The Georgia Bulldogs have an opportunity to win their 16th Southeastern Conference championship Saturday afternoon inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and they could earn a first-round bye in the upcoming 12-team College Football Playoff.
There is also that matter of stemming the Tide.
Alabama has won 10 of the last 11 series meetings against Georgia, which includes seven of the last eight since Kirby Smart left Tuscaloosa as Nick Saban’s defensive coordinator following the 2015 national championship run to take over his alma mater in Athens. The Crimson Tide have defeated the Bulldogs each of the past three seasons, including a 24-21 win in Sanford Stadium on Sept. 27.
“It’s something I definitely think about,” Bulldogs junior inside linebacker CJ Allen said Monday afternoon on a conference call. “I was actually talking to my mom about that last night on the phone and how that’s a team I haven’t beat. Guys just want to win this game no matter who we’re playing, period, but I definitely think guys feel the same way in terms of wanting to beat them.”
The Bulldogs have yet to defeat Alabama inside Mercedes-Benz, losing 26-23 in overtime during the national championship game of the 2017 season, 35-28 in the 2018 SEC title contest, 41-24 in the 2021 league championship, and 27-24 in the 2023 conference title game. The 2023 outcome bumped Georgia out of the four-team playoff and denied the Bulldogs a chance to become the first program to claim three consecutive Associated Press national championships since the AP poll’s inception in 1936.
In other words, some of Georgia’s losses to Alabama have been painful, while others have been extremely painful.
“Everybody knows the history of Georgia-Alabama,” Bulldogs redshirt junior quarterback Gunner Stockton said. “It’s there, but they can’t transfer a win or a loss to this game. This is its own game by itself, and that’s the way we’re approaching it.”
Georgia does have a significant stat in its favor Saturday — the Bulldogs are undefeated in rematch opportunities under Smart.
In 2017, three weeks separated a 40-17 loss to Auburn in Jordan-Hare Stadium and a 28-7 downing of the Tigers in the SEC championship. In 2021, more than five weeks separated that 41-24 loss to Alabama in Atlanta and a 33-18 topping of the Crimson Tide in the national championship game of the four-team playoff — Georgia’s only win over Alabama since prevailing in Tuscaloosa in 2007.
Just last season, Georgia defeated Texas 30-15 in Austin and then won the second game as well, eclipsing the Longhorns 22-19 in overtime for the SEC crown. Seven weeks separated the two Georgia-Texas games, and Saturday’s showdown will transpire 10 weeks after Alabama’s win in Athens, not that Smart thinks the length between rematches matters.
“Not unless you’re just beat up and have a lot of players missing,” Smart said Monday. “They’re pretty beat up and we’re pretty beat up with the gauntlet that they’ve played and we’ve played, because I think that’s impacted both of our seasons. We both had people coming in and out of lineups the last time that we played.
“In terms of the Xs and Os of the schemes and the gap, I don’t think it matters. You evolve as a team, and you have trends, but good teams do what they do. There is not going to be a lot of change, because both of these teams are good teams.”
Starting left guard Micah Morris and backup running back Cash Jones are Georgia’s only players to experience a win over Alabama, though neither played in the title game in Indianapolis. Alabama could make history by defeating Georgia twice in the same season, and with both games in the Peach State.
The recent series history is secondary compared to the conference prize that’s at stake — Alabama is seeking its 31st SEC title — but both sides are aware of how things have transpired.
“This isn’t the same team that we played a couple months ago,” Alabama redshirt junior quarterback Ty Simpson said. “They’ve found a new identity. They’ve got it rolling. We have to understand that our mindset doesn’t need to change and that this is going to be a heavyweight fight. Last year’s game? The last time we played them? None of that means anything.
“They’re going to have a chip on their shoulder and something to prove. We know what’s at stake. This is why you come to Alabama.”
The busy week
The early signing period for the 2026 recruiting cycle runs Wednesday through Friday, with Georgia and Alabama ranked second and third behind Southern California in terms of their commitment classes, according to 247Sports.com.
Smart was asked about the early signing period occurring amid preparation for the SEC championship.
“When is a good time to have it? Last week? Next week?” Smart said. “They made the decision a long time ago to move this in front of the roster changes on your own team so that you would have one thing squared away. Two or three years ago, we had the portal date and the signing date going on. I was in the decision-making process when it went to signing on the week of the SEC championship. I didn’t like it then, and I don’t like it now, but I don’t have a better answer.
“There is a calendar timeline and an academic timeline for the universities and for the high-school kids. There is not an opportune time to have it, so you do what’s best for the most and not the least, which are the teams that are playing this week. It makes for some tough challenges this week for sure, but people understand and respect teams that are still playing.”
Never gets old
Alabama fifth-year senior defensive tackle Tim Keenan wound up 5-0 against rival Auburn with Saturday night’s 27-20 triumph at Auburn.
Three of those five wins occurred at Jordan-Hare, where the Crimson Tide had been just 5-10 until winning the 2021 encounter in four overtimes.
“It’s always a great time going against little bro and having some fun going 5-0 in my time here,” Keenan said. “I feel like that’s going to be the new trend — to go undefeated against little bro.”
Smart new dean
With Kentucky announcing Monday that it was moving on from Mark Stoops after 13 seasons, Smart is now the dean of SEC coaches. Smart is in his 10th year with the Bulldogs.
“I say it all the time, but if you’ve got good coaches and you coach them the right way and coach them hard, you can be successful,” Smart said. “It’s hard to sustain anything and stay consistent, especially in this league because it’s so competitive, but I don’t think a lot about the tenure.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Mark, and he’s a good friend.”
The Kiffin saga
Smart was asked to weigh in on Lane Kiffin leaving Ole Miss to take over LSU.
“I don’t envy the position he was in,” Smart said. “It’s a really hard position to be in and to navigate. Coach Saban addressed it best. We’re in a time frame where ADs and people are making decisions in a timeline that’s not congruent with the season and the playoffs, so it makes for really difficult decisions.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.