Alabama vs. Georgia: Latest Comments Ahead of CFP National Championship 2018
Alabama head coach Nick Saban will face one of his former assistants for the 12th time in his career in Monday's CFB National Championship.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, who was Saban's defensive coordinator at Alabama, has built a mirror image of the Crimson Tide in his first two seasons in Athens, Georgia.
Despite their budding rivalry on the recruiting market and on the field, Saban and Smart still have close ties.
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Before he left Tuscaloosa, Alabama, for the University of Georgia, Smart received some advice from his longtime mentor.
"I told Kirby this when he left, be your own man, be yourself, do it the way you think it ought to be done," Saban said, per Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald. "Don't try to be somebody else. I think he's done a fantastic job of that. What you all don't understand is this guy was on our staff for, I don't know, 10 years. Terry [Saban] was there when his babies are born. I mean, you become a part of a family. That's what you do when you're together for a long time."
The two head coaches have faced a similar challenge in preparation for Monday's game, as they look to get their respective teams ready on a quick turnaround.
Georgia had to travel back from California after its Rose Bowl win on Monday, and while the Crimson Tide had a short trip home from New Orleans, they still didn't get started on their work until Tuesday.
The emotional and physical challenges of going from national semifinal to the title game are admittedly a little hard to deal with, as Saban noted, per Michael Casagrande of AL.com.
"It was a little tougher turnaround for the players," Saban said "I don't know if it's physically, emotionally, psychologically, however you want to put it, early in the week, to refocus on another big game. But I think as the game, as the week went on, you saw them recover, and I think they're all excited about playing in the game."
As for the on-field concerns, Smart is worried about the physical nature of the Crimson Tide on the interior. Outside of Auburn, Georgia hasn't faced a team with so much strength on the offensive and defensive lines.
"They've got an extremely physical offensive and defensive lines," Smart said on Sunday, per Marq Burnett of SEC Country. "They are as big and as physical as we've faced, and we know we like to run the ball and we like to stop the run, but when you look at the unit that he's comprised and got, it's a dominant, physical team. We've got to match the physicality."
Saban is concerned about the physical nature of the Bulldogs, but he's also worried about the execution of his own players.
"Tackling, I always worry about in bowl games and games where you haven't played for a long time," Saban said, per Burnett. "We missed some tackles in last week's game, and the quality of running backs that they have and the skill players that they have, I think those factors are going to be huge in a game in terms of doing a good job in those areas."
Some of the players on each side have prepared for Monday's contest like coaches. For someone as experienced as Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith, he knows exactly what he'll be going up against.
"I try to know my opponent better than they know themselves if we're being honest and what they're about to do and certain situations," Smith said, per Matt Zenitz of AL.com. "So I definitely think that helps you out from the mental side of things."
Smith will face an Alabama offensive line that will be without the injured Lester Cotton. Although it's a blow to Alabama's chemistry, the Tide are confident in the next man on the depth chart.
"It's a huge blow whenever you lose one of your starters," running back Damien Harris said, per ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach. "Just gotta have that next-man-up mentality. We've had to deal with that all year. We've had a lot of injuries, a lot of adversity. I think it's good for us to have that mentality. Guys are going to have to step up just like they have all year."
Alabama is also dealing with the loss of linebacker Anfernee Jennings on defense. Despite losing one of the top performers from the Sugar Bowl, Alabama is getting healthier at outside linebacker with Terrell Lewis and Christian Miller back in the fold following early-season injuries. The presence of Lewis and Miller should help Alabama deal with the loss of Jennings.
"The fact that we have them back now, I feel like it gives us our versatility back," Alabama linebacker Rashaan Evans said, per ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg. "It gives us our edge back, and now I feel like we can be back to an aggressive-type defense."
Georgia's powerful offense, led by running backs Sony Michel and Nick Chubb, will earn every single yard against Alabama's ferocious defense. The duo is motivated to bring the Bulldogs their first national title since 1980 after choosing to return for their senior year.
"We came back to work. Our whole focus was to buy into this program and get as much accomplished as we can," Michel said, per CBS Sports' Barrett Sallee.
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