In previous eras of college football, such as when formulas determined the national championship matchup, or for the past decade when only four teams advanced to the playoff, a matchup like Saturday’s visit by No. 2 Georgia to fourth-ranked Alabama might have acted as a de facto knockout game.
The College Football Playoff’s expansion to 12 teams this season has left more margin for error for teams with national title ambitions that play in the sport’s four most powerful conferences.
But that doesn’t mean the stakes are necessarily lower for Saturday’s meeting of undefeated Southeastern Conference rivals (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
Alabama (3-0) is an underdog at home for the first time since 2007, according to ESPN. Long the standard-bearer in the SEC under former coach Nick Saban, Alabama now has its first opportunity under his successor, first-year coach Kalen DeBoer, to show it remains a credible title threat — a distinction this season’s Georgia team is still trying to prove as well.
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Though the Bulldogs (3-0) have won two national championships under Kirby Smart, a former Saban staffer, and opened this season by outscoring their first two opponents 81-6, they barely edged Kentucky last week, 13-12, and slipped one spot in the polls afterward.
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, a second-year starter, has yet to throw an interception and has helped the Bulldogs score every time they have been inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. But Georgia also has imperfections, such as its 74th-ranked third-down conversion rate, its 81st-ranked third-down defense and its numerous penalties.
Alabama has also struggled in key areas, including limiting its penalties and fumbles. And yet, with the country’s fifth-best passing defense, it could have the personnel to limit Beck, starting with Keon Sabb, who has already intercepted three passes in three games this season.
Dating to 2008, Alabama has won eight of the last nine games against Georgia.
