We continue our look at some of the key individual position group and player matchups within the matchup of Ohio State and Alabama in the College Football national championship game. This, not quite knowing what the status is of players during this COVID-19 pandemic, so take it all with a grain of salt.
One of the most intriguing, but perhaps overlooked matchups for this championship game will be between Ohio State guard Wyatt Davis and Alabama defensive end Christian Barmore. This matchup has the possibility of becoming a dead heat for much of the game, which is not a bad thing for Ohio State. Barmore is the best defensive lineman for Alabama, slowing him down, means slowing down the pass rush.
Barmore is a really powerful end who uses his hands really well. Where Barmore can get into problems is when he is double-teamed or matches up against a player as strong as he is, which Davis is. Barmore is solid against the run, luckily for Ohio State Davis is an outstanding run blocker. Barmore doesn’t have a large repertoire of moves, but the swim move he has is really well executed.
All-American OL Wyatt Davis arrives at Superdome pic.twitter.com/8DOyZrhSmc
— Steve Helwagen (@SteveHelwagen) January 1, 2021
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Davis has the ability to get his hands on a defensive lineman and negate their pass rush moves with a solid base and powerful punch. With the emergence of Trey Sermon in the running game, Alabama will need Barmore to eat up the blocks of Davis and allow for the linebackers to fill the gaps. Davis should be able to divert Barmore well enough, it will be shedding Barmore and getting into the second level that could be a problem.
Alabama could move Barmore around, however, the Buckeyes have a solid offensive line that could match up well against the style of play that Barmore thrives with. As long as Davis can win one-on-one matchups with Barmore, it will help free up the tight ends for passing routes as opposed to blocking schemes. While a lot of people will overlook this matchup for the more flashy ones, this matchup is an absolute key for both teams.
Ohio State football’s national championships through the years