The 2018 National Championship Game between Alabama and Georgia is in the third quarter. Georgia leads 13-7.
Find the score and live updates for the game below. Alabama is playing in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game for the third consecutive season.
2018 National Championship Game: Score, live updates for Alabama-Georgia
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2018 National Championship Game: Time for Alabama-Georgia
The 2018 National Championship Game of Alabama-Georgia starts at 8 p.m. ET.
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Date: Monday, Jan. 8
Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.
2018 National Championship Game: TV channel for Alabama-Georgia
The 2018 National Championship Game will be televised by ESPN.
2018 National Championship Game: Watch online for Alabama-Georgia
The Alabama-Georgia national title game can be watched online through WatchESPN.
2018 National Championship Game: Location for College Football Playoff final
The 2018 National Championship Game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. The Zac Brown Band will sing the national anthem. The halftime show will be Kendrick Lamar from Centennial Olympic Park and the school bands from Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
National Championship Game: College Football Playoff, history
This is the fourth year of the College Football Playoff. Before that, the BCS National Championship Game crowned the title winner. The BCS era started in 1998. Clemson is the defending national champion, as the Tigers beat Alabama last year. Alabama defeated Clemson the year prior. Ohio State was the first winner of the College Football Playoff.
College Football Playoff era
2017: Clemson 35, Alabama 31 (Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.)
2016: Alabama 45, Clemson 40 (University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.)
2015: Ohio State 42, Oregon 20 (AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas)
BCS (Bowl Championship Series) era
2014: Florida State 34, Auburn 31 (Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.)
2013: Alabama 42, Notre Dame 14 (Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.)
2012: Alabama 21, LSU 0 (Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans)
2011: Auburn 22, Oregon 19 (University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.)
2010: Alabama 37, Texas 21 (Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.)
2009: Florida 24, Oklahoma 14 (Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.)
2008: LSU 38, Ohio State 24 (Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans)
2007: Florida 41, Ohio State 14 (University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.)
2006: Texas 41, USC 38 (Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.)
2005: USC 55, Oklahoma 19 (Pro Player Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.)
2004: LSU 21, Oklahoma 14 (Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans)
2003: Ohio State 31, Miami (Fla.) 24 in 2OT (Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.)
2002: Miami (Fla.) 37, Nebraska 14 (Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.)
2001: Oklahoma 13, Florida State 2 (Pro Player Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.)
2000: Florida State 46, Virginia Tech 29 (Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans)
1999: Tennessee 23, Florida State 16 (Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.)
2018 National Championship Game: Announcers
With the game on ESPN, Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldi will call the game. On ESPN radio, Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe and Ian Fitzsimmons will call the game.
College Football bowl games: New Year’s Six games
The 4th ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, led by quarterback Jalen Hurts, meet the 3rd ranked Georgia Bulldogs, led by quarterback Jake Fromm, in the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday, January 8, 2018 (1/8/18) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Experts make their picks, predictions
Here's what you need to know:
Who: Alabama vs. Georgia
What: College Football Playoff National Championship Game
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga.
When: Monday, Jan. 8, 2018
Time: 8 p.m. Eastern
TV: ESPN
Livestream: WatchESPN
Line: Alabama -4
Series: Alabama leads 38-25-4.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
The national championship, most importantly, but that's not all. Georgia coach Kirby Smart could become the first of Nick Saban's former assistants to beat him as a head coach. Saban is 11-0 against his former employees. Alabama is going for its fifth national title under Saban since 2009 and 11th during the major poll era, which started in 1936. No school has won more than Alabama's 10 AP national championships. The Crimson Tide is playing in the CFP title game for the third straight season, having split the previous two with Clemson. Georgia is searching for its first national championship since 1980, second overall, in its first trip to the playoff.
KEY MATCHUP
Georgia RBs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel against Alabama's top-ranked run defense, led by NT Da'Ron Payne. Seniors Chubb and Michel are the first Georgia teammates to run for more than 1,000 yards in the same season and the roommates went off in last week's Rose Bowl victory against Oklahoma, combining for 326 yards rushing and six touchdowns. Alabama allows 2.7 yards per carry and the 302-pound Payne's play is pivotal, consuming blockers and allowing linebackers such as Rashaan Evans to track down ball carriers. If Georgia's dynamic duo of Chubb and Michel is slowed that puts more pressure on freshman quarterback Jake Fromm to produce.
