Cotton Bowl 2021: 3 reasons to watch Alabama vs. Cincinnati

3. Will the real Alabama please stand up?

First, this is not to say Alabama is not a good team and does not deserve to be in this year’s playoff. They absolutely do. But there were some games this season uncharacteristic of a Nick Saban-coached team.

Early in the season, Florida went toe to toe with Alabama. The Gators finished 6-7 with a bowl loss. Alabama’s lone loss on the year was to Texas A&M, a team that was starting a backup quarterback. The Aggies finished a respectable 8-4 but were not a world-beater. Granted both of these games were on the road so we will cut the Tide some slack here.

What is the excuse for letting LSU hang around at home? Then Tiger coach Ed Orgeron was a lame-duck at that point. Another closer-than-expected victory at home over Arkansas followed.

The biggest head-scratcher of them all was the near loss to Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Sure the Tigers are the Tide’s biggest rival but they are not on the same level right now. Alabama needed a touchdown in the 59th minute of game time to tie and then four overtimes to get the victory.

In the SEC title game versus Georgia, the Tide cruised to a 17-point victory while racking over 530 yards total offense. This was against a Bulldog defense that had been completely dominant all season.

So was the Georgia game a literal turning of the tide for Alabama? Perhaps they will stomp their next two opponents on their way to a seventh national championship under Saban. Or just perhaps the other Alabama team who struggled at times this season makes a reappearance at the most inopportune time.