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.
In Other News...
Georgia Tech Just Delivered The Win Fans Have Been Waiting For
Georgia Tech finally got the kind of road result that can reset a season, knocking off Clemson at Clemson Memorial Stadium and snapping a four-game losing streak. It was the Yellow Jackets first win there since 2008, and it came with a performance that looked nothing like a team searching for answers. The defense set the tone early, squeezing Clemsons run game and making the Tigers work for every inch.
Georgia Techs front and pressure package did the heavy lifting, holding Clemson to 1.6 yards per carry in the first half and piling up three sacks. Justice Haynes, Grady Adamson and Chris Corbo were among the names showing up on a night when the Jackets needed contributions across the board, while Spaulding and Tawfiq Thomas helped keep the pressure on. For a team that had been waiting for a signature response, this was the kind of win that can linger well beyond one Saturday. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Techs Fast Start Puts Scott Cross Early Formula To The Test
Georgia Techs 3-0 start has already offered an early look at what first-year coach Scott Cross is trying to build, and it has not come with the same script twice. The Yellow Jackets have had different players lead them in scoring, rebounding and assists in each game, a sign of both balance and the kind of lineup flexibility Cross is hoping to establish as the schedule tightens. Now the challenge shifts to a home matchup with UNC Asheville, a team coming in after a close win and one that has shown it can spread production around.
For Georgia Tech, the appeal is obvious: the offense has not been dependent on one hot hand, and the roster has already shown it can win in different ways. UNC Asheville brings a similar kind of collective threat, with balanced scoring and a style that has kept opponents honest, which makes this a useful early test for a Yellow Jackets team still taking shape under a new coach. It is the sort of November game that can either reinforce a teams identity or expose how much work is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Techs Clemson Win Put One Big Question On This Defense
Georgia Techs 20-6 win over Clemson was the kind of result that changes the conversation around a program, especially when it comes in Death Valley for the first time since 2008. The Yellow Jackets leaned on a strong ground game from Justice Haynes and Grady Adamson, but the bigger takeaway may have been what happened on the other side of the ball. Under interim coordinator Vinnie Sunseri, the defense looked noticeably sharper and held Clemson to just 86 rushing yards.
The performance raised a real question about whether this group has finally found something it can build on after a season of uneven stretches. Clemson never found much rhythm offensively, and Georgia Techs ability to control the line of scrimmage made the win feel less like a fluke and more like a statement. Still, one strong night is only part of the picture, and the next test will say plenty about whether this defensive surge is a short-term spark or something more lasting. [Read more 🡒]