TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - One of the many aspects of this Saturday's Southeastern Conference football championship showdown will be the revenge factor for Georgia after its 26-23 overtime loss to Alabama in January's title game of the College Football Playoff.
The same two teams will vie inside the same Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, but what if the Bulldogs aren't alone in seeking atonement?
"I know that the fans and the media are definitely going to hype this up," Alabama junior running back Josh Jacobs said Saturday evening after the top-ranked Crimson Tide completed their 12-0 regular season with a 52-21 ripping of Auburn. "I've already heard some people calling this 'The Rematch' or whatever, but we're just going to go out there and try to execute.
"We didn't play our best game last year against them, so we're going to try and capitalize on every aspect this next time around."
Alabama's triumph over the Bulldogs resulted in a 17th national championship claimed by the storied program and its fifth title in the past nine years under coach Nick Saban. The win also has served as the most recent time Alabama won a game by fewer than three touchdowns.
Saturday's Iron Bowl victory completed Alabama's record regular season in which it won every game by more than 20 points, with the 45-23 drubbing of Texas A&M on Sept. 22 serving as the closest call in terms of final point differential. Alabama led the Aggies 45-16 through three quarters, with starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sitting out the final 17 minutes after throwing for 387 yards and four touchdowns.
That was not the case in January, when Tagovailoa entered the national championship game as the true freshman backup to Jalen Hurts and remained on the sideline as the Bulldogs took a 13-0 halftime lead and held the Tide to 94 first-half yards. Saban made the switch at the break, and Tagovailoa engineered one of the most memorable comebacks in college football history, finishing the rally with a 41-yard touchdown strike to DeVonta Smith on second-and-26 in the extra period.
"That was last year," Tagovailoa said after his record-setting Iron Bowl performance that included five touchdown passes and a rushing score.
Tagovailoa's three touchdown passes in January have been followed by 36 more this season, and the Tide already have set single-season program records with 3,985 passing yards and 588 points. Alabama's 2016 team, which won its first 14 games before dropping a 35-31 thriller to Clemson in the national championship contest, scored 582 points in 15 games.
Whether or not atonement comes into play this week, the Tide remember entering a rabid atmosphere in January with a Georgia-dominated crowd and could be on the short side of support again Saturday with the SEC crown at stake.
"That place is going to be crazy," Alabama redshirt junior outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings said. "We've got to have a good week of practice, get our minds right and get our bodies back right. We've got to refocus and do what we do."
Alabama opened Sunday afternoon as a 10.5-point favorite, with the line jumping to 13.5 points Sunday evening.
The reinforcements
Alabama currently has the nation's No. 1 class of commitments for both the 2019 and 2020 recruiting cycles, having received three nonbinding pledges from 2020 prospects since the Iron Bowl. Those three players are five-star defensive end Chris Braswell (6-foot-3, 211 pounds) of Baltimore, four-star receiver Javon Baker (6-1, 175) of Fairburn, Georgia, and four-star running back Roydell Williams (5-10, 202) of Hueytown, Alabama.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.