Who has the edge?
The top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (12-0) face the No. 3 Ohio State on Monday night in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. from Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium.
Here’s a position-by-position breakdown of the two teams heading into the matchup:
• Quarterback: Alabama’s Mac Jones (77 percent completion, 4,036 passing yards, 36 touchdowns, four interceptions in 12 games) is the unanimous first-team All-American. Ohio State’s Justin Fields (73.4 percent completion, 1,906 passing yards, 21 touchdowns, six interceptions in seven games) is the projected top-five pick in the NFL Draft. The numbers point to Jones as having the advantage, but put both quarterbacks on identical teams, and Fields would most likely replicate Jones’ numbers at a minimum.
Advantage: Ohio State
• Running back: Trey Sermon has been incredible for Ohio State the past three games (636 rushing yards, four touchdowns), but Alabama’s Najee Harris has been fantastic all year (1,387 yards, nation-leading 24 touchdowns)
Advantage: Alabama
• Wide receiver: Alabama’s one-two punch of DeVonta Smith and John Metchie III (152 catches, 2,476 yards, 26 touchdowns in 12 games) are leaps and bounds above Ohio State’s primary two pass catchers in Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave (82 catches, 1,333 yards, 12 touchdowns in seven games). Add the potential return of Jaylen Waddle to the Alabama mix, and it only adds to the Crimson Tide’s strength.
Advantage: Alabama
• Tight end: Neither team has used the tight end much, but we’ll give the nod to the Buckeyes’ Jeremy Ruckert after his three-catch, 55-yard, two-touchdown effort against Clemson in the Sugar Bowl.
Advantage: Ohio State
• Offensive line: Alabama’s offensive line won the Joe Moore Award, given annually to college football’s best offensive line. That basically answers the question.
Advantage: Alabama
• Run defense: The Buckeyes held opponents to an average of 89.14 rushing yards per game (second-best nationally) and 3.2 yards per rush (10th nationally) while allowing just eight of 195 rushing attempts to go longer than 20 yards. The Crimson Tide ranked 13th nationally in rushing yards allowed (110.25 yards per game on average) and 11th in yards per rush (3.21).
Advantage: Ohio State
• Pass defense: Each team has an All-American cornerback, Alabama with Patrick Surtain II and Ohio State with Shaun Wade. But as a whole, the Crimson Tide has the edge on Ohio State when it comes to passing yards allowed per attempt (6.7 vs. 7.3), opponent quarterback rating (120.01 vs. 133.06) and passing yards allowed per game (242.9 vs. 281.1).
Advantage: Alabama
• Special teams: Alabama has been better at field goals (Will Reichard made all 13 of his field-goal attempts this year while Ohio State kickers went 6 for 10) and punt returns (ninth nationally with 15.61 yards per return plus one return for a touchdown). Ohio State has been better at punting (44.8 yards per punt vs. Alabama’s 38 yards per punt). Both are in the bottom 10 nationally in kickoff returns.
Advantage: Alabama