the difference here. In fact, he already is.
1Q, 6:54: Alabama offense sputters.
After two short plays, Alabama was faced with a 3rd-and-3, and it was fairly obvious that Jalen Hurts would be running the ball. Georgia sniffed the keeper out immediately, easily stopping the quarterback for a loss of one yard. The quiet start to the game continues with Alabama punting the ball away.
Drape: It’s early, but this game is looking promising. Hurts is going to need to run tonight. He’s more Blake Bortles than Drew Brees, and there is nothing wrong with that. But these two staffs have the other measured so far.
1Q, 9:01: Georgia, a great running team, keeps passing.
Through two possessions, Georgia, which ran all over Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl, has passed on every single offensive play. Jake Fromm has completed just 3 of 7 passes for 17 yards as Sony Michel and Nick Chubb have been relegated to decoy work thus far. The strategy is not working as of yet, with Georgia having just one first down to go with one turnover and one punt.
Drape: I like the fact Georgia is wide open. They do have a ground game, but they are challenging Bama’s secondary. As our colleague Marc Tracy pointed out, Jalen Hurts is a game manager. He is there to make good decisions. These are the opening rounds of a heavyweight fight and neither team is backing down.
1Q, 9:54: Tide fails to convert after interception.
Alabama got painfully close to putting the ball in the end zone but they settled for a 40-yard field goal attempt by Andy Pappanastos that missed wide-left, keeping the game scoreless.
The Crimson Tide had started at their own 36-yard line thanks to Tony Brown’s interception, and they made steady progress with their running game, picking up 30 yards on the ground to go with 17 through the air, generating three first downs. Jalen Hurts led the way with two carries for 22 yards.
Hurts then flirted with a touchdown when he found Calvin Ridley wide open in the end zone thanks to broken coverage, but the pass sailed over Ridley’s head, taking away Alabama’s best opportunity.
Pappanastos initially made a 35-yard attempt, but after a penalty he tried for 40 yards and missed badly.
Drape: Couple of things: Nick Saban’s process is unassailable on everything but the field goal kicking game. I hate criticizing Andy Pappanastos; He’s a kid. But look back at Saban’s Alabama years, and he’s never developed a reliable kicker. What I mean by that, is someone who never gets any pub because he makes the kick he’s supposed to. The false start was inexcusable. But this is exactly how they started against Clemson.
1Q, 13:38: Alabama’s defense takes control early.
The Crimson Tide’s defense showed its dominance immediately with an interception on the third play of the game.
Alabama had won the coin toss and chose to defer, which resulted in Georgia receiving the ball to start the game. The ball was kicked out of the end zone for a touchback, which set the Bulldogs up at their own 25-yard line to start.
They got off to a slow start, with Jake Fromm dumping off two quick short passes that accounted for just three yards, but then he tried to be more aggressive, throwing deep to Javon Wims, and had his pass intercepted by Tony Brown.
Joe Drape: Big play to open this slugfest. It was a fine throw by Fromm, but Brown took it away from Wims. Hard nosed play. Let’s expect a lot of them. These are two top-10 defenses.
Trump takes the field for national anthem.
President Trump took the field shortly before the playing of the national anthem to what seemed to be mainly cheers. He stayed for the anthem, and left before the teams took the field. (In college football, unlike the N.F.L., teams nearly always stay in the locker rooms for the anthem.) These are two fanbases that, like their teams’ coaches, are frankly probably more focused on the upcoming game than on the president’s presence.
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.
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.
Continue reading the main story
