Alabama Football: 3 reasons Tide will win 2019 National Championship

2. Alabama boasted another top-10 defense in 2018

Against Oklahoma and Heisman winner Kyler Murray, Alabama showed why they were a top-10 defense once again in 2018. Alabama let Murray throw for 308 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and he added another 109 yards and a touchdown on the ground along the way.

It wasn’t the most inspired performance in the Orange Bowl, as they gave away a total of 471 yards of offense to the Sooners. But they got stops when it mattered most, even without generating a turnover in the semifinal. Defense was critical along the march to the College Football Playoff, and it is a big reason why they are now in the championship game.

Entering the Orange Bowl, the Crimson Tide allowed fewer than 15 points and 300 yards per game. Alabama’s front seven held opponents to 117 yards per game on the ground, while the secondary averaged just over one interception per game. Quinnen Williams ranks 17th in tackles for loss, while Isaiah Buggs leads a front seven that sits at No. 7 in total sacks.

On average, the Crimson Tide were on average a 29-point favorite against the point spread over the course of the 2018 season. That they were still able to finish more than four points better than the spread is a testament not just to a dynamic offense but to the shutdown ability of a defense that was formidable even by SEC standards.

That defense will be ready to square off in the first matchup of unbeaten teams in the College Football Playoff championship game. And the Alabama defense will be the reason why the Crimson Tide either head home with back-to-back national titles or go back to Tuscaloosa empty-handed.