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PLAYERS TO WATCH
Alabama: QB Jalen Hurts. The sophomore has now led his team to the championship game in back-to-back years. Still, his shortcomings tend get more attention than his strengths. Hurts is not the most refined passer, but he threw 17 touchdowns and just one interception and ran for 808 yards and eight touchdowns.
Georgia: LB Roquan Smith. The Butkus Award winner as the nation's top linebacker and the only defensive player to finish in the top-10 of Heisman voting. Even in a game that featured 104 points and more than 1,000 yards of offense, Smith was one of the best players on the field in the Rose Bowl against Oklahoma.
FACTS & FIGURES
Alabama OLB Anfernee Jennings, who was one of the Tide's best players against Clemson, is out with a knee injury. Jamey Mosley and Terrell Lewis will likely pick up playing time with Jennings out. ... Georgia OT Isaiah Wynn and Alabama OT Jonah Williams were both all-SEC selections. Wynn was a second-team All-American and Williams made the third team. ... Alabama WR Calvin Ridley is third on Alabama's career receiving list with 2,749 yards and second in catches with 220. ... Saban is 20-12 against teams ranked in the top five in his career ... Chubb and Michel have combined for 8,259 yards rushing, more than any FBS running back duo and surpassing SMU stars Craig James and Eric Dickerson, who ran for 8,192 yards. ... Alabama is No. 1 in the country in yards per play allowed (3.92). Georgia is eighth (4.65). -- AP
Fromm started the drive by immediately picking up a first down with a 14-yard pass over the middle to Terry Godwin, but Nick Chubb gave 8 yards of that back when Anthony Averett dropped him deep in the backfield.
Chubb ran up the middle for 7 yards, getting the Bulldogs to 3rd-and-11, and Fromm aggressively threw deep to Hardman on the sideline. The sophomore wide receiver fought past the coverage for the long touchdown and the play stood up to a review by officials.
Drape: Wow! I say it again because we are a public forum. But Fromm to Hardman for 80 yards on 3rd and 18 is pretty spectacular. Saban, who some of our readers say never panics, has to be a bit puckered now. Still, it’s a great game. Bring on Tua Tagovailoa!
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3Q, 8:52: And just like that, Alabama is back in it.
Tua Tagovailoa showed why Nick Saban put him in. The true freshman led a drive that was far more impressive than anything Jalen Hurts had offered, and he got the Crimson Tide their first touchdown of the game, narrowing Georgia’s lead to 13-7.
He started with beautiful deep pass to Calvin Ridley that nearly went for a 44-yard touchdown, but the ball was just out Ridley’s hands and it fell incomplete. On the next play he saw no openings and fought for a 3-yard gain, lowering his shoulder into a defender at the tail end of the play.
On 3rd-and-7 the pass protection was broken down and he cut to the right of the field before cheating back to the left for a 9-yard gain, and then picked up 39 more yards with a completion to Robert Foster and two to Henry Ruggs III.
With a 1st-and-goal from Georgia’s 6-yard line, Tagovailoa again found Ruggs for the touchdown, dramatically changing the landscape of this game.
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Drape: Nice Alabama drive keyed by Tua Tagovailoa. His third down scramble was the key play. Chris Fowler says we have a “Freshman Quarterback Duel.” Hurts is the first one on the field to congratulate his rival on the touchdown. The balance inches back to Nick as a genius, but I’m doubling down on panic.
3Q, 10:51: Tide’s defense picks up the intensity.
Alabama’s offense may have looked slow coming out of the locker room, but the Tide’s defense was clearly fired up, forcing consecutive plays of negative yards before Georgia’s drive fizzled out with a 4-yard run by D’Andre Swift. The Bulldogs had the ball for just 93 seconds of clock time, but the team’s fans were left angry about a missed facemask call on Swift’s second-down run which went for minus-8 yards.
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3Q, 13:03: Alabama switches quarterbacks, but gets same result.
