BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Welcome to the calm before the storm. Or should that be the calm after the storm?
First, the important stuff: Hurricane Helene made landfall near Perry, Florida, late Thursday and continued on a path through the Florida panhandle and into Georgia. And while the weather that came with it is not expected to impact Saturday night’s game between the No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs and No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, that system was having a profound impact on travel to the game, especially those traveling from the Athens area, northeast Georgia and metro Atlanta. That included, of course, the Georgia Bulldogs themselves.
Coach Kirby Smart expressed concern late in the week about UGA’s expansive traveling party being able to get out of Athens and into Tuscaloosa on schedule Friday. Typically, the Bulldogs leave their football complex early on Friday afternoons before an away game and take a bus from the football complex to Athens-Ben Epps Airport, which is just 5.1 miles away. From there, they board several chartered Delta jets and fly to their destination.
Based on Friday’s forecast for Athens, that timing was going to work out perfectly for the Bulldogs depart on schedule. Chances of precipitation were expected to rapidly decrease from 100% overnight to 0% by 1 p.m. Friday. Wind speeds also were expected to decreasing accordingly,
“We’ve been following it,” Smart said. “We’re watching it with the SEC office and our in-house people at Delta (Airlines). It looks like it’s trending more and more eastward, which may affect us, but less and less of an effect towards the game. My biggest concern our travel arrangements and being able to get there in a convenient way.”
Because of the uncertainty that always comes with such major storm systems, UGA explored all travel options this past week. That included riding a bus the 274 miles to Tuscaloosa. Conditions on Friday morning indicated that the Bulldogs were not going to have to make that arduous 4-hour-plus drive by bus.
Limiting travel hassles and reducing trip times for the football team were a priority for Smart since he became Georgia’s head coach nine years ago. Before his arrival, the Bulldogs sometimes had to bus to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport for distant away games.
Here’s everything else you need to know about Saturday’s matchup in Tuscaloosa:
- When: Saturday, 7:49 p.m. kickoff
- Where: Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Bryant-Denny Stadium (capacity 101,821)
- Rankings and record: No. 2 Georgia (3-0, 1-0 SEC); No. 4 Alabama (3-0)
- TV/radio: ABC/Georgia Bulldogs Sports Network
- Weather: Partly cloudy and mild, 76 degrees at kickoff. 0% chance of rain.
- Series: Alabama leads 43-26-4 and has won eight of its past nine games.
- Last meeting: The Crimson Tide defeated Georgia 27-24 in the SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Dec. 2, 2023.
- Tickets: The game is a sellout, but tickets were being sold on the secondary mark for an average price of $412 this week, according to vividseats.com. However, weather/travel concerns were expected to create a buyers’ market over the final 24 hours.
Storylines for No. 2 Georgia versus No. 4 Alabama
QB duel, Part II: Many pundits give Alabama the edge at quarterback on Saturday. That represents a change from the preseason when the Bulldogs’ Carson Beck owned some of the best odds to win the Heisman Trophy. Heading into the fifth week and Georgia’s fourth game, Beck now is seventh in composite odds to win college football’s top prize. As of Friday, Vegasinsider.com had the Bulldogs’ fifth-year senior getting between $1,400 and $1,600 on a $100 bet.
Conversely, Alabama’s Jalen Milroe has moved up to third in those rankings at $650-750. Milroe is behind Miami’s Cam Ward ($360-450) and Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart ($500-550). Whether that is justified is another question.
Even though Milroe’s Crimson Tide defeated Beck’s Bulldogs in last year’s SEC title game 27-24, the Bama signal-caller didn’t necessarily outplay Beck. Beck was 21-of-29 passing for 243 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions and was sacked twice. Milroe was 13-of-23 passing for 192 yards with two TD passes and no interceptions and was sacked four times. The primary difference was a fumbled exchange between Beck and Dillon Bell on a reverse and Milroe’s 22-yard completion to Isaiah Bond that was ruled a fourth-down conversion at the end of the first half. Video replays show that Bond did not secure the reception before the ball hit the ground and should have been ruled an incompletion. Officials did not stop play long enough to properly review the play.
As for this season, Milroe’s overall numbers are better over three games. The 6-2, 225-pound junior is third nationally in TD responsibility with 14, including six rushing. He’s completing 67.3% of his passes for 590 yards and eight TDs without an interception. Beck has a 68.3% completion rate for 680 yards with seven TDs and no picks. He has not scored on 11 rushes for 55 yards.
