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The Chris Petersen era faces it's toughest task to date as the Pac-12 champions head southeast to Atlanta to take on SEC (and college football in general) standard bearers, Alabama. Standing between the 'Dawgs and a potential national championship game berth are the undefeated Tide, who've only really been tested on a few occassions this season.
'Bama is worthy betting favorites. At 13-0 and often having looked even more impressive than their record indicates, Nick Saban's stable of five-stars -- the Tide line up an unheard of 11 five-star prospects across both sides of the ball -- will likely leverage Tuscaloosa's proximity and Atlanta's familiarity (the Tide's last game was also in the Georgia Dome) as they seek to win their fifth national championship in the last eight years.
While U-Dub certainly has a tall task in front of it, a very game Huskies defense is more than capable of frustrating Alabama true freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts, who's more than due to look his age after a regular season as the SEC's Offensive Player of the Year. Football can be a game of momentum and if UW can find a way to get some early, it might be possible to get Alabama playing tight like they did when Ohio State answered the bell in the 2014 Sugar Bowl.
With a date against either Clemson or the Buckeyes in Tampa January 9 on the line, it doesn't get any bigger than this. If you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best.
How to watch, stream, and listen
TV: 12 p.m. PT, ESPN. The announcers are Joe Tessitore, Todd Blackledge, and Holly Rowe.
Radio: The Washington IMG Sports Network or ESPN3 to watch the TV broadcast but with the radio broadcast over it.
Online streaming: The default ESPN broadcast as well as several other alternate broadcast options (ranging from different camera angles to substitute analysts) are available on WatchESPN.
Spread: Washington is two touchdown underdogs.
The opposing viewpoint: SB Nation's Roll 'Bama Roll covers the Tide.
Pregame Reading:
1. Possible X-factors for UW in the Peach Bowl Where might surprise stand-out performances come for UW against Alabama this weekend?
2. Opponent Offense Preview: Alabama Time to see what big bad Bama has in store on offense.
3. Opponent Defense Preview: Crimson Tide Oh baby.
4. Q&A: Roll ‘Bama Roll Get the skinny on the nation’s best team
Here are the game notes as well.