The No. 4-ranked University of Alabama (UA) is facing off against the No. 2-ranked University of Georgia (UGA) in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, Sept. 28. Both teams are undefeated.
The Crimson Tide holds the advantage with a record of 43-26-4 against the Bulldogs, in addition to a home record of 23-13-4. However, the Bulldogs are 2-point favorites in the latest Alabama vs. Georgia odds via SportsLine consensus. The over/under is 48.5.
Watch below as head coach Kalen DeBoer, replacing a retired Nick Saban, and UA coordinators preview Alabama football’s SEC opener against UGA:
Georgia at Alabama excitement:
- The rivalry first began in 1895.
- This is the first game between the two at a non-neutral location since 2020.
- Alabama leads the series with 43 wins.
UGA's Kirby Smart no longer has to worry about his mentor-turned-nemesis in Tuscaloosa. Smart was on Saban's staff for more than a decade.
Somewhere, deep in his gut, the Georgia coach might be a bit relieved that Nick Saban is now wearing a mic at the broadcast table rather than a headset on the sideline... just don't expect Smart to come right out and say it.
Deflecting several versions of the same question — essentially, what's it going to be like to face an Alabama team that's not coached by Saban? — Smart kept the focus squarely on the two powerhouse programs that will meet Saturday night on Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
“No, I don’t expect it to be strange,” Smart said Monday. “That’s just the normal course of progression."
Still, there's no getting around the major issue hanging over a rivalry that largely has charted the course of the Southeastern Conference for nearly a decade.
Saban is not a part of it anymore — other than his duties as an analyst for ESPN's “College GameDay,” which will be on hand in Tuscaloosa as the No. 2 Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0 SEC) face the No. 4 Crimson Tide (3-0, 0-0).
Smart said he's glad that Saban — who retired in January after winning a record seven national titles, six of them in charge of the Alabama program — seems to be cherishing life after coaching.
“I'm thrilled that he gets an opportunity to do what he wants to do and be with who he wants to be with within his family and enjoy that," Smart said. "I’m really happy he’s still part of college football because he makes college football better.”
More on the link between these two coaches — one now retired, the other in the prime of his career — can be found here.
Alabama's upcoming game against Georgia is slated for a 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff time on Saturday, Sept. 28 in Tuscaloosa and will be aired on ABC.
