Another edition of Georgia-Alabama might be coming soon.
The SEC Championship game matchup could be official Saturday. Georgia and Alabama essentially are one step each from clinching the SEC East and West, respectively, setting up another meeting between Nick Saban and Kirby Smart in the conference title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
If Alabama defeats Kentucky and Georgia defeats Ole Miss – in a battle of former Saban coordinators as Smart faces Lane Kiffin – then the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs will have won their respective divisions. Both teams have two conference games remaining each, including Saturday.
Clinch scenarios: The Crimson Tide win the West with a victory against Kentucky or an Ole Miss loss to Georgia. Alabama’s game starts at noon, so if it wins, it will have the division wrapped up long before the Rebels take the field at 7 p.m. Alabama closes SEC play with rival Auburn on Nov. 25.
The Bulldogs would secure the East with a win over Ole Miss or a Tennessee loss at Missouri. Georgia won the head-to-head tiebreaker against Missouri, and a defeat Saturday would be the Volunteers’ third conference loss.
Georgia could begin its game Saturday having clinched since Tennessee-Missouri is a 3:30 p.m. kickoff. The Bulldogs conclude SEC play at Tennessee on Nov. 18. If the Volunteers defeat the Tigers and the Rebels upset the Bulldogs, the Georgia-Tennessee contest would be the de facto SEC East championship game.
Georgia and Alabama haven’t faced each other since January 2022 College Football Playoff Championship game in Indianapolis, when the Bulldogs finally ended their four-decade drought with a 33-18 win. They also met in the SEC Championship game weeks earlier, where the Crimson Tide beat Georgia 41-24. That was the Bulldogs’ most recent loss.
The Bulldogs (9-0) were ranked second in the latest CFP ranking. Alabama (8-1) was eighth, one spot ahead of Ole Miss (8-1).
Notes:
* Tight end Brock Bowers’ recovery is the week’s biggest headline in Athens. More than three weeks removed from undergoing TightRope surgery on his ankle, Bowers has hit “19 or 20″ mph running, according to teammate Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint. But straight-line running and playing football are different things.
Smart was asked directly Wednesday if Bowers could play Saturday.
“I think there are a lot of markers he has to hit,” Smart said. “There’s more than just the marker of sheer speed. One of the first things you look at with this injury is acceleration, deceleration. When your acceleration and deceleration numbers get closer to what your norm is, because we have a baseline on these guys, you feel much more comfortable about it. But you have to get to that point. Straight-line speed is not football, unfortunately. Maybe on kickoffs or something else, but the other areas, you have to have that.
“He’s working towards that. I’ve never seen a person work as hard as he’s worked to try to create an opportunity for himself.”
* Kiffin’s teams are known for offense, but the Ole Miss defense deserves credit. The Rebels’ 31 sacks are second most in the SEC. The defense is also ranked among the top five in numerous other categories including interceptions (10, 4th), fumble recoveries (4, T-2), forced turnovers per game (1.6, 2nd), pass deflections (32; T-5) and yards per play (5.1, 5th).
“They’re a really good defense,” Rosemy-Jacksaint said. “They try to disrupt the run, they’re number one in the SEC in causing turnovers, and they’re number two in recovering fumbles I think. They’re a really good defense all around, especially against the run. We just have to go in with a plan of action to find a way to attack and neutralize their way of play so the run game can be efficient for us.”
Third downs will be key. Ole Miss has surrendered 53 third-down conversions on 133 attempts (almost 40%), ranking 77th in the country. Georgia has the No. 3 third-down defense (30 of 113; nearly 27%). Georgia’s offense is the fourth best at converting third downs with about a 53% rate (64 of 116). Ole Miss is No. 97 in the same area, converting around 36% of third downs (41 of 113).
* Smart on Kiffin, with whom he coached at Alabama (both as coordinators for Saban):
“I have a lot of respect for Lane. He and I shared seats next to each other at Alabama for two years, I guess it was maybe three. I don’t ever know how long we were there together because it all runs together, but I have a lot of respect for him as a coach. He was a head coach at a really young age. He taught me a lot of things about what he believes in being a head coach and doing it your way. He’s certainly had a unique experience in terms of the places he’s been able to work as a head coach, and he draws on that. There are times we share ideas or GPS numbers or whatever, but there’s nothing outside of just a really good friendship and respect.”
* Smart said sophomore running back Branson Robinson, who ruptured his patella tendon during preseason camp, “probably” will be cleared for spring practices. “But I don’t know if he’ll be able to go through live tackling and everything,” Smart said.
Robinson had 68 carries for 330 yards and three touchdowns during his freshman season. He scored twice in Georgia’s victory over TCU for the national championship.
