The national title game was not short on drama: not on Monday night and not forecasting into next year.

Alabama saw its dynasty roll on with a 26-23 overtime win over Georgia at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, but the Crimson Tide's fifth championship in the past nine years provided plenty of intrigue — even after the final whistle blew.

1. The Jalen Hurts-Tua Tagovailoa Swap Was Very Weird

I’m going to be very transparent. I don’t get it. And I know the popular position to take at this point is, “Oh, what a genius move by Saban.” But, I mean, that’s just not where I’m at — even in victory.

Alabama sophomore Jalen Hurts, who improved to 26-2 as a starting quarterback, was replaced by freshman Tua Tagovailoa to start the second half, with the Crimson Tide trailing 13-0.

It felt like an absolute panic move by the legendary Nick Saban as we watched it in real time, but it panned out all right in the end.

Still, if I’m being honest, there are no good adjectives to describe how it felt to watch Tagovailoa replace Hurts in the second half. Hurts, who has been repeatedly championed by former offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, simply wasn’t given the same opportunity to succeed through the air that Tagovailoa was, immediately upon entry.

I don’t pretend to know more about Alabama’s quarterback situation than current OC Brian Daboll and Saban. However, it’s very strange to me that Tagovailoa was a backup for 12 1/2 games but was suddenly the Tide’s best option with two quarters left in the season.

I don’t know. Whatever. He delivered late.

I spent the entire second half second-guessing his entry into the game and bemoaning Hurts’ absence from the final two quarters. At the same time, my brother, a former college quarterback who didn’t suck, was all in on Tagovailoa. 

I agreed to refer to him as Dr. Sloan Kettering in the event that Tagovailoa delivered a win. I have no idea why. But this is me delivering on that deal:

Shoutout to my brother, Dr. Sloan Kettering, for believing in Tua Tagovailoa. And shoutout to Tua for handling his business.

2. What The Hell Happened On The Last Play Of The Game?

I’ve watched it about 150 times and I have to believe that the safety didn’t realize it was Cover 2 or the corner didn’t realize it was Cover 4.

I really can’t come up with an alternative scenario.

There’s no way the safety just got beat that badly. There’s no way he was just staring into the backfield and forgot where he was in the biggest game of his life, right? And there’s no way it was man-under and the corner just quit on the play, right?

3. Georgia (& Alabama, Obviously) Is Here To Stay

I’m as sick of watching Alabama win every other national title as the rest of y’all, but the Tide aren’t going anywhere. Whether their quarterback is Hurts or Tagovailoa, they’re loaded with talented sophomores-to-be among another round of impact upperclassmen and incoming freshmen. 

As for Georgia? The Bulldogs should’ve collected a national title ahead of schedule on Monday night. And they’re crushing the recruiting scene for both the 2018 and 2019 classes. Where Urban Meyer’s Florida teams left off, Kirby Smart’s Georgia program is picking up — and Smart isn’t going anywhere.