Colin Cowherd breaks down Alabama vs. Georgia

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On Saturday we have the title game in the SEC. Alabama from the West collides with Georgia from the East in Atlanta. It should be a fun game.

For Alabama to win, their defense has to show up and play pass defense. Georgia has a potent passing attack, almost as potent as USC and Matt Barkley. When Matt Barkley was on, he was on, and it was lights out when Marqise Lee and Robert Woods were on their games too. When all 3 of those were in sync, there was no better offense in college football, or perhaps in the history of college football. It rivaled the USC offenses under Mark Sanchez and Matt Leinart/Reggie Bush for sure. But the Barkley-Lee-Woods combo might be the best to ever grace Troy and the Coliseum. Barkley had more precision and touch than Sanchez or Leinart. He had the accuracy of an Indian with a bow and arrow, and a pocket prescence as aware as a cat stalking its prey. Marqise Lee at receiver just knows how to get open and catch the ball. He is better at being open than a road side Waffle House at 3am, and better at catching than my dad's tobacco juice standed baseball mitt. So Alabama must be able to contain that Georgia passing attack led by Aaron Murray, a good QB, but not as good as Matt Barkley.

Offensively, Alabama must be able to run the ball. They have some solid running backs, but none as good as, say, Reggie Bush or Silas Redd. Silas Redd really performed well this year in his first year at Troy. I'd say he did well considering he had to learn a new offense on the fly. He should be better this year. Though, Georgia did struggle a bit when it came to pass defense. Tennessee and South Carolina did expose the Bulldog secondary, kind of like how Matt Barkley shredded secondaries like Oregon and Washington. Alabama does not have the passing attack, in my opinion, to shred the Bulldog secondary.

Everyone will talk about the Alabama defense, which is solid, but the Georgia defense is just as good. Both of these units are solid. Alabama's unit is good, but not quite at the levels of USC teams past. USC has had great defenses in the past and Alabama just doesn't come close. Just look at all the defensive players that have put on the Gold and Red for Troy in the past. Rey Maualuga. Brian Cushing. Clay Matthews. I can go on and on. While Alabama has a stable of talent, it doesn't match USC's past teams. And I would say even USC's defense this year was just as talented, if not more talented, than Alabama's unit. USC just had to play in a more offensively oriented league, so the numbers are a bit skewed, but give me USC's defensive unit any day of the week when it comes to raw talent and who will play on Sunday. If USC played in the SEC and against those slower paced ball control offenses, they would shine brighter than Alabama or Florida. I know USC had a down year, especially on the defensive side of the ball, but trust me, Monte Kiffin is a bright defensive mind and they had their moments. When the USC defense was on, they were great, just like their offense. It was a down year by USC standards, but this is the best 7-5 team in college football history. And if we had a 32 team playoff, USC would be my pick to win it. So, Alabama and Georgia both have good defensive units, and must play well to win.

In conclusion, I like Alabama to beat Georgia, but lets be real here, neither of these teams would make it in the Pac 12 where teams like USC and Oregon roam. The Alabama and Georgia defenses would be exposed by the Pac 12 offenses, and offensively would not be able to keep up with the high octane passing attacks like you see at USC. So, the winner of this game will go to Miami, but its a shame we can't see what these teams can do against teams packed with NFL talent like USC.

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