Your Cotton Bowl game day post

The opening act of the CFP semis takes place in Dallas, where Cincinnati and Alabama face off.  Cinci is a good team and they’ve got some excellent players.  Their problem is that ‘Bama has more excellent players than they do.

Also, this.

No, the Alabama run game isn’t as formidable as it’s been in years past — they barely made an effort to involve the backs against Georgia in the SECCG — so while that’s made Bryce Young’s job harder, as we unfortunately saw, he’s more than up to the task.

Let’s face it:  “But if Young plays like he did against Georgia, it’s possible nothing else matters” is the story of this year’s CFP.  Will he today?  I don’t know.  Metchie is out.  Cincinnati’s corners are better than Georgia’s.  And I expect the Bearcats’ defense to go all out after Young, unlike Georgia’s strategy.  How much of that will make a difference anywhere beyond the margins is guesswork.  The primary reason I say that is because Cincinnati’s offensive line isn’t as good as Georgia’s is, particularly at the tackle spots, and last time I looked, Will Anderson is indeed suiting up for the Tide.

Needless to say, while I’d love to see it, I have a hard time believing ‘Bama goes down today.  I will be interested to see if Metchie’s absence has an impact and if Cinci proves Georgia made an egregious tactical error in not being more aggressive attacking Alabama’s passing game.

What say y’all on this one?