The Alabama Crimson Tide don’t look like the same team people were sizing up in Kalen DeBoer’s first two seasons.
At 5-0, Alabama has opened 2026 with its best start of the DeBoer era, and the way it has done it matters just as much as the record. This hasn’t been a soft run through the schedule. The Tide handled a 4-1 Kentucky team in Week 2 and then rolled over a strong Mississippi State squad last weekend.
Now comes the real measuring stick: Georgia in Tuscaloosa.
That matchup looms as maybe the biggest regular-season game of the year, and the stakes are obvious. A win would almost lock Alabama into the College Football Playoff and would also go a long way toward proving this version of the Crimson Tide is built differently.
DeBoer already owns two wins over Georgia in his time at Alabama, both in the regular season, though the Bulldogs got the upper hand in a 28-7 SEC Championship Game rout last December. Still, the bigger question isn’t the head-to-head record. It’s whether this year’s team actually looks like one that can absorb the moment.
So far, the answer has been yes.
This Alabama team has been harder, steadier and more physical than the groups that came before it. The old criticism that DeBoer’s teams were soft doesn’t fit what the Tide have shown lately, especially after back-to-back statements against South Carolina and Mississippi State. Alabama hasn’t just flashed talent; it has played with an edge.
That’s why the line makes sense. No.
6 Alabama is a 1.5-point home favorite against No. 2 Georgia, and with the way the Tide have played over the last two weeks, it’s tough to feel good about picking against them.
Even in a season that started with some wobble - slow starts against Kentucky and Florida State nearly put Alabama in a bad spot - the Tide have steadied themselves. The early cracks are gone now. Alabama has put together 10 straight quarters of excellent football.
Georgia is still the toughest game left on the schedule, at least on paper. But this Alabama team has earned the benefit of the doubt heading into Saturday.
In Other News...
Alabama Georgia Showdown Just Got Another Twist Fans Will Notice
ESPNs College GameDay is headed to Alabama for the upcoming Georgia-Alabama matchup, adding another layer to a game that already had the feel of a major early-season measuring stick. The setting only raises the stakes for a meeting that will have plenty of national attention, and now a familiar name from Alabamas recent past is joining the pregame spotlight.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young, the former Crimson Tide Heisman winner, said he will serve as the celebrity picker on the show, giving Alabama fans one more reason to tune in before kickoff. The game also carries a weather watch, with Hurricane Isaias potentially threatening the schedule or creating difficult conditions, while Georgia will be without Chauncy Bowen and Alabama will lean on Daniel Hill, who leads the team in rushing yards. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama-Georgia Could Swing On One Quarterback Clash
Georgia arrives with the edge of experience at quarterback, and that alone gives Saturdays matchup a familiar feel for a game that tends to turn on poise as much as playmaking. Gunner Stockton has already been through the pressure of the SEC Championship stage and came away with the MVP hardware, giving the Bulldogs a steady hand in big moments and a baseline of confidence Alabama will have to account for.
On the other sideline, Keelon Russell brings a different kind of threat, the sort of flashy talent that can change the scoring rhythm of a game in a hurry. For Alabama, the question is not simply whether Russell can make plays, but whether his style can tilt the matchup enough to offset Stocktons experience and help decide which team controls the evening. [Read more 🡒]
Herbstreit Sees A Different Alabama Team Ahead Of Georgia Showdown
Kalen DeBoers first Alabama team has already given observers enough reason to believe the program is starting to look different from the one Nick Saban left behind. Kirk Herbstreit recently pointed to a group that appears healthier, more balanced and more comfortable in its own skin, noting how the Tide have opened the 2026 season 5-0 while building toward a marquee matchup with Georgia.
Herbstreit also framed the early progress as more than just a hot start, crediting DeBoer for sticking with his own coaching identity even with the pressure that comes with the job. The bigger question now is whether Alabamas improved health and steadier play in the trenches can hold up when the competition level jumps again, because Georgia will offer a far stiffer test than anything the Tide have faced so far. [Read more 🡒]