Monday, we saw the Alabama Crimson Tide meet the Georgia Bulldogs in the College Football National Championship in Indianapolis. Now, thanks to ESPN+, we can get a closer look at that game with the season finale of Inside the College Football Playoff.
As it should be, this episode is almost entirely focused on the game itself. We do start off with a bit of a look inside the locker rooms and at some of the press from both coaches prior to the game, but from there on out, all of the action is on the field.
This episode does a great job of showing us just how big this stage is for these young athletes. The emphasis on the importance of this game is very clear as we jump into the start of the game.
From there on, this episode is really just a game recap, highlighting every score from the game. For the first half of the game, those scores were limited to just field goals, so there wasn’t a whole lot of action to speak of. The first big highlight was an apparent defensive touchdown for Georgia that eventually got called back.
Unfortunately, the other big first half highlight was a devastating knew injury to Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams, who was highlighted in last week’s episode because of his incredible performance the last time they played Georgia. It was a moment that made fans feel sick to their stomachs while watching the game and this show does a good job of conveying that exact same feeling.
With the score sitting at just 9-6 in favor of Alabama going into the second half, there wasn’t a whole lot of offense to speak of for the game. That changed in the second half though as Georgia started making some big plays. The drama of this episode picks up when the Bulldogs break a big run, which leads to the first touchdown of the game.
From there we see the offenses get rolling a bit as momentum changes hands a few times before the third quarter. The show oddly takes the drama out of the game a bit by announcing that Georgia would dominate the fourth quarter before showing any of the highlights. Yes, the fourth quarter didn’t give us much drama in the actual game either, but it seems as though it could have been played a bit differently here.
Just like in the game, the last several minutes of the show are saved for a celebration for the Bulldogs. Long before the final whistle, Georgia and their fans knew they had the championship wrapped up and we see plenty of players and fans celebrating that fact. We get quite a few great looks at the players and coaches celebrating on the field after it is all said and done.
The finale of Inside the College Football Playoff follows the same formula of the previous episodes, creating drama from a playoff that largely had none. It’s another great look just what the players and coaches go through in these incredibly huge games. I’ll be looking forward to another look inside the playoff games next year.
You can watch Inside the College Football Playoff on ESPN+ now.