Alabama started the half with Tua Tagovailoa at quarterback rather than Jalen Hurts. It was a somewhat surprising change, which means both teams are playing true freshmen at quarterback.
Tagovailoa’s opening drive did not make much of a change in the offense as he ran for 4 yards and passed for 2 before a sack left them with a 3rd-and-8, effectively ending their drive. Alabama had a short injury delay while Jonah Williams was treated on the field, but they eventually punted the ball away.
Drape: Nick Saban is either panicking or a genius. He’s put in Tagovailoa in at quarterback, a freshman, after saying it wasn’t Jalen Hurts’s fault the Tide struggled in the first half. I vote for panicking. He has decided that he can’t stop Georgia, and needs to score with them. Hurts is 25-2. At least we know now that Robo-Coach Saban is human after all. Kirby Smart has gotten under Nick’s skin.
Here’s the view from Vegas:
Here’s what’s going on in Las Vegas, according to our friends at William Hill. In the second half, Bama is giving 6 points, which means the money is coming in and expects the Crimson Tide to outscore the Dawgs by 6 points in this next half. The over/under for second half points is 23. So the smart money expects a strong half from Alabama. If you are a betting man, like me, I’d take Georgia plus 6 and the under for the second half. An interesting note: In January, you could have gotten Georgia to win the championship at odds of 40-1. Bama? 3-1.
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.
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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.
With 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.
Drape: Wonderful call by Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney to run the Wildcat — a snap to Mecole Hardaman Jr., who waltzes to the corner. This game is far from over. Nick Saban is frustrated in his halftime interview, but he purposefully doesn’t lay it on quarterback Jalen Hurts. Georgia’s Kirby Smart is understated and says Jake Fromm is making good decisions. Fromm is going to make Dawg fans forget Buck Belue with another half like that (not really). I’m not putting this in the victory column for Georgia yet. Saban and the Tide are too good — see five national championships — but that was a big score to end the half.
Tracy: To go off Joe’s point, the past two national title games — both of which also involved Alabama — were shootouts whose final scores were 35-31 and 45-40. At halftime of those games, the scores were, respectively, 14-7 and 21-7. If past is prologue, the second half will involve substantially more scoring than the first.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
The 2018 National Championship Game will be played Jan. 8 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Georgia punched a ticket to the title game by beating Oklahoma. Alabama beat Clemson.
Below find the score and live updates for the National Championship Game.
Deandre Baker with the pick
Two plays have quickly changed the complexion of this game again. First the Fromm pass to Hardman, and now a big play on defense.
Deandre Baker makes a leaping interception of a short Tua Tagovailoa, and Georgia takes over at the Alabama 39, with a chance to add to its 20-7 lead.
Jake Fromm … wow
Another third down. Another great throw. This time as great as Fromm has made, especially considering the stage.
Fromm hits Mecole Hardman on a deep sideline pattern, and Hardman runs it in for an 80-yard touchdown. It’s the needed answer, and the Bulldogs are back up by 13 points.
Fromm is becoming a Georgia legend in this game. He’s also making quite a national name for himself.
Alabama scores
And it’s a ballgame again.
Tua Tagovailoa has provided the needed spark, moving the Crimson Tide downfield and throwing for a touchdown pass. It’s a six-point game.
The key play was rather obvious: Tagovailoa was about to be sacked on third down, but he ran out of a swarm of defenders, went to the other side of the field and dove for a first down. But he could pass the ball too.
Tagovailoa is 5-for-6 for 46 yards. Jalen Hurts was 3-for-8 for 21 yards.
Tyler Simmons offsides call
Simmons sure looked like he didn’t jump across the line before his blocked punt. It seemed like Simmons got the perfect jump on the play, not going across until the ball was snapped.
But a flag was thrown nonetheless. That negated what might have been a back-breaking play.
Alabama desperation?
The first sign I thought the Crimson Tide already realized they needed a spark was the second-half kickoff: Josh Jacobs fielded it deep but ran it out. Hey, gotta try something. He was tackled at the 23.
But then came the next-biggest sign: A quarterback change few saw coming. Freshman Tua Tagovailoa went in for the struggling Jalen Hurts.
