Georgia-Alabama highlights disrupted schedule
The COVID-19 pandemic is packing a punch in college football this week, nowhere harder than in the Southeastern Conference.
Alabama coach Nick Saban might not be on the sideline when the No. 2 Crimson Tide hosts No. 3 Georgia today in perhaps the biggest game of the season. Saban tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday. Unless he has three subsequent negative tests over three days, he will be unable to leave isolation.
LSU’s game at No. 10 Florida and Vanderbilt’s visit to Missouri also have been postponed.
Two other games involving Top 10 teams also are off: No. 7 Oklahoma State at Baylor and No. 8 Cincinnati at Tulsa.
FIU-Charlotte and Southern Miss-UTEP in Conference USA were postponed, as was the matchup between Appalachian State and Georgia Southern, which hurriedly scheduled a replacement home game against independent Massachusetts.
No. 1 Clemson, No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 5 North Carolina all are double-digit favorites as they look to stay unbeaten in the ACC.
The Tigers head to Georgia Tech, the Irish host Louisville and the Tar Heels visit Florida State.
BEST GAME
No. 3 Georgia at No. 2 Alabama
It’s the only matchup of Top 25 teams and was supposed to be the second straight game Saban faced off against a former assistant, Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart. Steve Sarkisian will be in charge of the Tide with Saban quarantining at home.
Alabama got into a scoring contest in last week’s 63-48 win against Lane Kiffin and Mississippi. Georgia was challenged for a while against Tennessee, trailing at half before winning 44-21.
The Crimson Tide have won five straight against Georgia and will be meeting the
Bulldogs in the regular season for the first time since 2015.
Georgia presents a much bigger physical challenge than the Tide faced last week.
The Bulldogs’ run defense is best in the nation. Opponents are averaging 1.49 yards per carry and have scored no rushing touchdowns.
The Bulldogs, however, haven’t seen a running back like Najee Harris, who went for a career-high 206 yards and five touchdowns against Ole Miss.
The last two Georgia-Alabama games were classics.
In 2018, Jalen Hurts took over for an injured Tua Tagovailoa in the fourth quarter and led the Tide to a 35-28 win in the SEC championship game in Atlanta. Eleven months earlier on the same field, Tagovailoa had replaced an ineffective Hurts and brought back the Tide from a 13-0 deficit to beat the Bulldogs 26-23 in overtime in the national championship game.
HEISMAN WATCH
Ian Book became Notre Dame’s first quarterback to pile up 2,500 yards passing, 500 yards rushing and 30 touchdown passes in a season, and he’s been steady through three games against overmatched competition.
The third-year starter’s status as a second-tier Heisman candidate could change quickly if the Irish keep winning and he has a big outing against Clemson on Nov. 7.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
1 — Career fumbles by Alabama’s Harris, whose streak of 466 touches without losing the ball ended in the first quarter against Mississippi last week.
8 — Fumble recoveries by Central Florida through three games, matching its 13-game total in 2019.
9 — Notre Dame’s win streak, the longest among Power Five teams.
21 — Sacks allowed by Syracuse through four games.
51 — Consecutive Big 12 road losses by Kansas since it won at Iowa State in 2008. The Jayhawks visit West Virginia.
60-3 — SMU’s first-quarter scoring margin during its 4-0 start.
73 — Clemson wins since 2015, most in the nation and four more than Alabama.