University of Georgia Athletics
Bulldogs, Tide Know One Another Well
September 27, 2024 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
The last three times Georgia and Alabama have faced off on a football field, the circumstances were very different from what they will be on Saturday when the No. 2 Bulldogs meet the No. 4 Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. There's been a coaching change, a College Football Playoff chance and the teams aren't meeting with a big trophy on the line.
For the first time since 2020, the two SEC heavyweights are meeting during the regular season. The three games they've played since then have been in the postseason: the 2021 SEC Championship Game, the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship Game, and last season's SEC title game. The Crimson Tide won both SEC Championship Game meetings, but the Bulldogs, of course, knocked off Bama to win the 2021 national championship.
Every SEC regular-season game has weight and meaning, but a top-5 matchup between two perennial national championship contenders does feel different.
"You don't ever have to worry about them all this week," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said Tuesday when asked about the Bulldogs' practices. "You got to be careful not to leave it all on the practice field. Probably the biggest thing is holding guys back and making sure that they don't overdo it. Spirited, get after (it) practice. Like I said, when you get in these SEC rivalry games, it's not a motivation issue."
Last December, Georgia headed to the SEC title game in Atlanta undefeated and ranked No. 1. The Tide, after an early-season home loss to Texas, was ranked No. 8. Both teams had CFP aspirations, of course, and the way the season played out among the top teams in the country, the winner was likely getting in the four-team playoff and the loser was not. And unfortunately for Georgia, Alabama held off the Bulldogs for a 27-24 win, denying Georgia a shot at a third straight national title.
That loss snapped the Bulldogs' 29-game win streak, a run that began after Georgia's loss to the Tide in the 2021 SEC title game. The Bulldogs head into Saturday with a school-record streak of 42 straight regular-season wins, as well as a school- and SEC-record 28 consecutive conference regular-season wins. Georgia has also won its last 16 games in its opponent's home stadium. The last time the Bulldogs came up short in a true road game was at Alabama in 2020.
Georgia's players are well aware of who they're facing Saturday, the hype surrounding the game, and all the big games the teams have played in the past few years.
"We definitely feel it, we definitely hear the noise, but we try not to pay attention to it," said fifth-year wideout Arian Smith, who is second on the team with 11 receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown this season.
One glaring difference between Saturday's matchup and all of the two powerhouse programs' games in recent years is the new man in charge at Alabama. Kalen DeBoer is now the head coach in Tuscaloosa, taking over for Nick Saban following the legendary coach's surprise retirement after last season. The Tide are still loaded with talent, have one of the best players in college football in quarterback Jalen Milroe, and DeBoer is a proven head coach who took Washington to the National Championship Game last season.
For Smart, who was Saban's defensive coordinator for many years before taking over at Georgia, this will be his first time facing Alabama as a head coach without Saban on the other sideline. It's no less a daunting task and as big a stage as ever.
"Well, he recruited a lot of them, and they're good players, and I think any time you go against a really good team that's a powerhouse in college football, it's a challenge," he said. "I really look at it like this is a hell of an opportunity for our kids, our program, on a national stage. We're on the national stage a lot. We've been on the national stage a lot, especially the last three to four years. So it's the reason kids want to come to Georgia."
Another major difference in this year's game is the stakes. They're still high on a lot of levels, but with the new 12-team playoff, a loss for either team will not be as consequential as it would have been in years past.
"It's definitely different," Smith said. "We don't know how it's going to go because in the past we've only had a four-team playoff, so, of course, the expansion is going to change things for a lot of teams around the country. There are a lot of good teams in the SEC, so we'll see how it all plays out."
It should be a heck of a show.
Staff Writer
The last three times Georgia and Alabama have faced off on a football field, the circumstances were very different from what they will be on Saturday when the No. 2 Bulldogs meet the No. 4 Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. There's been a coaching change, a College Football Playoff chance and the teams aren't meeting with a big trophy on the line.
For the first time since 2020, the two SEC heavyweights are meeting during the regular season. The three games they've played since then have been in the postseason: the 2021 SEC Championship Game, the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship Game, and last season's SEC title game. The Crimson Tide won both SEC Championship Game meetings, but the Bulldogs, of course, knocked off Bama to win the 2021 national championship.
Every SEC regular-season game has weight and meaning, but a top-5 matchup between two perennial national championship contenders does feel different.
"You don't ever have to worry about them all this week," Georgia coach Kirby Smart said Tuesday when asked about the Bulldogs' practices. "You got to be careful not to leave it all on the practice field. Probably the biggest thing is holding guys back and making sure that they don't overdo it. Spirited, get after (it) practice. Like I said, when you get in these SEC rivalry games, it's not a motivation issue."
Last December, Georgia headed to the SEC title game in Atlanta undefeated and ranked No. 1. The Tide, after an early-season home loss to Texas, was ranked No. 8. Both teams had CFP aspirations, of course, and the way the season played out among the top teams in the country, the winner was likely getting in the four-team playoff and the loser was not. And unfortunately for Georgia, Alabama held off the Bulldogs for a 27-24 win, denying Georgia a shot at a third straight national title.
That loss snapped the Bulldogs' 29-game win streak, a run that began after Georgia's loss to the Tide in the 2021 SEC title game. The Bulldogs head into Saturday with a school-record streak of 42 straight regular-season wins, as well as a school- and SEC-record 28 consecutive conference regular-season wins. Georgia has also won its last 16 games in its opponent's home stadium. The last time the Bulldogs came up short in a true road game was at Alabama in 2020.
Georgia's players are well aware of who they're facing Saturday, the hype surrounding the game, and all the big games the teams have played in the past few years.
"We definitely feel it, we definitely hear the noise, but we try not to pay attention to it," said fifth-year wideout Arian Smith, who is second on the team with 11 receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown this season.
One glaring difference between Saturday's matchup and all of the two powerhouse programs' games in recent years is the new man in charge at Alabama. Kalen DeBoer is now the head coach in Tuscaloosa, taking over for Nick Saban following the legendary coach's surprise retirement after last season. The Tide are still loaded with talent, have one of the best players in college football in quarterback Jalen Milroe, and DeBoer is a proven head coach who took Washington to the National Championship Game last season.
For Smart, who was Saban's defensive coordinator for many years before taking over at Georgia, this will be his first time facing Alabama as a head coach without Saban on the other sideline. It's no less a daunting task and as big a stage as ever.
"Well, he recruited a lot of them, and they're good players, and I think any time you go against a really good team that's a powerhouse in college football, it's a challenge," he said. "I really look at it like this is a hell of an opportunity for our kids, our program, on a national stage. We're on the national stage a lot. We've been on the national stage a lot, especially the last three to four years. So it's the reason kids want to come to Georgia."
Another major difference in this year's game is the stakes. They're still high on a lot of levels, but with the new 12-team playoff, a loss for either team will not be as consequential as it would have been in years past.
"It's definitely different," Smith said. "We don't know how it's going to go because in the past we've only had a four-team playoff, so, of course, the expansion is going to change things for a lot of teams around the country. There are a lot of good teams in the SEC, so we'll see how it all plays out."
It should be a heck of a show.
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
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