Alabama vs. Cincinnati Semifinal Match - What You Need To Know

In Alabama vs. Cincinnati semifinal, top-seed Alabama is going to face the number four team Cincinnati in this year's edition of the Cotton Bowl on December 31. The winner will get a tour to Indianapolis for the College Football Playoff national championship. The winner of the Alabama vs. Cincinnati semi final is going to face the champion of the Orange Bowl. That is going to be either Georgia or Michigan. Of the several schools that presently make up the American Athletic Conference, which will soon lose Houston, Cincinnati, and Central Florida to the Big Twelve, and add USAB, Rice, UTSA, North Texas, Charlotte, and Florida Athletic, only a few have ever won over Alabama in football. The Cincinnati team is not one of them. The team has lost more than four games they have played against the Crimson Tide and have also been outscored heavily. In the last match between the two teams, the home team earned a victory even though the match was played at Legion Field. The teams have never faced each other in a match or at a true neutral venue.

Nick Saban has never gone against Cincinnati as a head coach in any football match. Luke Fickell of Cincinnati has never led a team against the present rivals. Yet here they are going to face each other in Alabama vs. Cincinnati semifinal with a chance to win a national title. The only AAC team to have obtained a victory against Alabama are Tulane, Memphis, and Central Florida. Tulane was an original member of the SEC when it was created nearly ninety years ago. In the wake of Georgia Tech's departure, the Green Wave also left after several years. But Tulane still has several more SEC football championships than Kentucky or Mississippi State. It also has more championships than the five schools that have not yet won their first championship. Texas A&M, Missouri, South Carolina, Arkansas, and Vanderbilt. Overall, the AAC programs have thirteen wins, sixty losses, and three draws against Alabama and have been scored heavily by them. None of the thirteen victories came when the schools were a part of the American conference.

Alabama vs. Cincinnati semifinal is a vital match with implications beyond the regular college football season. Cincinnati is the first team of the five programs to make the playoffs. Any group from the American Athletic Conference has a lot to prove to the fans. The analysts and fans have doubted groups such as Cincinnati for a long time. The Bearcats are entering a four-team fight with the largest and most historical figure in the game and want to be the ones to change the present narrative.

Alabama vs. Cincinnati Semifinal: A Brief

The Cotton Bowl Classic is going to feature one of the College Football Playoff Semi-finals of this season. It will have some of the most dominant college football programs during the playoffs, Alabama, and one of the greatest disruptors of the playoffs, Cincinnati. On the opposite end from Alabama on New Year's Eve will be Cincinnati, the first non-Notre Dame and Power 5 program to make the playoffs. This is largely because of the away victory of the Bearcats over the Fighting Irish. The latter finished the regular season with only one loss and the number five ranking in the final CFP rankings. Cincinnati has the players, at least on paper, to challenge the powerful tide.

The team has a couple of elite cornerbacks in Coby Bryant and Ahmad Gardner. Coby has recently won the Jim Thorpe Award. It is given to the best defensive back in the sport. But many experts believe that Gardner is actually the better player among them. After the conference championship matches, Cincinnati ranks seventh nationally in total defense and fourth in scoring defense. Of course, Georgia's defense was seen as the top one in the nation before the SEC Championship Game. Still, Alabama put up more than forty points on Georgia, which had not happened in more than sixteen matches in the regular season. The number one receiver for Young, at least as far as touchdown and yardage, is Jameson Williams. He went for more than 180 yards and a couple of touchdowns in the SEC Championship match. His matchups with Bryant and Gardner could be a positional battle that decides this match. The role of Williams is even more now after fellow wide receiver John Metchie III got an ACL injury against Georgia.

Alabama vs. Cincinnati Semifinal Predictions

We are making some bold predictions for what may happen in the Alabama vs. Cincinnati semi final match. Jerome Ford may rush for over a hundred yards and get multiple touchdowns. The former running back from Alabama transferred to Cincinnati a couple of years ago. Now, he will go against his former team in the Cotton Bowl. He has been very good this year as the main back of the Bearcats. He has rushed for over a hundred yards more than four times and nearly two hundred in the AAC Championship against a ranked Houston team through a dozen matches. He has scored several rushing touchdowns in more than four matches, including a couple with two or more scores.

The passing game of Alabama will not be as effective. Bryce Young may be one of the best players in the country this year, as well as the winner of the Heisman trophy. Still, the secondary of Cincinnati is stronger than most expect. Nick Saban said, "They're aggressive in the way they play. They don't make a lot of mistakes. They're smart. They got a lot of experience even when they changed it up and played zone. They're all ball hawkers back there. They really attack the ball. They have a lot of turnovers. It's a talented group." Trey Sanders is expected to steal the show. The running back of Alabama has lost a lot of depth this season because of injuries. Brian Robinson Jr. is the main back with Trey Sanders behind him. Sanders had a tough first couple of seasons in Tuscaloosa. He dealt with a car accident and injuries, so he had to prove something. The versatile and big back can make this match his breakout game. We think that Cincinnati will not back down in Alabama vs. Cincinnati semifinal.

This match can be seen as a David vs. Goliath battle. A staple in the college football season goes against a Group of Five that many say does not belong among the final four teams. The program has a lot of fights. The Bearcats showed that by missing the playoffs in the previous season and bouncing back this year to make it. Luke Fickell knows that a lot is at stake, and a constant fight over the entire match from Cincinnati will get the team a lot of respect from many people. But the team is entering Alabama vs. Cincinnati semifinal with the complete desire to win. We do not think that the team will slow down or back out at any point during the match. We also feel that Alabama will feel the absence of wide receiver John Metchie in this crucial match.

Alabama vs. Cincinnati Semifinal: Season Stats