2021 College Football Playoff Round 1 Alabama vs Cincinnati

Alabama Football Podcast breaks down the Tide’s workmanlike performance in their CFP Round 1 outing against the Bearcats of Cincinnati.

Cincy Proved they Belonged

Let’s get this out of the way. Cincy did enough in their round 1 outing, in my mind, to justify their inclusion. That’s not an open invitation for any other Group of 5 wannabe or wish-they-were. Its merely an acknowledgement that Cincy proved the edge case. Besides, they provided more worthy than many other round 1 combatants over the years.

Brian Robinson Superman

Demonstrating no lingering effects of a recent hamstring pull, Robinson set the pace with his record-breaking performance. While ironically scoring no points himself, Brian provided the bulk of the Tide’s chain moving offense.

Metchie by Committee

Alabama backfilled for the missing John Metchie mostly as predicted. Multiple receivers and tight ends received reps and targets and touchdowns that may have been destined for a healthy John Metchie. However, most surprising was Jamison Williams reprising the possession receiver role. Part decoy and part dependable receiver, Jamo displayed a low-key facet to his game.

Defense All Night Long

Without question Alabama put up one of their best – arguably the best – defensive performance of the season. Holding the Bearcats to 218 total yards of offense. Multiple Tide defenders registered their best performances of the season.

Touchdowns 25% Off

Say it with me, they’ll give you the ball on the 25 for free if you’ll just fair catch it. I recognize KO returns are exciting and sometimes even necessary, but more often they are empty stats and unnecessary injury risks.

Check out the podcast for more discussion on these and many other topics – along with a much more colorful rant on Jamo’s KO return attempt.

Mini Game balls

Anyone can read a headline, but which players contributed in more subtle ways to the Tide’s fortune?

Next Up

History repeats itself as Alabama squares off once again with the Georgia Bulldogs in the National Championship game.