The Alabama Crimson Tide face the Michigan State Spartans in the highly anticipated Cotton Bowl on New Year's Eve. The Spartans finished their season strong with big wins over Ohio State and Penn State, and handed the Iowa Hawkeyes their first loss of the season in the Big Ten Championship game. Alabama handled Florida in the SEC title game, and head coach Nick Saban is the only coach in college football to bring his program back to the College Football Playoff for two consecutive seasons.
The Crimson Tide are arguably the best team in the country, and the fact that they have dominated in the toughest conference makes them one of the clear favorites to win another National Championship. Alabama has plenty of talent on offense, but their defense is loaded with top-tier playmakers, many of which will be playing on Sundays next year.
Saban's defense gives up an average of 14.4 points per game - the third fewest in college football - and have held opponents to just 74 rushing yards per game. Alabama's front seven is arguably the best in all of college football, and linebacker Reggie Ragland has been a leader on the field for the Crimson Tide. The Alabama senior linebacker has 90 total tackles with 6.5 tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks on the year.
While Ragland sets the tone for Alabama's defense, Heisman Trophy winner and star running back Derrick Henry leads the Crimson Tide offense. The junior running back has had an incredible season, and the Spartans will have to gang tackle to bring down the powerful back. Henry has rushed for 1,986 yards and scored 23 touchdowns. The 6-foot-3, 242-pound running back opens up Alabama's offense, as defenses have to load the box against him.
Saban will look to get Henry plenty of touches early, as he will open passing lanes for quarterback Jake Coker. The Crimson Tide senior quarterback has struggled at times this season, but has really picked up his play in the final three games. Coker has thrown for 2,489 yards with 17 touchdowns to eight interceptions this season. In the final three games, Coker threw five touchdowns to no interceptions, and Saban has likely spoken with his quarterback about the importance of ball security prior to Thursday's huge matchup.
Alabama faces arguably their toughest test of the year against the Spartans, and head coach Mark Dantonio will look for his team to get off to a strong start against the Crimson Tide defense. The Spartans have faced some powerful defenses in the Big Ten this year, but none match the strength and talent of Alabama's defense.
Spartans quarterback Connor Cook will likely have to play his best game of his college career to get a win over the Crimson Tide. The Spartans senior quarterback has thrown 2,921 yards with 24 touchdowns to five interceptions. Cook struggled against Iowa's defense in the Big Ten title game, and knows he will have to perform better to get a win over Alabama.
Freshman running back LJ Scott will look to get off to a hot start on Thursday, but running lanes will be hard to come by in this Cotton Bowl matchup. Scott leads the team with 691 rushing yards on the season and has scored 11 touchdowns. He saw 22 carries against Iowa's defense in the Big Ten Championship game, and expect Dantonio to run the ball a ton against Alabama's defense.
The Cotton Bowl features two of the most dominant programs in college football's recent history, and both programs are led by two of the best coaches in college football. The game starts at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, and you can watch the live broadcast here. To listen to Alabama's radio broadcast, click here, and for the Spartans' radio broadcast, go here.
