Hah! Line play will be a differentiator alright... in the Buckeyes' favor! I'd love to hear peoples' thoughts on this, but here's what I'm seeing:

Alabama is a terrific team and certainly capable of wining tonight's game, but I say the Buckeyes are flat-out better, and in fact, Clemson is better than Alabama, too, but people get so caught up in the hype train that they can't see it, in which case, either statement I just made will be seen as outlandish (especially for anybody who doesn't watch line play).

Never mind that the notion that Ohio State and Clemson were the two best teams in the country was actually the conventional thinking and consensus before the year began and all of the Covid issues perked up to change the landscape. 

Alabama has had a strong year, but I don't think all that much has changed. 

Yet now, we're somehow supposed to believe that it's virtually unthinkable to imagine that the Buckeyes can win, although, gee and gosh-oh-golly, if they just give it the ole college try and everything just happens to go right for them, l'il ole Ohio State just might be able to pull off a historic upset and slay Goliath. 

Nonsense! The Buckeyes are simply better, especially on both sides of the line. 

Sure, Alabama has had a record year on offense (defense? not so much), but consider the context, i.e., what nobody seems to have noticed (or dares say about the SEC because, gee, it's the SEC and thou shalt not take the reputation of that league in vain) is that the SEC has become the Big 12 South, at least to a significant degree, and, hmm... how have Big 12 teams fared in the CFP in recent years? 

Yes, the SEC has tons of great talent on offense that can put up video game numbers, but for those with really short memories, guess what? The SEC has ALWAYS had tons of talented skill players, and while, sure, offenses have evolved, based on everything I see on film, SEC offenses haven't improved nearly to the degree that SEC defenses have declined, especially in their collective line play.

It used to be that the SEC was defined by monstrous play from waves of great defensive linemen on team after team throughout the conference, but those days are gone, which sure makes offensive lines look much better than they are (as well as the passing games they protect). 

Today, the SEC has got a lot of linemen who are as big as ever, if not bigger than ever, but not nearly as fast or as twitchy or as skilled or (most importantly) as mean and physical as they used to be (or for that matter, as deep throughout the conference). 

They just don't get the push they used to or play as much of a downhill attacking style as they used to. Might they be playing on their heels out of an overblown fear for powerful offenses? I dunno, but that's how they play now, and while Al might be the best of the bunch, they don't impress me all that much because they've faced historically soft lines all year long.

I mean, just watch their tape (or that of any SEC team) and tell  me when you see a defensive line that's remotely as physical and effective as the Buckeyes, or, again, Clemson's D line, or, more to the point, tell me any current SEC lines that play as well or as physical as SEC defensive lines of the past?  

You'll be watching for a long time. 

Fact is, they've played one (relatively) softball line after another in the SEC, which is why Mac Jones has never faced any truly significant pressure all year long (oh, and don't trust the stats that tell you what a great QB he is under pressure, because the people keeping those stats must be counting it as "pressure" whenever anybody gets within 5 yards or 5 seconds of touching his jersey).

Bottom Line: I say line play will be the big difference in this game and the Buckeyes win it by 10 points. Actually, I'd say they'll win it by 14 or more based on everything I've seen on film, but, hey, I might as well be conservative about it, especially since Vegas is giving bettor's 9 points, which is awfully generous. 

Thanks Sin City! 

Few people are picking the Buckeyes, but the ones that watch film really, really closely, and who know how to watch line play really, really closely, are the same ones that really like the Buckeye's chances in this game. Guys like a certain fella named Urban Meyer, who thinks the Buckeyes will win, and it's not because he's a homer. 

I'm pretty sure he's seen' what I'm seeing', because, well, it's not all that hard to see.