It was the biggest game of the year in college football– the College Football National Championship. The fighting teams this year were the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs. It is not very often that you see two teams from the same area competing for the national title. The last time this happened was in 2011, the Alabama vs. LSU game, which Alabama won 21-0.

So, what makes this year’s game so intriguing? Nick Saban, a 5-time-winning national championship coach, is facing his former defensive coordinator, Kirby Smart. Smart coached under Saban for 11 years, for three different teams and became the Georgia coach in 2016. What does that mean? Statistically, Saban has never lost to any coach that worked under him, but if he were to lose against any coach, it would be Smart. Smart worked for Saban longer than any of the other coaches that Saban has played against; he knows more about Nick Saban from a coaching standpoint than anyone else.

Something else that is really interesting about this game is that six former Madison City football players are in this championship: Labryan Ray from James Clemens, playing for Alabama, Ryan Parris from James Clemens, playing for Alabama, Kyriq McDonald from James Clemens, playing for Alabama, Montee Rice from James Clemens, playing for Georgia, Michael Marlow from James Clemens, Alabama assistant, and Kendall Randolph from Bob Jones, playing for Alabama. Because most of the football players are from James Clemens, the James Clemens football coach, Wade Waldrop, was asked in a WAFF 48 interview who he was pulling for and who would win. He said that he did not really have a pick, but that he was hoping the boys would enjoy the experience.

There are many opinions from football fans about who will win. A junior, Ethan Worcester who is an Alabama fan stated, “I think Alabama will win because Georgia’s head coach is Kirby Smart, and he used to be an assistant to Nick Saban, and Saban has never lost to any of his former coaches. Alabama also has a lot more experience from Georgia.” Another student said that even though they wanted Georgia to win and they knew it would be a close game, they thought Alabama would win because they always pull through, especially in the second half.

Cam Johnson, a Bob Jones junior said, “I think Georgia will win because this season, Alabama has looked weaker than past years, and they do have a history of choking in big games.”

The Game Begins

The stadium was full of excitement and anticipation. They began the coin toss; Alabama wins and Georgia chose to receive.

At 7:17, the ball is kicked off to Georgia. The crowd cheered as Georgia made the first play of the game.

When the first quarter ended, the score is 0-0; the game was already a nail biter. Georgia and Alabama are putting up a good fight. The two teams were going back and forth, but Georgia’s offense was already showing that it was ready for this fight. It is only the first quarter.

At the end of the first half, the score was 13-0 with Georgia leading; two field goals and a touchdown. Many Alabama fans were hoping that Alabama would pull through in the second half. Would Saban be able to encourage the players to have a better second half?

The Second Half Begins

The second half started with a shock: the starting sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts was replaced by Alabama’s freshman backup quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa. Jalen was not throwing the ball like he should have, and he was getting sacked frequently. Everyone hoped that he played better than Hurts.

The third quarter final is 10-20 with Georgia leading. Will Alabama pull through and score 10 points?

The end of the fourth quarter is full of tension and nerves; the score is tied: 20-20. All Alabama has to do is make a field goal with 6 seconds left in the game. They don’t and the game goes into overtime. This is the most nerve-racking game of the year.

Into Overtime

Alabama won the overtime coin toss. The first run, Alabama never got close to the first down mark, so Georgia got the ball. Georgia’s quarterback was sacked at the 51 yard line. They go for the field go and scored. No one thinks Alabama is going to comeback. The ball is kicked off to Bama and they recover the ball. The next play Tagovailoa is sacked. Everyone thought the game was over. However, Tagovailoa threw a 41-yard pass to DeVonte Smith to score the winning touchdown!

Alabama won with a score of 26-23! No one ever thought it would have happened; Alabama was short the entire game, but they had an incredible comeback! Nick Saban was overjoyed and said, “This is the happiest day of my life.” Saban won his sixth national championship and five at Alabama. History was made.