The University of Alabama Football and Crimson Tide Sports Source
April 24, 2024
December 30, 2015
Playoff Part II
Alabama has been here before and they left New Orleans on the short end of a 42-35 score. Perhaps they didn’t have their heads in the game, perhaps they thought with OSU using a third string QB the game was a formality. Maybe Ohio State was just better – it really doesn’t matter, they lost and they have now lost two bowls in a row, which is not good.
Tomorrow sometime around 8 p.m. eastern standard time (probably more like 8:30 or 8:45) Alabama and Michigan State will kick off the second game of the first round of playoff games. For reasons that no one can quite understand they have chosen New Year’s Eve for these games.
This game, the Cotton Bowl, features Big Ten champion Michigan State against SEC champion Alabama. MSU will be the snubbed and disrespected underdog and will try to ride that psychological boost to victory. Alabama is an angry team that has failed to win a post-season game in the last two years. They too will try and gain some sort of momentum from that circumstance.
Neither of those things will matter after about fifteen minutes. Michigan State is going to do what it does – line up and try and run the ball and throw play action passes, which is very much what Alabama is going to try and do as well. This is a match up that would seem to favor the Crimson Tide, which is pretty good and lining up and running the ball and stopping other teams from doing the same.
I’ve heard various takes on all of the above. Michigan State has a pretty good defense. They aren’t as deep as Alabama but their starters are good. They have a better quarterback than Alabama and that is supposed to be the thing that could put them over the top.
Jake Coker can use the disrespect card here as nobody thinks he can win this game if he has to do it. That’s never a good thing to say about a player, especially one who has the talent to do it. Coker has had a good season. He nearly found a way to win the Ole Miss game. He threw a bunch of interceptions early in the season but has settled down and had a strong second half.
I think Coker might be the key here. He might have to make plays because Michigan State is going to sell out to stop Derrick Henry. They probably will for a while. In the end the combination of Derrick Henry and timely passing by Jake Coker will make all the difference.
This website is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by The University of Alabama. The University has not provided any content appearing on this website and is not responsible for any such content. Mybama.com operates this site independently, and is solely responsible for its content.
![[PHOTO]](http://www.mybama.com/includes/photos/blank.jpg)
