The Peach Bowl on Saturday afternoon will be the first of the two College Football Playoff semifinals as No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Washington play for a trip to the title game in Tampa.
Alabama enters the game as a 14-point favorite over the Pac-12 champs and will look to move to 14-0, trying to become the first undefeated champs since the 2013 Florida State Seminoles. Washington comes in as heavy underdogs, but the Huskies have an extremely balanced team on both offense and defense that figures to be best overall team the Tide have faced all year.
Viewing information
Date: Dec. 31
Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
TV: ESPN
Live streams: WatchESPN / WatchESPN apps
Storylines
Washington: The Huskies have a number of talented weapons on offense and fantastic defensive playmakers, but facing the Tide requires a level of precision that, to this point, has not been executed against them.
Alabama has the nation's best run defense (by a lot), allowing only 63.4 yards per game on the ground (33 yards better than Wisconsin in second). The pass defense is a top-20 unit and will very quickly turn any mistake into points. There are chances to beat the Alabama secondary over the top, but those come sporadically and the windows to create big plays are small, meaning the ball has to be placed perfectly on a deep pass, which few teams can do.
Jake Browning has the arm talent to push the ball down the field, giving Washington hope that it can create big plays against Alabama, which are necessary in putting up points because long methodical drives simply don't happen against the Tide. Browning will have to find John Ross and Dante Pettis in the vertical passing game for Washington to have a chance.
What makes that task especially difficult is that not only does he have to look for big plays down the field and take chances, but he also has to be sure not to turn the ball over. The Huskies have to toe a fine line between seeking out big plays regularly, but also putting a premium on ball security. It's something no other team has been able to do this season, but the Huskies have the talent to create big plays, so long as they execute at their highest level.
Alabama: The Tide have rolled through every opponent this season -- even the Ole Miss game was more comfortable than the final score would indicate -- but Washington's balance presents a challenge they've yet to face. Washington is top 10 in scoring offense and scoring defense, top 25 in rushing defense and passing defense, and top 36 in passing offense and passing defense.
Alabama's secondary will need to tighten up from how they played against Florida, where it was as much user error by quarterback Austin Appleby that created turnovers and missed opportunities as it was good defense. Washington's offense can take advantage of those openings in a way Florida and most every offense the Tide faced in SEC play could not.
On offense, Alabama can't be sloppy with the ball. Seven times this season, the Tide have turned it over two or more times in a game, and against Washington, they will be facing the nation's best defense at creating turnovers.
The Tide are the more talented and deeper team, which is why they are two-touchdown favorites. If Alabama executes on both sides of the ball at the high level we know it can, then the Tide should find itself in Tampa for the title game on Jan. 9. However, this is a Washington team that is good enough to give Alabama problems if the Tide are not at their sharpest.
