DOGS WANT THEIR DAY
Georgia looking to break through Alabama’s string of dominance
INDIANAPOLIS — Georgia coach Kirby Smart got an inside look at what it takes to build a college football juggernaut while working for Nick Saban at Alabama for eight seasons.
Blueprint in hand, Smart took over at his alma mater in 2016, and the Bulldogs have been ascending ever since, going 57-10 in the last five seasons.
‘‘I think the University of Georgia, Kirby’s program, is probably one of the elite programs in the country,’’ Saban said Sunday.
But to truly be like ’Bama, you have to beat ’Bama. Smart is 0-4 against the Tide with the Bulldogs.
No. 3 Georgia will get another shot to take down the king Monday. The Bulldogs face top-ranked and defending national champion Alabama in the College Football Playoff title game.
Five weeks after the Tide once again asserted their dominance over the Bulldogs in the Southeastern Conference title game, Georgia will drag the weight of a seven-game losing streak against Alabama and a 41-year national-title drought into a rematch at Lucas Oil Stadium.
‘‘I mean, it’s definitely motivation,’’ Bulldogs offensive tackle Jamaree Salyer said of the losing streak to the Tide. ‘‘It’s the truth. You can’t really run away from the truth.’’
The last meeting was especially painful for Georgia. The Bulldogs entered the SEC championship game favored by anywhere from five to seven points and were undefeated, the unanimous No. 1 team in the country.
Georgia had stomped everything in its path behind a defense that was smothering opponents at a historically stingy pace before quarterback Bryce Young and Alabama picked the Bulldogs apart in a 41-24 victory in Atlanta.
‘‘He is elite at what he does,’’ Smart said of Young. ‘‘We’ve talked about him as Houdini because he can make people miss.’’
Young adeptly avoided Georgia’s pass rush while throwing for 421 yards in a performance that essentially won him the Heisman Trophy the next week.
‘‘He’s slippery,’’ Bulldogs nose tackle Jordan Davis said.
How much of an outlier was the game for Georgia? The Bulldogs have allowed only 15 touchdowns this season, and five of them came against the Tide.
‘‘I think no game’s going to be the same,’’ said Alabama linebacker Will Anderson, who had two sacks in the Tide’s 27-6 semifinal victory against No. 4 Cincinnati. ‘‘What happened last game is what happened last game. We have to worry about what happens this game.’’
Georgia reverted back to form in the CFP semifinals, beating No. 2 Michigan 34-11. Davis and linebacker Nakobe Dean led the charge defensively, and quarterback Stetson Bennett rebounded from a tough game against Alabama with three touchdown passes against the Wolverines.
‘‘If you want to have any success in this game offensively, you have to be able to at least control those guys up front and their front seven to some degree,’’ Saban said. ‘‘They have a very good defense in total, but it starts with that.’’
While the Bulldogs are trying to win their first national title since Herschel Walker led them to the championship as a freshman in 1980, the Tide are looking to add to an unprecedented run.
They are trying to go back-toback as national champions for the second time under Saban. It would be title No. 7 for Alabama in the last 13 seasons and its 13th overall in the college-football-poll era (1936-present), more than any other school at any level.