Georgia’s trip to Alabama on Saturday night has a little extra weight to it for Kirby Smart, even if the No. 2 Bulldogs have already checked off nearly every other box since he took over in Athens 10 years ago.
One thing still missing: a road win in Tuscaloosa.
That’s the backdrop for a matchup of unbeaten Southeastern Conference powers, with Georgia (5-0, 3-0) heading into Bryant-Denny Stadium to face No. 6 Alabama (5-0, 3-0). The Bulldogs have not won a road game over the Crimson Tide since 2007, and this meeting comes with both teams sitting near the midpoint of the regular season and still undefeated.
Georgia has rolled through the first stretch of its schedule without much resistance. The Bulldogs own the nation’s highest-scoring offense at 51.4 points per game, and their first three SEC wins came against Arkansas, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt by an average margin of nearly 27 points.
Smart knows this one will look different.
"I have a lot of respect for (coach) Kalen DeBoer and the way they go about things," Smart said. "They have an extremely physical football team.
They're playing really high-level football right now. It'll be a great challenge for us to go into a really tough environment, and our players are looking forward to it."
Smart also praised Alabama sophomore quarterback Keelon Russell, calling him an "unbelievably savvy player with arm strength and pocket awareness." But Georgia’s own quarterback has been piling up the numbers, too.
Senior Gunner Stockton has yet to play a full game because Georgia’s fourth-quarter leads have been so comfortable, but he’s tied for sixth nationally in completion percentage at 75.5% and has thrown 13 touchdown passes against just one interception.
"I'm certainly very happy and pleased with where Gunner is as a player," Smart said. "I think experience helps.
I think experience matters. I think how people play around you matters.
I think game plan and what you're asked to do, not asking the quarterback to do more than he needs to do is important. Gunner's done a tremendous job of that."
Alabama comes in with the sharper recent résumé, thanks to last week’s 56-23 win at then-No. 16 Mississippi State, its only ranked victory so far. Russell has been on a tear over the Crimson Tide’s last three wins, averaging 323.3 passing yards while accounting for 13 total touchdowns - 10 through the air and three on the ground - with no interceptions.
Kalen DeBoer said the Crimson Tide need to embrace the moment, not shy away from it.
"They are going to be our toughest challenge by far up to this point," DeBoer said. "Coach Smart and everything he's done there, building the program up again this season and jumping on teams and sustaining it all game long.
Obviously our program wouldn't be where it's at without a lot of things he brought to it. Nothing but great respect for coach Smart.
We've got to be at our best this Saturday. We're looking forward to the great challenge."
The teams last met in the SEC Championship Game in December, when Georgia won 28-7 and snapped a three-game losing streak in the series.
In Other News...
Georgia Alabama Suddenly Faces One Massive SEC Decision
The buildup to Saturdays Alabama-Georgia matchup has quickly been complicated by Tropical Storm Isaias, which has strengthened and is now forecast to become a strong Category 2 hurricane as it approaches the northern Gulf Coast. With the storm bringing the threat of strong winds, heavy rain and even tornado risks to parts of Alabama, the logistics around one of the SECs biggest games of the week have suddenly become part of the conversation.
The storms exact landfall point is still uncertain, but the forecast is serious enough that the conference could be forced to weigh whether the game needs to be postponed or moved. For now, no official announcement has been reported, leaving both programs and their fans waiting on the next update as the weather picture continues to sharpen. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Alabama Just Got A Storm Threat Fans Can't Ignore
Saturdays showdown between Georgia and Alabama already had enough weight attached to it, and now the forecast is adding another layer. A tropical system is expected to bring very wet weather to the game, though there are still no plans to push it back for now. That leaves the matchup in the same uneasy spot plenty of big SEC games have found before, where the football is scheduled to go on even as the conditions start to look less than ideal.
Georgia has lived through weather-affected battles with Alabama before, so this is not exactly a new kind of backdrop for the Bulldogs. Elijah Griffin and Peyton Woodring both framed it as part of the games physical reality, especially when the elements turn the night into more of a grind. The postponement question is still hanging out there, though, and it is one of those calls that could end up depending on local emergency management decisions rather than anything inside the stadium. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama-Georgia Suddenly Faces A Threat Bigger Than The Game
The build-up to Alabama and Georgias top-10 SEC showdown at Bryant-Denny Stadium has taken on an uneasy backdrop, with Tropical Storm Isaias now looming over the weekend forecast. Heavy rain, strong winds and even the possibility of tornadoes have put the weather front and center, even as the game itself remains on the schedule and both fan bases wait to see how the storm develops.
For now, Alabama officials say there are no plans to alter or cancel the matchup, and the university is monitoring conditions while staying in contact with the Southeastern Conference office. It leaves the game in a familiar holding pattern for September football, with the competition itself ready to take a back seat for the moment to something far less predictable. [Read more 🡒]