It’s still Alabama and Georgia, with all the made-for-TV trappings. Star quarterbacks. Stout defenses. Top-five rankings and NFL prospects galore.
All Saturday night’s clash between the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide and second-ranked Bulldogs lacks is the make-or-break, elimination game-style magnitude. It’s also minus the familiar story line of Kirby Smart vs. Nick Saban, protege vs. mentor.
Whatever happens, the national and SEC championship hopes of the loser will be damaged but hardly dashed. National showcase games are nothing new for either team.
“We’ve been on the national stage a lot, especially the last three to four years,” Smart said. “So it’s the reason kids want to come to Georgia. They say, ‘I want to play in games like that.’ ”
It’s September, not December or January when Georgia and Alabama customarily meet. And with the newly expanded College Football Playoff field, there’s still little reason to doubt that both will be among the top 12 teams at the end of the season.
Lo and behold, Alabama is a home underdog for the first time since Nick Saban’s debut season, 17 years ago.
“Yeah, that’s interesting,” said Kalen DeBoer, Saban’s first-year successor and a coach with a 12-2 record against ranked teams. “I actually didn’t know that. Yeah, welcome to the SEC, right?”
Welcome to the SEC, indeed.
Georgia still has to play No. 1 Texas, No. 5 Tennessee and No. 6 Mississippi. Alabama has the Volunteers, 11th-ranked Missouri and No. 14 LSU still on the docket.
Nothing will necessarily be decided in this one, but it’s still Alabama-Georgia.
Georgia is favored by 1-1/2 points, according to Betmgm Sportsbook. It’s the first time Alabama has been the underdog at Bryant-Denny Stadium since LSU was a touchdown favorite in the 2007 game as Saban was just beginning to build what turned into a dynasty.
“Winning is hard,” Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe said. “You know, that’s something that we embrace as a football team, is that winning is hard. One motto that we try to preach much as possible is prepare like you never won before. You know, that’s so key. You’ve got to hate losing more than you love winning.”
Milroe and Georgia’s Carson Beck are no strangers to big games. This is Beck’s eighth start against a top-20 team, and his only loss as a starter came against the Tide. Milroe led Alabama to the win in last year’s SEC championship game and has accounted for 14 touchdowns this season (eight passing, six rushing).
Neither he nor Beck has thrown an interception.
