Alabama, Georgia in season’s big showdown
No. 2 Crimson Tide host No. 3 Bulldogs in a rivalry like no other in college football — “a real battle,” says Alabama coach Nick Saban.
Due to the strangeness of the Southeastern Conference football scheduling model, Alabama and Georgia have spent the past dozen years eyeballing each other across the West and East divisions but meeting on only five occasions, with two coming during the regular season.
Whether in September or October, December or January, the five games have ended predictably: Alabama wins. Georgia loses.
One of those wins is not like the others. In a series recently defined by high stakes and pressure, Alabama scored two non-offensive touchdowns in the 2015 meeting and beat Georgia 38-10 with little fanfare or drama.
In comparison, consider where the remaining four wins rank among the memorable games of the past decadeplus of college football:
● Alabama’s 41-30 win in 2008 sent shock waves through the SEC and ushered in the Crimson Tide’s dynasty under Nick Saban.
● The 32-28 win in 2012 to claim the conference championship ended with Georgia running out of time on the lip of the Alabama end zone in one of the indelible moments in SEC history.
● In early 2018, Alabama subbed in Tua Tagovailoa for Jalen Hurts at halftime of the national championship game and pulled out a 26-23 win in overtime.
● And the script was reversed 11 months later, when Hurts replaced injured Tagovailoa in the 35-28 win to claim another SEC championship at the Bulldogs’ expense.
No other non-annual rivalry game can even approximate the depth and meaning when the Crimson Tide meet the Bulldogs. This year is no different: No. 2 Alabama hosts No. 3 Georgia in the biggest game of the regular season.
More than just a potential preview of this year’s SEC title game – if not the first leg of a three-part series to be played in the next 90 days – the result of Saturday’s matchup (8 ET, CBS) will echo across the Power Five landscape and wield a heavy influence on the makeup of the College Football Playoff.
“We have an established program; they have an established program,” said Alabama coach Nick Saban. “I’m sure it will be a real battle.”