Alabama Football: 3 reasons Tide will win 2019 National Championship

Alabama football downed Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl to book a trip to Santa Clara. Here’s why it can repeat as national champions.

With their 45-34 Orange Bowl victory over Oklahoma on Saturday, Alabama set up an opportunity to become the first repeat champion of the College Football Playoff era and killed Lincoln Riley’s chance to join his former boss Bob Stoops among the select group of head coaches who won national championships in their second season at the helm.

After claiming last year’s national title in an all-SEC matchup against Georgia, the Crimson Tide opened the year as the No. 1 team in every major poll. That held true once the the College Football Playoff selection committee started releasing their weekly Top 25 in October. From wire to wire, Alabama continues to justify its position as the top-ranked team in the country.

Unlike last year, there was no controversy about Alabama’s invitation to the semifinals. As an undefeated SEC champion, the Crimson Tide are now 14-0 and marching toward their sixth national championship in a dozen years under Nick Saban.

Now that they have taken down Heisman winner Kyler Murray and a formidable Oklahoma side, can Alabama actually finish the deed and take care of business against Clemson for the third time in four years? Here are three reasons why the Crimson Tide will repeat as College Football Playoff national champions with a big win at Levi’s Stadium on Jan. 7.