Alabama and Georgia are back in the familiar spot of meeting with one team carrying the slight edge and both still very much alive in the national picture. According to FanDuel, Kirby Smart’s Bulldogs are 1.5-point favorites for Saturday’s game in Tuscaloosa, though that number has already moved around.
Georgia was hovering near a three-point favorite before this weekend’s results. Then Alabama’s lopsided win over Mississippi State in Starkville pushed money toward the Crimson Tide. At one point last night, Alabama had even flipped to a 1.5-point favorite on FanDuel before the line swung back.
The setup is straightforward: both teams are 5-0, both are in strong College Football Playoff position, and neither side is staring at an elimination game. That was true last season, too, when Alabama beat Georgia in the regular season and both teams still wound up in the CFP. There’s a real chance this becomes the first of two or even three meetings between the programs this year.
Still, the winner on Saturday gets a meaningful boost. It would create even more separation on the road to Atlanta and the playoff, while also strengthening an early claim as the No. 1 team in the country.
For Alabama, though, the motivation runs deeper than rankings and playoff positioning. Last season’s SEC Championship Game was a bruising 28-7 loss to Georgia in Atlanta, and that game helped drive a major offseason overhaul along both lines of scrimmage.
The Crimson Tide attacked the Transfer Portal and reshaped the roster up front on offense and defense. Through five weeks, the changes have shown up. Alabama is averaging 186 yards per game rushing, which is more than 80 yards per game better than last season.
The defensive front has been just as important. Alabama has controlled the line of scrimmage, created pressure on quarterbacks and limited opponents to 78.6 rushing yards per game, good for ninth in the country.
That matters because last year’s team had a toughness problem. So far, that edge seems to be gone, but Georgia will tell the real story.
The Bulldogs are the most complete opponent Alabama will see in the regular season, and they’re also the most demanding physically and mentally. That makes this the clearest test yet for whether Kalen DeBoer has truly corrected the issue that haunted the Crimson Tide a year ago.
Alabama doesn’t need to win Saturday night to stay in the SEC and national title conversation. Last year’s regular-season win over Georgia didn’t knock the Bulldogs out of contention, either.
But Alabama does need to prove it can stand up physically to Georgia again. That was the defining weakness of last season’s team, and it became a fatal one once the postseason arrived.
In Other News...
Alabama Found Two Reasons To Feel Better Before Georgia
Before Alabama turns its attention to Georgia, there were a couple of encouraging signs worth noting from the latest game. Keelon Russell gave the offense a lift by throwing for 285 yards and three touchdowns while adding a score on the ground, and the run game got meaningful help from a deeper group of backs, including Traeshawn Brown and EJ Crowell.
Xavier Griffin also stood out on the other side of the ball, leading the team in tackles and helping make several key defensive plays. Just as important for a defense looking to steady itself, Alabamas run front was much firmer against Mississippi State, holding the Bulldogs to 18 rushing yards and giving the Tide something concrete to carry into a bigger test. [Read more 🡒]
Bryce Underwoods Struggles Leave Michigan With An Uncomfortable Week 5 Reality
Keelon Russells rise has become one of the more notable developments around Alabamas early-season start, and the quarterbacks recent stretch has only sharpened the attention. After throwing four touchdowns in the spring game and then piling up 10 passing touchdowns and 970 yards over three games, he has helped steady a team that rolled to a 56-23 win and moved to 5-0.
For Alabama, that kind of production matters not just in the standings but in the broader SEC picture, where quarterback play can change the feel of a season quickly. Around the country, other programs were dealing with their own storylines in Week 5, but Russells emergence has given Alabama a promising answer at the position and left the rest of the league watching what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Has A Real Shot To Climb After Saturdays Top 25 Chaos
Saturdays college football slate did Alabama a favor, even before the next AP Top 25 poll gets posted. USC barely survived an upset scare, Ohio State and Missouri both had results worth watching, and a few teams around the country did enough to create the kind of weekend that tends to shake up the middle and upper tiers of the rankings.
For Alabama, the bigger point is simple: the Crimson Tide have a real path to move up if the voters decide the chaos mattered as much as the resumes. The poll will be refreshed soon, and with conference play still unfolding, there is a decent chance the order gets jumbled in a way that opens the door for Alabama to climb if enough teams ahead of it wobble. [Read more 🡒]