Milroe’s mouth: Milroe’s comments after last year’s win over Georgia have been a major point of discussion in Athens the past two weeks. A few days after Alabama salted away the narrow victory – in part because of Milroe’s 30-yard run with just over two minutes to play – the quarterback claimed he could see “quit” in the Bulldogs’ eyes in the fourth quarter.
“I’m big on body language, and looking into the opponents’ eyes,” Milroe said of Georgia on the Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic podcast Dec. 7. “They looked defeated and didn’t want anymore. I knew our team knew it was going to be a 60-minute game, and Georgia didn’t believe in that.”
Not surprisingly, Milroe’s comments have been replayed on a loop at UGA’s football complex often the past two weeks.
“Yeah, we’re aware, for sure,” Georgia guard Dylan Fairchild said, grinning without elaboration.
Asked how he felt hearing Milroe’s comments replayed for the past two weeks, Fairchild said: “Put my head down and grind. That’s the attitude of our team.”
Said junior safety Malaki Starks: “I don’t ever think something that goes with the ‘G’ is ‘being defeated.’ But, you know, it is what it is. Like I said, I just want to go be the best defense that we can be.”
Defensively speaking: Georgia’s defense has drawn criticism early this season for its inability to shut down opponents’ run games. That was a hallmark of the Bulldogs on defense during its run to back-to-back championships in 2021 and ‘22. However, the defense regressed to allow 113.2 yards per game last season and currently ranks 42nd in the nation at 110.7 yards rushing per game.
But Georgia’s defense still possesses some very strong traits. It enters Saturday’s game leading the nation in pass defense (91.3 ypg), is third in scoring D (6.o ppg) and fourth in total D (202.0). And while their eight sacks overall rank only 30th nationwide, the Bulldogs have produced an incredible 60 quarterback pressures so far, including 36 in the last game against Kentucky. Leading the charge in that regard is junior linebacker Jalon Walker with 13.
There’s one defensive stat in particular that most impresses the Alabama coach.
“We’ve got to get the ball in the end zone, and that’s easier said than done against these guys,” DeBoer said. “They haven’t allowed a touchdown yet. When we do get opportunities in the red zone, we’ve got to come up with touchdowns.”
DeBoer debut: Saturday will represent the SEC debut for Alabama’s first-year coach. That is not to say he has not been exposed to big-time football. The 49-year-old South Dakotan led Washington to the College Football Playoff Championship game last season in just his second year at the then-Pac-12 school. Before that, DeBoer has a long record of success that extends from Fresno State back to Sioux Falls of the NAIA. All told, his coaching record is 107-12 (.899) overall and 40-9 (.876) in Division I competition.
“He’s had success everywhere he’s been,” Smart said.
DeBoer has done well against ranked teams, as well. In fact, he had won 12 straight over ranked opponents before last year’s loss to Michigan in the CFP Championship game. His other loss came at Fresno State.
Hired to succeed Nick Saban as Alabama’s head coach last January, DeBoer has not yet encountered the home game environment he will Saturday. ESPN’s “College GameDay“ rolled into town on Thursday and former President Donald Trump is among many dignitaries expected to attend the game.
“Welcome to the SEC, right?” DeBoer quipped.
Injury update: Georgia’s and Alabama’s SEC availability reports are decidedly different. While the Crimson Tide does not list anybody in the categories of questionable, doubtful or out, the Bulldogs have several key players who meet that criteria. That includes running back Roderick Robinson – out ((knee), guard Tate Ratledge (out – ankle) and defensive end Mykel Williams (questionable – ankle). The Bulldogs also will be missing sophomore wide receiver Landon Humphreys, who reportedly is out with mononucleoisis, according to several published reports.
Notable: Georgia’s 2024 senior class has never lost a regular-season game. They’re 40-0 heading to Alabama. The Bulldogs are 49-2 overall in the past 51 games, which includes a win streak of 28 consecutive SEC games.
They said it: “He’s a monster. He’s one of those guys who can rush from a 3-tech, he can rush from a wide-5, you can put him on the nose if you wanted to. He can really do it all. He’s a big person who can really move and he makes us better. I love that we have guys like him.” – Georgia’s Dylan Fairchild on linebacker Jalon Walker
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