Peach Bowl 2016: Washington vs. Alabama TV Schedule, Time and Odds

The No. 4 Washington Huskies wanted the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff and got them in Saturday's 2016 Peach Bowl.

Washington (12-1) will make its CFP debut after a quick turnaround under head coach Chris Petersen. The Huskies played big names such as quarterback Jake Browning last year and made a leap most programs only dream about this season to make it to this point.

Alabama (13-0) is again the model of consistency under head coach Nick Saban and stands as the only team to make it to the CFP in each of its three years. Saban reloaded in the usual places and even found a special player under center to guide this year's undefeated campaign.

Matchups like this are why the CFP came to exist in the first place. Here is everything you need to know about the epic opening showdown.

Peach Bowl 2016

Date: Saturday, Dec. 31

Time (ET): 3 p.m.

Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta

Watch: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Over/Under: 52.5

Spread: Alabama (-13.5)

Team Injury Reports

Name	Position	Status
Azeem Victor	LB	Out
Joe Mathis	LB	Out
Brayden Lenius	WR	Questionable
Sean Constantine	LB	Out

Name	Position	Status
Cam Robinson	OL	Questionable
Keith Holcombe	LB	Probable
Tony Brown	DB	Probable
ArDarius Stewart	WR	Probable
Dakota Ball	TE	Out
Josh Casher	OL	Out
Marlon Humphrey	DB	Probable
Shaun Dion Hamilton	LB	Out
B.J. Emmons	RB	Out
Eddie Jackson	DB	Out
Alphonse Taylor	OL	Out

Silencing the Doubters

The Huskies looked like one of college football's most dominant teams in many ways this year.

Browning deserves most of the credit, sitting on a 63.2 completion percentage with 3,280 yards, 42 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. The ground game behind him, led by Myles Gaskin, creates one of the nation's most potent offenses thanks to 2,730 yards and 24 scores on 5.5 yards per carry.

Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt hasn't been shy about what his team is set to face over the weekend, as ESPN.com's Chris Low shared:

Yet doubt remains.

Washington blew away then-No. 7 Stanford, 44-6. The offense also cruised past ranked Utah, Washington State and Colorado squads, dropping 40-plus points against the latter two.

But the loss to then-No. 20 Southern California in 26-13 fashion sticks out. There, Browning put forth a 17-of-36 effort for 259 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions while under fire all day. His strong stable of backs mustered only 17 rushing yards on 27 carries.

Many would suggest USC is the closest thing the Huskies have encountered to Alabama all year, so it's a terrible sticking point and a big part of the reason Las Vegas has a large spread for Saturday's game.

Beating Alabama takes near-perfection. Case in point: The Crimson Tide boast 14 non-offensive touchdowns this year. If Browning isn't effective, his ground game strong and all facets of the team almost perfect, Saturday will be a case of "told you so" for many.

Chasing Perfection

Saban isn't one to underestimate an opponent.

The Crimson Tide unearthed quarterback Jalen Hurts this year, who has gone on to complete 65.3 percent of his passes for 2,592 yards and 22 touchdowns with nine interceptions. A versatile threat, the freshman ranks second on the team in rushing with 841 yards and 12 touchdowns on 5.2 yards per carry.

While serving as a necessary spark for the Crimson Tide offense, Hurts slowed down during the team's SEC schedule. Saban understands and isn't afraid to talk about the perils his quarterback faces against a defense that boasts a plus-21 turnover margin thanks to a great secondary.

"They're very good cover guys. I think the scheme that they play, they don't make a lot of mistakes," Saban said, according to USA Today's Nancy Armour. "They're a little bit Seattle Seahawk-like in the fact that, 'We're gonna do what we do and we're gonna do it really well.'"

Alabama figures to show off its balance thanks to a triple-headed attack in the backfield featuring Damien Harris, Joshua Jacobs and Bo Scarbrough, each of whom has surpassed the 500-yard mark while averaging better than six yards per carry.

Washington has the sort of offense that can pressure Hurts into an aerial assault. If that happens, he'll need to have the best game of his young career against an elite defense. His performance will decide whether Alabama advances or goes home before anyone would have dared to suggest.

Prediction

If there is an equal in the coaching world to Saban, it's Petersen. Unfortunately for the Huskies, there is no equal to Alabama when it comes to recruiting.

Alabama is too talented to disagree with Las Vegas here. Petersen will have his guys ready to play and even innovate with a few tricks to catch Alabama off guard.

But Washington's performance against USC was too poor to ignore—Browning might be the best quarterback Alabama has faced all year, but even he will struggle under constant pressure while likely being forced into a one-dimensional attack.

Look for Alabama to pull away in the second half, with the opportunistic roster making a few key plays on special teams and defense before the dominant ground game gets rolling downhill and makes Browning a non-factor.

Prediction: Alabama 40, Washington 24

Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified. All betting information courtesy of OddsShark. Injury reports courtesy of USA Today.

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.