This is the matchup everyone had circle on the calendar in preseason camp.
It will be the toughest ticket to obtain, as Bryant-Denny Stadium will be rocking on Saturday with Alabama football hosting Georgia at 7:00 p.m.
After spending nine years (2007-15) with Nick Saban and winning four national championships, Kirby Smart is in his fifth season at head coach for the Bulldogs.
He came close to defeating his mentor in the 2018 College Football Playoff title game and 2018 SEC Championship, but Smart looks to get over the hump in his return to Tuscaloosa.
He brings in the best defense he’s had in his tenure — seeing how Georgia is No. 1 in the SEC for scoring defense (12.3 ppg), total defense (236.7 ypg), rush defense (38.3 ypg) and third down conversion defense (28.3 percent conversion rate allowed) among other areas.
Despite its dominance, the Bulldogs have yet to face an offense as potent as Alabama’s is.
In his second year as the offensive player caller, Steve Sarkisian has the Crimson Tide firing on all cylinders. Even with Tua Tagovailoa now in the National Football League, the Tide has not missed a beat. Alabama leads the nation in scoring offense — averaging 51 points per game.
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Along with that, it ranks third in the nation for total offense (560.3 ypg), second for passing offense (385 ypg), second for pass efficiency offense (211.5 rating) and second for third down offense (64.5% conversion rate). Mac Jones, a redshirt junior, has been on a tear at quarterback in the first three games. He’s completed 66 of 83 passes (79.5%) for 1,101 yards with eight touchdowns to one interception.
Currently, Jones ranks No. 1 nationally for passing efficiency (220.3 rating), second for completion percentage (79.5%), second for yards per completion (16.7) and fourth for passing yards per game (367). He’s recorded back-to-back 400-yard passing games versus Texas A&M (435) and Mississippi (417), while completing 87.5% of his throws against Ole Miss.
Alabama has cranked up its rushing attack with Najee Harris, and John Metchie has joined DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle as the third option at wide receiver. With all the dangerous pieces and Jones pushing for Heisman consideration, Smart knows the challenge he faces. During his presser on Monday, Smart said Alabama’s offense ‘makes you defend the entire field.’
“They have really good players,” he said of Alabama. “Sark (Steve Sarkisian) does a great job of implementing a system that these kids can execute. It is based on really hard guys to cover outside. They probably have the best running back in the country, if not one of the best backs in the country. Najee runs really hard and they are massive up front. Offensively, they are not built like some teams that go tempo the whole time. They can go tempo and they do it well, but they are big and they can take shots downfield.”
He understands the rules of modern-day college football suits the offense more; nevertheless, Smart is coming for a national championship and he wants to get it coming through Bryant-Denny Stadium. For Alabama’s offensive line, its task will be neutralizing Georgia’s front and creating opportunities for Jones and the run game to wear down the Bulldogs.
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If Jones can expose Georgia’s secondary, he will stamp his name into the Heisman conversation.
A lot of emotion will be on both sidelines in a top-three matchup for college football.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
