Georgia set for showdown with Tide
Top-ranked Georgia and CFP No. 3 ranked Alabama meet Saturday at 4 p.m. ET in the SEC championship game in Atlanta. Here are three things to know about the matchup:
Alabama faces a more seasoned Stetson Bennett
Stetson Bennett’s first Georgia road start came at Alabama in October of 2020.
He certainly looks like a different quarterback than the one that threw what’s still a career-high three interceptions and completed just 18 of 40 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns in that 41-24 loss.
The player Alabama will see Saturday is now 12-2 as a starter, including 9-0 this season.
Bennett says his mechanics and understanding of the game are better, and a second year in Todd Monken’s offense has done wonders. He also has learned better not to take risks and says running for two or three yards isn’t bad.
“Just knowing that incompletions don’t kill you and you don’t have to win on every play and you can’t win it on every play,” he said. “With our defense and the players we have, just focusing on the strength of our team and not trying to do it all yourself.”
That’s worked out well. Bennett is second in the nation in passing efficiency at 188.5 with 21 touchdowns and 5 interceptions and second in yards per attempt at 10.8.
“It’s just those million reps you have in practice with the mindset of protect the ball and also be a ballplayer,” Bennett said. “It just comes over time I guess.”
Bennett is averaging 6.3 yards per carry on 30 rush attempts.
“He can escape the pocket really well,” Alabama linebacker Will Anderson said. “He can move sideline to sideline. I think the biggest thing right now is we have to keep maintaining the pocket. We can’t let him run all over the field and make long drives with his feet. Watching film, I think that’s one of the biggest things that we’re looking for.”
Georgia led 24-20 at the half against Alabama last season in a game when Bennett had several passes tipped in including one that was intercepted.
“He’s played a lot more football now,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “Certainly has improved in terms of decision making. But it’s a critical piece to every game, is that player at that position makes so many decisions during the game that the outcome is usually affected a lot by the quarterbacks that play the game.”
Final Heisman stage
Two defensive players mentioned as worthy of an invite to New York for the Heisman Trophy will be on display in the CBS nationally televised game.
With no slam dunk frontrunners for quarterbacks or receivers this year, Georgia nose guard Jordan Davis and Alabama linebacker Will Anderson can leave a final impression on voters whose ballots are due on Monday.
It’s a mutual admiration society between Davis and Anderson.
“He’s a great player,” Davis said. “He’s a game wrecker, watching his film and just seeing him. He’s explosive. He’s definitely one of those guys you have to make sure to keep contained.” Anderson returned the favor.
“He’s a great player,” he said of Davis. “He’s big. I think he’s like the unit of their defense honestly. He’s pretty hard to move around. Just watching him, I feel like he’s a really great athlete for that size and he’s a really good player.
Bryce Young, the Alabama quarterback, may be the top offensive candidate, but the Tide didn’t score a touchdown until the final minute in regulation last week at Auburn. Young led them on a 97-yard scoring drive.
Anderson has the statistics that jump out.
He’s third on Alabama’s single season sack list with 14 1⁄2 and second in tackles for loss with 30 1⁄2. Both lead the nation this season.
“He’s so explosive, twitchy, and tough,” Smart said. “So he strikes people and really strikes blocks really well. It will be a key part of the game in terms of the way he plays and affects the game.”
The 6-foot-4, 243-pound Anderson was a five-star prospect out of Dutchtown High. He grew up a Georgia fan, but he said the home state school didn’t give him too much attention.
“I’m here at Alabama, and I love it here,” he said. “It’s been great so far.”
The 6-foot-6, 350-pound Davis has modest numbers statistically—24 tackles, 3 1⁄2 for loss and 2 sacks and that one big-man touchdown run—but he’s a run-stopper and the anchor of probably the best defensive line in the nation on a unit that is allowing just 6.9 points per game.
“I think the guy is one of the most dominant players in college football,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “Any defensive lineman, I guess you can look at a lot of things, but the number one thing is how hard are they to block? And he’s really hard to block. He’s got great size. He’s very powerful, but he’s got really good initial quickness, short area quickness, and can push the pocket and pass rush. He’s about as good a player as I’ve seen for a long time as an inside player on any college football team.”
Playoff implications
This is Georgia’s fourth trip to the SEC championship game under Smart, but unlike the previous three, the Bulldogs are considered in the playoff win or lose.
ESPN’S playoff predictor puts Georgia with a 99-percent chance to get in the four-team field. Fivethirtyeight has it at 84 percent.
“I don’t see that has anything to do with anything,” Smart said. “I’ve said all my career that to win SEC championships is almost just as hard, because the years I spent at Alabama you could say that winning the SEC championship was just as hard as trying to win a national championship, and it’s one of our goals. We want to put it on this wall in here (in the team meeting room), and to do that, you’ve got to win the SEC. That’s what we’re focused on.”
Alabama is in position to jump to the No. 1 seed for the playoff with a win and is in danger of missing out on the playoff with a second loss.