College football is looking to crown a national champion on Monday night — and to punctuate a season that routinely dealt in controversy and so often teetered toward collapse during the coronavirus pandemic.
Top-ranked Alabama will meet No. 3 Ohio State at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., the teams having dispatched their opponents, Notre Dame and Clemson, in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Both bring mighty offenses. Their defenses are shakier than those of their predecessors. Alabama, the Southeastern Conference champion, and Ohio State, the winner of the Big Ten, are both facing questions about whether certain stars will be able to play.