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This Saturday, No. 3 Georgia (3-0) takes on No. 2 Alabama (3-0) in the biggest game yet of the 2020 college football season.
Georgia vs Alabama has provided some thrilling classics over the last decade, but the Dawgs are winless in the last five meetings. With the unfortunate absence of Nick Saban, who has coronavirus and will likely miss the matchup, Kirby Smart has his best shot yet at taking down his former team.
Though Ole Miss was unable to pull it off last weekend, the Rebels exposed plenty of weaknesses in Alabama’s defense.
So, if the Bulldogs are to beat Alabama on Saturday, how would they do it?
Clint Lamb of RollTideWire gave us some scoop on how the Dawgs could leave Tuscaloosa with a win.
“Georgia has, for the most part, dominated Alabama for a majority of the last two games. And despite an elite offense in the SEC Championship Game back in 2018, the Bulldogs were able to keep the Crimson Tide in check early. Really, it’s been a matter of finishing for Georgia. If they can establish themselves early and can finish, they’ll have a good shot on Saturday.”
It’s the No. 1 ranked offense (Alabama) versus the No. 2 ranked defense (UGA). But it’s also the No. 34 ranked offense (UGA) against the No. 66 ranked defense (Bama).
How will this play out?
“The Georgia defense is going to need to win and win often,” Lamb said. “Alabama will more than likely try to force the Bulldogs into being one-dimensional and forcing Stetson Bennett to beat them with his arm.
I believe Alabama’s defense matches up better against Georgia than it did against Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss offense. That means the Tide should have more success, but that shouldn’t be hard to do considering how atrocious they looked against the Rebels. Like I said, a lot is going to be dictated on whether or not the defense can force the Bulldogs to be one-dimensional.”
With Saban likely this week, Georgia’s chances of winning definitely improved. No matter how good your personnel may be, it’s hard to replace the greatest coach in the history of the sport.
“There’s a lot of concern amongst Alabama fans with Nick Saban potentially having to miss the game due to COVID-19,” said Lamb.
Acting as head coach for the game would be offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, which is a decision that leaves plenty of college football fans scratching their heads.
“Steve Sarkisian has plenty of head coaching experience, but he’s not the micromanager that Saban can be on game days,” Lamb said on the matter. “And when you’re trying to create a game plan to go against one of – if not – the best defenses in the country, you don’t want that guy having even more thrown on his plate.
For anyone who has paid attention to the last two match ups, they’ve been good games. The argument could be made that Georgia was the better team in both games. I wouldn’t say the Alabama fans are feeling confident to a point where it’s cocky or overconfidence. It’s just a belief that Alabama has a good chance to win.”
For Stetson Bennett, a guy who was the fifth string quarterback at Georgia just a few months ago, he’s proven to be one of the calmest, coolest quarterbacks Georgia’s had in awhile. He’s played just fine and has done everything asked of him, but now he faces Alabama. In Tuscaloosa. That’s a tall order that even the “Mailman” himself may not be able to deliver.
Nick Saban’s defenses have been exposed over the years in the passing game, but as Lamb points out it’s been against some of the best to come through the conference this century.
“I believe Alabama likes its chances if the game is forced onto Bennett’s shoulders,” Lamb mentioned. “That’s not meant as a knock towards Bennett either, as he’s a respectable quarterback who still has plenty of unknowns. But it has typically taken elite play at the quarterback position (for four quarters) to beat Alabama. Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence, Deshaun Watson, Johnny Manziel, Cam Newton and even Stephen Garcia for that one game are all perfect examples.
Can Bennett be that guy? It’s a question that might need to be answered.”
Prediction of how this game plays out?
“It would be foolish to predict a blowout. Well, as long as the Alabama offense and Georgia defense can reach a stalemate like we all believe it will. If one is able to assert its dominance over the other, things could get ugly. But there are too many unknowns at play, one being the emotional factor for both teams, to know exactly how this is going to play out.”