The result was another three-and-out. Nothing Alabama is trying is working right now.
Halftime analysis: Seven thoughts
1. Georgia is 30 minutes away from a national title. Let’s leave that as the opening thought and go from there.
2. A game that was already tilting in Georgia’s direction now feels lopsided after the late touchdown. The way things are going when Alabama has the ball, a 13-point lead seems huge. Not insurmountable. But huge.
3. Georgia got another huge momentum-shifting play early: The missed field goal, after the false start negated the made one. Much like in this building when Davin Bellamy’s strip-sack turned stopped Auburn’s momentum. And the squib kick and Rodrigo Blankenship field goal gave Georgia momentum heading into halftime of the Rose Bowl. But getting a momentum-turning play is one thing, actually doing something with it is another, and Georgia keeps doing it.
4. What a dominating first half for the Georgia defense: Alabama has just 95 yards and has been shut out on the scoreboard. The only thing working for Alabama are Jalen Hurts runs – he has basically half of his team’s yardage on the ground – but the traditional run game isn’t working, and neither is the passing game.
5. Georgia’s offense has also gotten better as the game went on, and clutch: 6-for-11 on third downs, including the Sony Michel 26-yard run on third-and-20 that sparked it all.
6. Jake Fromm has been a big part of that clutch, hitting on key third downs. He’s also had a lot of time to pass, so big credit to the offensive line for its pass protection so far. There have been two sacks, but for the most part Fromm has had time to scan the field on third downs.
7. Alabama is also playing sloppy. It’s been whistled for five penalties, and doesn’t look very disciplined on those third down plays. (Yes, I’m using the term third down a lot.)
Final thought: Nick Saban is going to rip into his reeling team, and he and his staff are going to make adjustments. Georgia has to be ready for them. Alabama does get the ball to start the second half. But Georgia has a huge cushion with which to work with here, it seems, riding a dominant defense and a clutch offense, along with a special teams that continues to not make mistakes. This isn’t a done deal, but boy does it look like Georgia is close.
Riley Ridley
Calvin Ridley’s little brother is having by far the better game so far: Riley Ridley has four catches for 62 yards, which is already a season high. He entered the game with only eight catches this season.
Calvin Ridley has been held to one catch for 9 yards.
Ridley may keep getting looks, as Javon Wims went to the locker room with a so far undisclosed injury.
Third downs
Georgia adds another Rodrigo Blankenship field goal, this time a 27-yard chip shot, and UGA takes a 6-0 lead.
Big third-down conversions by Georgia are becoming the story of this game. First there was Sony Michel’s toe-tapping 26-yarder to set up a field goal. Then came two more on this scoring drive:
– Fromm had forever to throw, giving Ridley enough time to get open in the flat. Fromm hit him and Ridley ran for a 23-yard gain.
– Then on third-and-6 Javon Wims made a great sideline grab while getting his foot in bounds. That set up Georgia at the 10.
The Bulldogs are 4-for-8 on third downs, and they’ve converted some long yardage third downs.
The early trend
Alabama can’t run the ball like it usually does.
Jalen Hurts is leading the Tide with 22 yards on four rushes, while the three tailbacks have combined for 18 yards on six carries. Take out a 12-yard scramble by Hurts, and Alabama is averaging 3.1 yards per carry.
Georgia isn’t doing that much better; Take out Sony Michel’s 26-yard run and UGA (not counting sacks) has 22 yards on eight carries. But that 26-yarder was pretty big.
David Marshall suffers injury
Georgia sophomore defensive lineman David Marshall was down for about a minute as trainers helped him, but then he ran off the field on his own power.
Georgia strikes first
Rodrigo Blankenship punches it in from 41 yards out, and the Bulldogs have a 3-0 lead early in the first quarter.
That came on the same side of the field that Alabama missed a 40-yard field goal. So there’s the difference so far.
Possibly unimportant note, but a note nonetheless: Georgia has scored in the first quarter of all but two games this year, and both were in this building. It didn’t score against Auburn in the first quarter of the SEC championship. And we know how that turned out.
Sony Michel, sideline stepping
It looked like Georgia was playing the field position game, but when you give it to Sony Michel you never know.
