NFL can wait: Alabama stars keeping focus on playoff

He continues trying to cram both jobs into one day, having turned from recruiting in Athens to preparing for the Cotton Bowl against Michigan State, the victor of which advances to college football’s championship.

Of the three other teams in the final four that Michigan State could be playing, the Crimson Tide represents the one that best falls into Sparty’s wheelhouse. Michigan State ended up averaging 32.1 points per game this season.

The kids even got to interview head coach Nick Saban, all while he sported some nice pink furry headphones. We already know Henry will get the ball more than Ezekiel Elliott did against Michigan State (and yes, I typed that while grinding my teeth). Plenty of those players are back, with the National Football League on the horizon.

While they might turn a little greener when looking at Henry’s stats, the Spartan backs say they haven’t had an envy issues with their own group.

Cook struggled in the B1G title game.

With potentially two games left to play – the semifinal and the national championship game – Scott has an outside shot at getting 1,000 yards. Nebraska scored a last minute touchdown to take the lead, but it shouldn’t have counted because the receiver who caught the ball was out of bounds.

Because of the Spartans’ recent success, they have been able to land more elite prospects recently, with back-to-back top-25 classes and a combined 14 four- or five-star prospects according to Rivals.com. It just drives them harder.

Alabama linebacker Denzel Devall smiles during a news conference for the Cotton Bowl NCAA college football game against Michigan State Monday, Dec. 28, 2015, in Dallas. The 6-foot-1, 188-pound product of Monarch High in Coconut Creek, FL, is a natural talent that presents a similar skill set to 2014 Heisman finalist Amari Cooper.

What about the Alabama defense? It better be. The Spartans can’t win this semifinal playoff game running the ball on an Alabama defense allowing a national-low 2.38 yards per carry.

Sometimes, the game situation called for more passes, as Alabama trailed Ole Miss most of the game in an eventual loss. But you can gash Bama that way. That takes its toll in the fourth quarter when the defense gets exhausted, and Alabama has taken advantage of that with eight of its 21 rushes of 20+ yards coming in the fourth quarter this season. The Tide worked in shells for two hours under the roof of AT&T Stadium. If Connor Cook can return to his accurate form and deliver strikes to Aaron Burbridge and Macgarrett Kings, the Spartan offense will move.

Randomness plays a large role in turnovers, and a plus-16 turnover margin over 13 games has no ability to predict the turnover battle against Alabama.

Michigan State’s strength against the run will help in their matchup against Alabama.

Then Michigan State’s defense surged toward the end of the season. The Tiger defense is better against the run than the Sooners, and is fifth nationally against the pass. But the Sooners have been the hotter team down the stretch, so it will be interesting to see which one advances. “These last three years, I guess we’re 36-4”.