It’s strength vs. strength and top draft picks lining up against top draft picks. It’s the matchup that could decide whether it’s Alabama or Cincinnati playing for the national championship.
Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young leads one of the best passing attacks in the country, ranking seventh in the country with 347.9 yards per game. Then there is the Bearcats’ secondary, highlighted by cornerbacks Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner and Coby Bryant, which has allowed 168.3 passing yards per game, the second-lowest total in the nation.
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“Those corners are the guys that get a lot of talk and it’s definitely warranted,” Young said. “On film, they pop off the screen. They are really good on the back end; their entire secondary is really good. Their linebackers are very good as well, very instinctual players. Up front, they play super hard. They make a lot of plays at the line of scrimmage and behind it. On defense, top to bottom, it looks like a great defense.”
If there was one area of concern for Alabama’s offense, it’s keeping the pocket clean for Young. He was sacked seven times by Auburn in a two-point victory in overtime, four times in a six-point win over LSU and four more times in a seven-point win against Arkansas. He was sacked four times in the Tide’s loss to Texas A&M.
The Tide’s offensive line played its best game in the SEC Championship Game against Georgia, not permitting a sack for the first time all year. Facing Georgia’s highly-touted defense, Alabama scored on five consecutive drives to cement its spot in the playoff.
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Cincinnati recorded a season-high eight sacks in its AAC Championship win over Houston and the Bearcats have totaled at least three sacks in five of their last six games. Senior defensive lineman Curtis Brooks leads the team with 7½ sacks while defensive end Myjai Sanders (2½ sacks) often draws a lot of attention.
"We’ve done a really good job of getting after the quarterback," Bearcats coach Luke Fickell said. "That doesn’t mean you always have to blitz, so if we can do that, that’s really for us where it needs to start."
Young, a sophomore from Pasadena, Calif., has completed 68% of his passes this season for 4,322 yards and 43 touchdowns with only four interceptions. He’s efficient and unafraid to throw in tight windows across all quadrants of the field.
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“For a young guy, I’ve never seen somebody that kind of uses his feet and takes off, but really does it to throw the ball down the field and get the ball to the guys that can create a little bit more than even him,” Fickell said. “Even though he can do a great job of it, he can run, but I think he understands the idea if I get it in my tailback’s hands, if I can get it in some of my receiver’s hands, maybe they can create even a little bit more than I can. For a young guy that it’s his first year starting, I have not seen that before.”
Young’s top target is junior receiver Jameson Williams, who has caught 68 passes for 1,445 yards and 15 touchdowns. He’s been held below 123 yards just once in his last six games (two catches for 43 yards vs. Auburn). John Metchie III, a junior receiver with 96 catches and more than 1,000 yards this season, will miss the Cotton Bowl semifinal after he tore a ligament in his knee during the SEC Championship.
How the Bearcats choose to cover Williams will be the biggest question leading into the Playoff game. Gardner, listed at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, has always been tasked with covering the boundary instead of following a specific receiver and he hasn’t allowed a touchdown reception in man coverage. Bryant, 6-foot-1, 198 pounds, has three interceptions and 11 pass breakups this year.
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Besides Williams, no other Alabama receiver has more than 32 catches or 333 yards. Tight end Cameron Latu has caught six touchdown passes and running back Brian Robinson Jr. has 31 receptions.
“Their two corners are long and they are good players,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “They play a lot of man-to-man. They’ve got good ball skills and good man-to-man players. They are aggressive in the way they play. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. They’re smart and they’ve got a lot of experience. Even when they change it up and they play zone, they are ballhawkers. They are all ballhawkers back there. They really attack the ball and they’ve got a lot of turnovers. Really, a talented group.”
Williams is probably the most talented receiver the Bearcats have faced this year. As good as the secondary has been, it hasn’t been impenetrable, allowing three receivers to surpass the 100-yard mark: Houston’s Nathaniel Dell (nine catches, 152 yards), South Florida’s Jimmy Horn Jr. (five catches, 108 yards) and Indiana’s D.J. Matthews Jr. (five catches, 120 yards).
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“We know we’re going to have to bring our best, work each and every day to put ourselves in the best situation to be successful,” Young said. “We understand it’s a big challenge for us.”
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