Michel took an inside handoff on third-and-20, and after taking a quick look up the middle he cut to the right sideline – where he had room. He straddled the sideline, so close that a review had to confirm he didn’t step out of bounds. By the time he finally went out he had converted not only the first down, but gone 26 yards down to the Alabama 26.
So that went from Georgia punting near midfield to getting in at least field goal territory.
Another team-of-destiny type play.
Pass-heavy Georgia
Not a term we use much. Through two series, the Bulldogs have yet to run the ball. They’ve passed it seven times.
The results have been … mixed. Jake Fromm did hit Terry Godwin on a 14-yard slant pass, but Javon Wims dropped a pass, and he also couldn’t hold onto the ball that was picked off to end the first drive.
I’m guessing Kirby Smart and Jim Chaney saw something on film they felt they could expose, and are trying to stretch the Alabama defense to set up the run. We all know it’s coming.
Another team of destiny moment?
Georgia’s defense bends but then holds tight in the red zone, and then a mistake leads to points coming off the board for Alabama.
Andy Pappanastos made a 35-yard field goal. But a false start pushed it back five yards, and this time it was wide left.
Zero points for Alabama, and a momentum shifter for Georgia. The kind of things that happen when you’re a team of destiny. (OK it’s still early, but this kind of thing has been happening all season.)
Three-and-turnover
Alabama gets the first turnover of the game, three plays into it.
Javon Wims bobbled a deep pass on third down, and it cost Georgia: Tony Brown wrestled the ball away before Wims could do anything about it.
The Crimson Tide take over at their own 36.
Crowd update
Definitely more Georgia fans, it’s hard to tell the ratio for sure because of the similarity in colors.
But if I had to guess, I’d say it’s between 60-70 percent pro-Georgia.
Georgia-Alabama football score: Live updates for the 2018 National Championship Game
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Georgia-Alabama football: Date for the 2018 National Championship Game
The 2018 National Championship Game for the the College Football Playoff will be played on Monday, Jan. 8.
Georgia-Alabama football: Time for the 2018 National Championship Game
The 2018 National Championship Game is set for 8 p.m. The game will be played in Atlanta.
Georgia-Alabama football: TV channel for the 2018 National Championship Game
The 2018 National Championship Game for the College Football Playoff will air on ESPN.
Georgia-Alabama football: Preview for the 2018 National Championship Game
It will be an All-SEC battle for the championship as No. 3 Georgia takes on No. 4 Alabama. The game has a number of intriguing subplots.
For one, the game will match Nick Saban against his former defensive coordinator, Kirby Smart. The now-Georgia coach worked with Saban at Alabama from 2008-15. Saban has never lost to one of his former assistants; the Alabama coach is 11-0 in such games. And each one of those games has been at least a 14-point Alabama victory.
The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs took two very different paths to get here. Both teams got off to great starts but both had regular-season losses to Auburn. Georgia picked up victories over Notre Dame and Mississippi State and cruised to big wins in every game, sans the Auburn loss. But the Bulldogs got their revenge in the SEC Championship Game, beating Auburn 28-7. Then Georgia rallied to beat Oklahoma in a thrilling, double-overtime contest in the Rose Bowl.
The Bulldogs will be looking to win their first national title since 1980, back when Herschel Walker carried the load for the Bulldogs. This Georgia team also is led by running backs, in this case Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. Each rushed for more than 1,000 yards and at least 15 touchdowns on the season. At quarterback, Georgia freshman Jake Fromm will look to do something that Alabama starter Jalen Hurts could not do a year ago: win a national title as a true freshman, something that has only been done once.
The Crimson Tide, meanwhile, dropped their final game of the regular season and had to sweat out whether it would them or Big Ten-champion Ohio State to capture the fourth spot in the College Football Playoff. In one CFP semifinal, No. 4 Georgia dominated Clemson, the No. 1-ranked, defending national champs. The Tigers had their worst offensive output of the season as they mustered just 6 points against a now healthy and stout Alabama defense.
The last time two teams from the same conference met in the national title game was following the 2011 season, when Alabama took down LSU in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama will be looking to win its fifth title since Saban took over the program in 2007.
