Urban Meyer isn’t budging on the top of the college football mountain.
On this week’s edition of The Triple Option, the three-time national champion said Georgia and Alabama are the two most talented teams in the sport, and he put both SEC heavyweights a notch above the rest of the Playoff chase.
“The best version of Bama might be the best team in America,” Meyer said. “I think Georgia and Bama are the two most talented teams, and when they’re both playing their best game, I think they’re a little bit above everyone else.”
Meyer said he views the two programs as basically interchangeable. And for him, this isn’t about the rankings or the noise around them. It’s about what shows up on film.
“I don’t think, I know,” Meyer said. “I’ve seen enough film over my life. I can tell there are some cats on that field, and they’re playing the game the way it should be played.”
He had already singled out Georgia as the nation’s best team last week before the Bulldogs’ trip to Oxford. Georgia then backed it up with a 42-7 rout of Ole Miss, a win that pushed the Bulldogs to No. 1 in the second College Football Playoff rankings.
Alabama made its own statement in Baton Rouge. The Crimson Tide beat LSU 31-13 and jumped from No. 5 to No. 3, becoming the first two-loss team ever to reach the top four this early in the Playoff era.
The Bulldogs’ resume has some wrinkles, though. Georgia beat Alabama 20-17 in the first meeting on Oct. 10 in Tuscaloosa, with Peyton Woodring’s 23-yard field goal with 5:25 left delivering Georgia’s first win in Tuscaloosa since 2007.
But Kirby Smart’s team also stumbled with a 27-24 home loss to Auburn a week after that Alabama win, which led Danny Kanell to question whether the Bulldogs had done enough to deserve the top spot. Since that loss, Georgia has answered with back-to-back blowouts of Florida and Ole Miss, outscoring them 69-15 combined.
Alabama has its own blemish. The Tide’s other defeat came in a 26-10 loss at Tennessee.
Still, Kalen DeBoer’s group has looked explosive at times, scoring at least 45 points in each of its first five games, and it has now won two straight since the Tennessee loss. Quarterback Keelon Russell threw three touchdown passes in Baton Rouge, though Rece Davis said Alabama’s No. 3 ranking “seems high.”
The schedule keeps rolling for both teams. Alabama heads to Vanderbilt on Saturday at 12:45 p.m.
ET on SEC Network, with the Crimson Tide trying to avoid a repeat of last year’s 40-35 loss in Nashville. Georgia hosts Missouri at 3:30 p.m.
ET on ABC before traveling to South Carolina on Nov. 21.
Alabama’s regular season ends with Chattanooga and Auburn. The committee’s third set of rankings arrives Tuesday, Nov. 17, and if both teams keep winning, another Georgia-Alabama collision could be waiting in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.
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Now the Tide have another encouraging sign heading into Vanderbilt week, with Russell listed as probable on the SECs initial availability report. It is the sort of update Alabama wanted after watching him battle through the LSU game, and it keeps the focus on how much more dangerous this offense can be if he is ready to go again. [Read more 🡒]
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Rebounding has been an issue for Alabama this season, and that concern only grows with a tough opponent looming. The Tide will need both extra possessions and efficient shooting to come away with a win, so Davis-Flemings availability could end up shaping more than just the frontcourt rotation. [Read more 🡒]