Georgia isn’t hiding from past Alabama defeats: ‘I can’t stand losing’

ATHENS — Georgia linebacker CJ Allen knows he’s lost every game he’s played against Alabama. So does his mother.

“I think, to be honest, it’s something I definitely kind of think about,” Allen said. “It’s crazy you asked that because I was actually talking to my mom about it last night on the phone. That’s a team I haven’t beat, especially in the SEC championship (game).”

There’s no running from the fact that Georgia has yet another matchup against Alabama on Saturday in the SEC championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (4 p.m., ABC). It will be the ninth time the two teams have met since Kirby Smart became Georgia’s head coach.

Georgia is 1-7 in those previous matchups, including a 24-21 defeat in September. The last time they met in the SEC championship game was 2023. The Bulldogs are 0-4 all-time against Alabama in the SEC championship game.

Allen started in the 2023 game as a freshman, while fellow linebacker Raylen Wilson was in coverage on a key Alabama touchdown. Gunner Stockton was a third-string quarterback for that contest — a 27-24 defeat.

But they’ll get a chance to avenge their only loss of the season Saturday.

“I think after the Bama game, our offense and team has grown up a bunch,” Stockton said. “And we’ve just been playing pretty good football, and we came closer together and just being able to execute coach Bobo’s game plan. Having a better week of prep and just being able to execute his biggest part and kind of know the game plan, everybody doing their part.”

Stockton had a season-low five rushing attempts against the Crimson Tide. Look for that to change, especially when a win would give Georgia extra time off in the pending College Football Playoff.

On defense, the Bulldogs are playing much better of late, especially in comparison to the first matchup against the Crimson Tide. Alabama converted 13 of its 19 third-down attempts against Georgia, with Ty Simpson completing 24 of his 38 pass attempts for 276 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

“I feel like we learned about just about how their offense likes to attack us, and they have a pretty mobile quarterback,” linebacker Raylen Wilson said of Simpson. “He’s a good thrower, so I mean, they’re a pretty balanced offense.”

Georgia shut out Alabama in the second half of the first meeting but still couldn’t come away with the win.

The loss didn’t ruin Georgia’s season, as the Bulldogs enter Saturday on an eight-game win streak. Alabama lost a late-season game against Oklahoma, as the Crimson Tide enter the game with a 10-2 record.

There’s an argument to be made that because of Alabama’s tenuous position in the College Football Playoff rankings that Alabama needs a win more.

That ignores the historical implications of what a win means for Georgia. After the win over Georgia Tech, Smart referenced that Georgia hadn’t won all of its rivalry games. It’s fair to assume he was speaking about Georgia’s well-documented struggles with the Tide.

“I mean, everybody knows the history of Georgia-Alabama,” Stockton said. “It’s there, but I mean, you can’t, they can’t transfer a win or, you know, a loss to this game. It’s a, its own game by itself. And that’s where we’re approaching it. And just approaching like any other game and preparing the right way during the week and setting yourself up for success when Saturday comes.”

Alabama is the next game on the schedule, making it a big one. That it doubles as the SEC championship game only slightly raises the stakes.

If you’re an optimist, Georgia’s lone win over Alabama came in a rematch, with the Bulldogs beating the Tide in the 2022 College Football Playoff championship game.