Alabama vs. Georgia: Key Factors in CFP National Championship 2018

Georgia came through with the most exciting and thrilling performance in the Rose Bowl as the Bulldogs rallied twice to beat Oklahoma and quarterback Baker Mayfield in overtime to in the College Football Playoff semifinal game.

Alabama was not as dramatic, but the Crimson Tide used a dominant defense to take apart a worthy Clemson team in the Sugar Bowl.

Those two teams will meet in the national championship game Monday night in Atlanta.

The presence of the Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide is clearly a victory for the Southeastern Conference, which had to share some of the postseason luster with the Big Ten. That conference reeled off seven straight bowl wins before Michigan lost to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl on New Year's Day.

The SEC scored victories over the Big 12 and ACC in order to get its two teams to the title game.

Georgia earned the SEC title by virtue of its victory over Auburn in the conference title game, and that victory avenged their lone regular-season loss. Alabama also lost to Auburn in its regular-season finale, and that loss kept them from playing the conference title game.

Ironically, that defeat may have helped Alabama come up with a peak performance in its 24-6 win over Clemson.

Nick Saban's players did not have to go through an extra game, and after losing to Auburn November 25, the Crimson Tide was off until the Sugar Bowl against Clemson.

"This game was about our identity as a team," Saban said, per STATS/Associated Press (h/t CBS Sports). "I don't think anybody would doubt our relentless attitude out there. We had a warrior-like mentality."

Between Saban's focused practice sessions and the rest his players were able to secure, the Crimson Tide was at its best in shutting down Kelly Bryant and the Clemson offense.

On the other hand, Georgia was pushed to the limit by the Sooners, needing double overtime to register its 54-48 victory when Sony Michel raced 27 yards around the left side for the winning touchdown.

The Bulldogs were able to hold Mayfield and the Sooner offense to one field goal in overtime, while Georgia's offense was relentless from the start of the second half until that unit finished the job in overtime.

While Georgia has earned an epic victory, it may not help them against the Crimson Tide. Michel knows there is much more work to be done.

"We got to get back to work. It's not done," Michel said, per STATS/Associated Press (h/t CBS Sports). "Now we got to finish. Let's just finish this season off right."

Alabama will come at the Bulldogs with a nasty and effective defense, something Oklahoma did not bother to bring to the Rose Bowl.

Oklahoma's defense was its weakness all season, and a powerful running team like Georgia with Michel and Nick Chubb was able to take them apart. Michel ran for 181 yards and three touchdowns while Chubb had 145 yards and two scores.

Georgia is playing in its first title game since 1983, while Alabama is playing in its third straight national championship game and its sixth in nine years.

Rusty Costanza/Associated Press

Saban is the pre-eminent coach in his sport, while Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is a Saban disciple who excels at putting an excellent defense on the field. However, his team was put through the ringer in the win over Oklahoma and had the added workload of beating Auburn in the SEC title game.

Alabama is the fresher team, and it is also motivated by the talk of some critics who thought the Crimson Tide did not belong in the CFP because it did not win its conference championship game.

Alabama's defense is led by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who is quite likely to be a first-round pick in the NFL draft in April. Fitzpatrick has 55 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, eight passes broken up and one interception this season, while linebacker Rashaan Phillips has 11.5 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks. 

Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Hurts is a solid leader who completed 151 of 247 passes this season for 2,040 yards with 17 touchdowns and just one interception. He also has rushed for 808 yards and eight touchdowns.

Damien Harris and Bo Scarborough are a solid running back duo, and those two will challenge an excellent Georgia defense led by linebacker Roquan Smith.

Chubb and Michel may be the best pair of running backs in the country, as Chubb rushed for 1,320 yards and 15 touchdowns, while Michel rushed for 1,129 yards and 16 touchdowns. Add in a third running back in D'Andre Swift, who gained 603 yards with three touchdowns, and the Crimson Tide defense will clearly face a major challenge.

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Freshman quarterback Jake Fromm has had a sensational season in which he answered every challenge to this point. He has thrown for 2,383 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions. Fromm is not going to run from the pocket often, but he knows how to slide in the pocket and avoid the first wave of the pass rush.

Smith is a game-changing defensive player who leads the Bulldogs with 123 tackles, and that included 10 stops in the Rose Bowl. He is capable of taking over any game, and the Crimson Tide is going to have to account for him.

Alabama is a 4.5-point favorite over Georgia, according to OddsShark.

Both teams have less than a week to prepare for the title game, and the team that contends with the hype and stays focused may have the best chance of winning.