College GameDay made its lean pretty clear in Tuscaloosa.
With No. 2 Georgia set to face No.
6 Alabama on Saturday night, the crew’s weekly picks broke heavily toward the Crimson Tide. Three of the four panelists went with Alabama, leaving Georgia with just one vote in the matchup that has drawn College GameDay to what could be the biggest SEC game of the season.
That kind of split wasn’t exactly shocking for everyone involved. Nick Saban is making his first appearance at Alabama since joining the GameDay crew, and celebrity picker Bryce Young, a former Crimson Tide quarterback, also backed Alabama. Desmond Howard joined them, while only one pick landed with Georgia.
The setting only adds to the moment. GameDay is in Tuscaloosa to spotlight a game that doesn’t need much selling: Georgia and Alabama meeting again, with the regular season stakes as high as they get.
And the stakes are real, even if the playoff picture may not get completely turned upside down.
The winner will have a major edge in the SEC Championship race and a much better path to Atlanta. The loser isn’t automatically out, but catching the winner would require a lot of help - specifically, the winner would need to lose twice more. Given how unlikely that feels for either Georgia or Alabama, the team that comes out on top Saturday night will be in the driver’s seat.
The College Football Playoff implications are there too, just in a different way. The winner can afford two more losses and still remain in strong shape for the field. The loser, though, gets far less margin for error and would likely need to run the table the rest of the way.
Bragging rights come with the result, sure, but both programs are chasing something much bigger than that. For Georgia and Alabama, this is the first big step toward a championship season.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm EST Saturday night.
In Other News...
Georgia Heads To Alabama With A New Problem On Both Sides
Georgias trip to Alabama comes with another layer of concern after the latest SEC injury report showed wide receiver Isiah Canion will miss the matchup, his third straight game out with a leg injury. He is among a group of Georgia players ruled out, and the list also includes Thomas Blackshear and Chauncey Bowens, thinning the Bulldogs depth for one of the biggest games on the schedule.
For a team heading into a hostile road setting, the issue is not just one absence but the accumulation of them. Georgia has to sort through multiple unavailable pieces on both sides of the ball while preparing for an Alabama team that will surely press every weakness, leaving the Bulldogs with little margin for error before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Must Now Prepare For An Alabama Twist They Didn't Expect
Georgias preparation for Saturday night just got a little more complicated. Alabama tight end Josh Ford, who broke his arm last week against Mississippi State, is expected to be available against the Bulldogs, adding another layer to a matchup already heavy with SEC stakes. Ford has been an important blocker in Alabamas offense this season, and hes also shown he can matter as a receiver after catching a touchdown against South Carolina.
For Georgia, the timing of that update matters because Alabamas tight end usage can change the feel of a game at the line of scrimmage and in the red zone. The Bulldogs will have to account for Ford at Bryant-Denny Stadium when the teams kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, and any late twist like this can force a defense to adjust its plan on the fly. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Fans Still Have One Big Concern About Saturday's Storm
Hurricane Isaias has already forced a ripple of changes across the college football schedule, with seven games adjusted as the storm strengthens and moves toward landfall near Pensacola Beach. West Floridas home game was canceled outright, while other matchups in the Carolinas and Alabama were pushed to earlier or later kickoff times as schools and leagues tried to work around the weather.
For Georgia fans, though, the biggest eye-opener is that Saturday night in Tuscaloosa is still on the board in its original primetime slot. The Georgia-Alabama matchup remains scheduled as planned, even if game day operations have been adjusted, leaving plenty of attention on how the storms path and the surrounding conditions could still affect one of the weekends marquee games. [Read more 🡒]