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The College Football Playoff is just a few days away and we have one of the most intriguing fields of the four team playoff era. The four teams that are still alive and competing for a national championship are #1 Michigan football, #2 Washington football, #3 Texas football and #4 Alabama football. However, we didn't get here without a little bit of drama and controversy. For the first time in the four team playoff era, we saw an undefeated power five conference champion get left out of the playoff. Florida State finished 13-0 and won the ACC, but because of an injury to quarterback Jordan Travis, the Seminoles were left out, and one-loss conference champs Alabama and Texas got in instead. Michigan and Washington are also undefeated conference champions, and they were the two trams that were locks to make it heading into selection Sunday.
Michigan and Alabama will get the semifinals started as they will do battle in the Rose Bowl semifinal. That game will kickoff at 5:00 ET from Pasadena, California and the game will be airing on ESPN. It's expected to be a close one as the Wolverines are currently favored by just 1.5 points. After that game, Washington football and Texas will square off in the Sugar Bowl semifinal. That game will kickoff at 8:45 ET from the Mercedes-Benz Super Dome in New Orleans, Louisiana. It will also be airing on ESPN. The Huskies are ranked higher than the Longhorns and they are undefeated, but Texas is the team that is favored as the spread currently favors them by 4.5 points.
The stage is set for the College Football Playoff, but who will end up hoisting the national title trophy on January 8th? According to the odds, it will be Michigan. The Wolverines have the best odds to come out on top and win the national title, which makes sense, they are the #1 team in the country and they are an undefeated power five conference champion. However, the other undefeated power five conference champion, Washington, has the worst odds to win the national title. Alabama isn't too far behind the Wolverines as they have the second best odds, and Texas is behind them for the Huskies round out the group. It's a bit surprising to see, but that's how it is.
Alabama football can win the national title
Alabama has been the most consistent powerhouse in college football over the course of the past 10 seasons. There have been other programs that we have seen rise and fall, but no matter what, the Crimson Tide have always been a contender. At the beginning of this season, however, it looked like they might not be. Alabama suffered their worst home loss of the Nick Saban era, and they struggled in a game against USF. This team did not look good at all, and it's remarkable that they were able to turn it around and get to the playoff. Saban has his team playing well, and here are three reasons why they can win it all.
1. Momentum
Alabama football might be the hottest team out of this group. Obviously, all of these teams are very good. It takes a special season to end up in the top four, and all of these teams have momentum. The last time that one of them lost was in October and the four teams in the playoff have combined for only two losses, and one of them was to another team in the field. However, in terms of improving throughout the season, Alabama is probably the hottest team right now. Not many people thought that they would make it this far after their start to the season, but they're here, and they just knocked off the back-to-back champs. The Crimson Tide have a lot of momentum.
2. Nick Saban
Need I say more? Alabama has the best coach in the country, and one of the all-time greats, and this has maybe been his most impressive coaching job. No matter what cards he is dealt, Saban simply finds a way to win, and that has been extremely evident this season. Now, he has had a month to prepare for this playoff, and he has already seen one of the teams (Texas) in a game earlier this season. The Crimson Tide are going to be ready to go.
3. Jalen Milroe
Lastly, Alabama has potentially the most dangerous quarterback in the playoff. Every team has a great QB, and they're all elite passers, but Milroe's running ability is the best of the group. Duel threat guys are extremely tough to stop, and if teams aren't stopping his run game, it will be near impossible to beat the Crimson Tide. He is going to be the X-factor.
