Peach Bowl Preview: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Washington

4 of 6

Dec 3, 2016; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Joshua Jacobs (25) celebrates with teammates during the second quarter against the Florida Gators of the SEC Championship college football game at Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports /

Establish The Running Game- Alabama’s offense is built around the run, and Washington’s rushing defense is very difficult to run on. Washington has the 27th ranked rushing attack giving up 123.5 yards per game on the ground, and would rank as the fourth best rushing defense this team’s faced all year. If Alabama can get Jalen Hurts, Damien Harris, Bo Scarbrough, and Josh Jacobs running it will set up the passing game and wear down that Husky defense that ranks 12th in total defense.

Make Jake Browning Beat You- If there’s one thing Alabama’s done better under Jeremy Pruitt than Kirby Smart, it’s disguising their coverages. They’ve been so good at it, and will need to disguise their coverages and blitzes well to bring the heat on Jake Browning. Browning’s arm strength is iffy and to beat Alabama you need to be able to push the ball downfield. The Tide will stop the run, as they always do, and they will force Jake Browning to beat them through the air, and against their vaunted pass rush.

Don’t Let It Come Down To Special Teams- Adam Griffith is a liability at kicker at times, and nobody on the Alabama side would want this game to come down to a field goal. Special teams has been known to kill Alabama in the past (LSU 2011 & Ole Miss 2014), and they can’t let it be the deciding factor in this game. Alabama’s special teams has been considerably better this year than in years past, but the field goal unit is still an issue. Limiting special teams mistakes will be a key to winning for the Tide and not having it come down to a field goal (Griffith’s 19/26 on the year) to win.

Home/College Football