INDIANAPOLIS– Alabama has been such a constant in the College Football Playoff championship sweepstakes, it is always a surprise to hear the Tide is not the favorite to win again this year.
But Georgia is a three- point favorite in Monday’s rematch of the SEC championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium here.
This is the third time since 2011 the Tide, which has won six national titles under Nick Saban, has been underdog. In the previous two games, both against Georgia, the Tide rolled, winning by an average of 17 points.
Alabama has been the curse Georgia can’t shake.
Since 2008, Saban had dominated college football, and he has owned the Dawgs, winning seven straight games. Out of those games, four has been in championship games. The Tide has won three SEC championships and one national championship.
The Bulldogs’ current head coach, Kirby Smart, the Tide’s former defensive coordinator, has yet to beat Alabama or Saban after leaving for Athens.
This will be Smart’s second shot to win a national championship at his alma mater after losing to Alabama 26-23 in overtime in 2018. Georgia has already played Alabama once this season, falling 41-24 in the SEC title game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
Georgia entered the game as the unquestioned No 1 team in the country. But the Tide, coming off a disappointing, near fatal overtime win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl, dominated Georgia’s supposed impenetrable defense with a masterful game plan that unleashed redshirt freshman quarterback Bryce Young on the Dawgs’ secondary. Young passed for 466 yards and five touchdowns in an unstoppable up tempo offense that kept Georgia off balance.
Four weeks later the Tide won’t catch Georgia by surprise again.
And the Dawgs will have a much better chance of slowing the Tide offense down given the fact star wide receiver John Mitchie Jr., who caught six passes for 97 yards and one touchdown in the SEC game, is out.
But Alabama is in Georgia’s head after a series of heartbreaking losses.
Georgia looked like it might win an SEC title in 2012. The Tide was clinging to a 31-28 lead when quarterback Aaron Murray led the Dawgs to a potential game-winning drive. The Dawgs had the ball first and goal at the Alabama eight with 15 seconds to play and the clock running. But Murray, first down pass was tipped and caught by Chris Conley, who could get out of bounds before time expired, sending the Tide to the BCS title game.
In the 2017 national title game, Georgia led 13-0 at half before Tua Tagovailoa came off the bench to carry the Tide to a 26-23 overtime victory.
The next year, Georgia had another shot at Alabama in the national title game. The Dawgs led 28-14 in third quarter before quarterback Jalen Hurts came off the bench for an injured Tagovailoa, leading the Tide to a 35-28 win.
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett was a walk on freshman in 2017 so he has a feel for the Dawgs’ frustration. “I know it means a lot to a lot of people,’’ he said. “Is it just another game? No. I’m not silly. But I don’t think for 20-year- old kids you can’t put that kind of pressure on yourself because you might to crazy.’’
Smart rationalizes that Alabama is not the boogey man here. “They’ve also been a problem and a thorn for any team they’ve played beside ours,’’ he said.
But he can’t escape the media constantly talking about Bama’s dominance of the second- best program the conference. This is arguably Smart’s best team ever and one of Saban’s worst since the start of the CFP. The Tide lost to Texas A & M and struggled against Florida, LSU and Auburn in the SEC regular season. On paper, this looks like it might be the year if they can use the SEC loss as motivation.
“For our team, it was a wake- up call,’’ Georgia offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer said. “I think we needed one. We got a wake- up call from a really good team. I think that wake- up call will help propel us forward.’’
Just know know this, when Alabama takes the field against the Dawgs, the Tide isn’t going away. It will have Saban, Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, consensus national Defensive Player of the Year, linebacker Will Anderson, and those dreaded Crimson Tide uniforms ready to aunt Georgia again.
