Sport: Why Alabama can win the College Football Playoff in 2021

UMass to bring back Don Brown as next head coach

UMass has made a decision on its next head coach. The Minutemen are trying to rekindle some past success and bringing back Don Brown as their head coach. The hiring was reported on Sunday night and is expected to be announced this week. UMass will be hiring Don Brown as its next head football coach. UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford is expected to conduct a team meeting tomorrow to announce Brown as the next head coach, according to sources inside the program. — Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) November 22, 2021 Brown turned down a big offer from Arizona in order to return to UMass.

No. 1 Alabama enters the College Football Playoff with an 11-1 record and a chance to win its seventh national championship under Nick Saban.

The Crimson Tide have been a CFP regular and they are heavy favorites against No. 4 Cincinnati on Dec. 31 in the Cotton Bowl Classic at AT&T Stadium.

Here is a closer look at Alabama's playoff history, and the reasons why the Crimson Tide will (or won't) win a national championship in 2021:

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Alabama's College Football Playoff history

Alabama is making its seventh College Football Playoff appearance. The Crimson Tide missed the Playoff in 2019, which broke a five-year streak. Alabama made the CFP championship game in four straight seasons from 2015-18, and it won national championships in 2015, 2017 and 2020

LSU’s top three head-coaching targets reportedly revealed

Kentucky's Mark Stoops was listed at No. 3 behind Jimbo Fisher and Bill O’Brien. VERY Good LSU source just saw my report and told me the LSU list is this 1. Jimbo Fischer2. Bill O Brien3. Mark Stoops In that order — Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) November 19, 2021 The list makes sense. Fisher has been a known top target for LSU’s athletic director. O’Brien is the current offensive coordinator at Alabama. He previously was the head coach of the Houston Texans and won the AFC South four times in six seasons. O’Brien also coached Penn State for two seasons before James Franklin took over.

Year	Rank	Results
2014	1	Lost to No. 4 Ohio State 42-35
2015	2	Beat No. 3 Michigan State 38-0, Beat No. 1 Clemson 45-40
2016	1	Beat No. 4 Washington 24-7, Lost to No. 2 Clemson 35-31
2017	4	Beat No. 1 Clemson 24-6, Beat No. 3 Georgia 26-23
2018	1	Beat No. 4 Oklahoma 45-34, Lost to No. 2 Clemson 44-16
2020	1	Beat No. 4 Notre Dame 31-14, Beat No. 3 Ohio State 52-24
2021	1	vs. No. 4 Cincinnati

This is the fifth time the Crimson Tide is No. 1 in the CFP rankings. They won the national championship as a No. 1 seed last year.

MORE: Why Georgia can win the national title | Michigan | Cincinnati

CFP championship odds

According to Fanduel.com, The Crimson Tide have the best odds to win the national championship.

SCHOOL	ODDS
Alabama	+120
Georgia	+135
Michigan	+750
Cincinnati	+1800

Alabama vs. Cincinnati odds

According to FanDuel.com, Alabama is a 14-point favorite against Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl. The Crimson Tide are 7-6 ATS this season. Cincinnati is 8-5 ATS.

NCAA will not allow Reggie Bush to reclaim Heisman Trophy

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Why Alabama will win national title

Did you watch the Georgia game? The Crimson Tide have the best offense in the four-team playoff; one that averages 42.5 points per game. Quarterback Bryce Young now is the heavy favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. He passed for 4,322 yards, 43 TDs and four interceptions. Young was unstoppable in the SEC championship game and is the most-dynamic quarterback in the playoff.

The Crimson Tide will pull down a bunch of other national awards, too, including receiver Jameson Williams (1,445 yards, 15 TDs) and linebacker Will Anderson (14 sacks, 27.5 TFL). The Crimson Tide have the most talent of any team in the field, and Saban showed against the Bulldogs that the "disrespect card" can still be used.

Alabama has been there, done that, and Saban is a good bet to lead them to the CFP championship game for the sixth time in eight years.

MORE: Bowl tracker for 2021 postseason

Why Alabama won't win national title

The Bearcats could pull an unthinkable upset, and Michigan could do the unthinkable in a rematch of the 2020 Citrus Bowl.

The better bet would be in a rematch with Georgia. The Bulldogs can make adjustments, and Alabama had trouble running the football (26 attempts, 115 yards) in the first meeting.

Wide receiver John Metchie III also suffered a knee injury in that victory, and that could throw off the passing game. He had 1,142 yards (20th in the nation) and eight touchdowns. Also, Alabama is the only team in the CFP that does not have a top-10 scoring defense.

Those factors did not come into play in the SEC title game, but they could in a rematch with the Bulldogs.