Georgia is a deserving national champion. This was their year, like so many others have been Alabama's years. The Crimson Tide finished second, and there's no shame in that.

Kirby Smart’s patience and loyalty to Stetson Bennett paid off.

Alabama and Georgia will face off tonight for the College Football Playoff championship, and we'll have lots of live updates for you.

Georgia lost 41-24 to Alabama in the SEC title game, so the Bulldogs have more to change than the Crimson Tide. Still, Alabama will want to be creative in its game plan based on the first game so it can improve and throw wrinkles at Georgia.

“I haven’t seen him more locked into the game plan like this since he played for his little league coach,” said Jameson Williams' father, James Williams.

NIL opportunities almost certainly are being used to entice recruits. That's why Nick Saban took time in a Sunday news conference to say that national legislation is needed to control the types of NIL offers athletes are allowed to accept.

Expect a trick play or two. Nick Saban and Kirby Smart have proven they're willing to line up and slug it out with opposing teams, with no tricks or gambles, but both always carry a little something extra in the game plan if they need an edge.

No. 1 Alabama is set to face No. 3 Georgia for the second time this season after the Crimson Tide defeated the Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game. Here are five questions about the Crimson Tide ahead of the matchup.

As Alabama has navigated the season with a youthful group, Tide coach Nick Saban has approached this team with a little less fire and brimstone than usual. It might be the key to galvanizing the 2021 Crimson Tide into another championship contender.

Alabama beat Georgia 41-24 in the SEC Championship Game, but the Bulldogs hammered Michigan 34-11 in the Orange Bowl semifinal game Friday night. Georgia led 34-3 until Michigan managed a late touchdown and two-point conversion.

The Cotton Bowl final was 27-6, but when Alabama had the ball late in the first half and led only 10-3, the ending of this one seemed inevitable. And it was.

Nick Saban spent 22 minutes Thursday morning speaking with reporters one last time before top-ranked Alabama meets Cincinnati in Friday's Cotton Bowl. Saban seemed in a relatively good mood, and usually, that's good news for the Crimson Tide.

Being calm is nothing new for Alabama's Bryce Young. That’s been his default from the moment he stepped onto the podium and addressed reporters for the first time at the beginning of preseason practices. 

Jalyn Armour-Davis, a starting cornerback, has missed the past two games with an injury. JoJo Earle, also a slot receiver, has not played since the New Mexico State game Nov. 13.

Alabama football coach Nick Saban is 70, and while the signs of age are showing, no reasonable person would look at him and say it's time he hung it up. He's still just as passionate, and also, he looks like he's having too much fun.

Alabama's Nick Saban believes in preparation, and that includes preparing for the College Football Playoff's rules regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. That should pay off in a postseason that's seen six bowl games impacted by positive COVId-19 tests.

Alabama arrived in Texas today for its Friday date in the Cotton Bowl, and after getting off the plane, Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said no players are in COVID-19 isolation.

“We certainly wish we were not in this position,” said Bill Hancock, said executive director of the CFP, “but the only responsible thing is to take whatever actions we can reasonably take to better protect those who play and coach the game.”

Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said Monday that about 90 percent of the team has received booster shots. 

Jacksonville State came to sixth-ranked Alabama's own gym and held the Tide to 21 points below its average and shut out its best scorer. It wasn't enough.

Fegans, a 6-foot-2, 181-pound cornerback who played his senior season at Thompson High School in Alabaster, signed with Alabama earlier Wednesday, the first day of the December signing period for college football. On Wednesday night, he then attended a gathering for family back in Oxford.

“I’m excited for his future,” godmother Tia Allen said. “He’s so deserving of it. I just thank God for this opportunity for him, and I just know he’s going to go make this city proud.”

Tickets will go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m. for the March 30 college softball game between Jacksonville State and Alabama in Albertville.

The 2021 Heisman Trophy belongs to Alabama's Bryce Young, the first Crimson Tide quarterback to win the award.

Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is one of four finalists for the Heisman Trophy, and according to betting sites across the board, he's the favorite to win college football's most storied individual award.

Defending national champion Alabama is back in the College Football Playoff, and Georgia, Michigan and Cincinnati have joined the Crimson Tide.

The fridge won't do for this Alabama football report card. The Crimson Tide will want to frame this one.

No. 3 Alabama won 41-24 over the Bulldogs on Saturday in the SEC Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. With the win, Alabama (12-1) all but locks up a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Georgia was supposed to have a defense to remember, but the only transcendent force in Saturday's SEC Championship Game was Alabama's Bryce Young. He threw for 421 yards and relegated Georgia to a familiar spot — on the losing end against Alabama.  

No. 1 Georgia and No. 3 Alabama will face off again today in the SEC Championship Game, and once again, the Bulldogs appear to have the Crimson Tide right where they want them. Or do they?

This weekend is mostly set aside for conference championship games, including the Southeastern Conference showdown in Atlanta. Let's get to the picks:

For about 58 minutes, 25 seconds, this one looked like a lost cause for Alabama. That Jordan-Hare hex appeared to have claimed the national championship hopes of yet another Crimson Tide team. Then came the final drive.

It was just an old-fashioned, take-‘em-to-the-woodshed Iron Bowl, interrupted by an unexpected comeback, concluded by archrivals trading haymakers after the clock stopped,

So, who at Auburn took a tin box filled with his picture, graveyard dirt and some chicken bones and buried it at the intersection of two dirt roads to summon a crossroad demon?

The Alabama/Auburn game headlines the weekend for state football fans. There are plenty of other interesting games, too.

After Saturday's finger-tip win over Arkansas 42-35, it's still too hard to tell if Alabama in 2021 is a placeholder to better days or a seriously legitimate contender to win it all.

Bryce Young entered the weekend as Vegas’ Heisman Trophy betting favorite. With a record performance Saturday afternoon, he may have lapped the field.

Yes, we’re picking another sweep: Alabama, Auburn and Jacksonville State should make all the local fans happy. Let’s get to the picks:

The Crimson Tide pummeled 52-point underdog New Mexico State 59-3 Saturday afternoon, with the only drama centered on how healthy Alabama would emerge from the game.

Alabama, Auburn and Jacksonville State are all in action Saturday, and we should expect a sweep.

Alabama came off an open week as LSU came to town. And for most of the first half, it looked like the second-ranked Crimson Tide planned to take off another.

Alabama, Auburn and Jacksonville State are in action Saturday, and all three need wins.

Idle weeks can provide much-needed rest and healing of bumps and bruises so that a team is even more ready to go for the next game. Or they can stall momentum.

Alabama was ranked No. 2 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings of 2021, announced Tuesday.

Seventy doesn’t sound as old when compared to 80.

Alabama got plenty wrong on its Tennessee exam, but by the end of the night it got the most important letter: a W.

In the midst of a chaotic football season, Alabama avoided the major upset, pulling away late to beat the Volunteers 52-24. It was the mark of a resilient team, and an admittedly far-from-finished product.

Alabama beat the Tennessee Volunteers 52-24 for the 15th straight time, but a healthy amount of Crimson Tide fans probably wish Pete Golding would volunteer to quit.

Sure, Alabama has dominated in the Nick Saban, but "Dynasty by the Numbers" uses stark data to show you exactly how dominant the Crimson Tide has been.