Alabama’s stingy defense will face perhaps its toughest test against Jake Browning and Washington.
The top-ranked Crimson Tide, fresh from facing teams with pedestrian passing games, will play the Huskies Dec. 31 in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome. That’s where Alabama (13-0) just dispatched Florida 54-16 in the Southeastern Conference championship game.
The defending national champs are trying to go wire-to-wire No. 1 and become the first NCAA team to go 15-0. Alabama has made each of the first three College Football Playoffs and won 25 straight games.
“There was a lot of talk out there about the playoffs and not much talk about the SEC championship game, which was a little concerning to me as a coach,” Tide coach Nick Saban said Sunday on ESPN’s selection show. “I was really proud of the maturity that our players showed of competing in that game and wanting to win that championship.
“The next step is what do we create as a legacy for this team in terms of how they do in the playoffs.”