JC Latham: Georgia is ‘not above’ Alabama’s standard

JC Latham has made his opinion known at SEC Media Days. To him, people are disrespecting Alabama and their place in college football, wanting to prove the doubters wrong during the 2023 season. The reason the Crimson Tide have been docked is due to Georgia and their recent success.

Back-to-back national championships have Kirby Smart‘s team as the new king in the sport, moving ahead of Alabama. Latham could not disagree with that notion anymore, saying Georgia’s standard is not as high as the one in Tuscaloosa. To him, Alabama is still the same Alabama.

“I respect the fact that they’ve won back-to-back,” Latham said to reporters at SEC Media Days on Wednesday. “I know that’s not easy at all. I see the work that they put in. But at the same time — their standard is great. I don’t think it’s above our standard. So, I can’t (say Georgia is the new standard of college football).”

During one of those championships, Georgia went directly through Alabama. No. 1 under Smart came in Indianapolis, finally getting over the Nick Saban hump the program struggled with for so long. It exercised a ton of demons, including one from the SEC Championship game just a few weeks prior.

No. 2 for UGA did not even have Alabama in the pathway, not winning the SEC West or making the College Football Playoff. While Georgia has had back-to-back success, it’s been back-to-back seasons of not living up to the standard in Tuscaloosa.

Smart touched on the topic while at SEC Media Days, talking about what they expect as there is a chance of three-peating. He said no matter what happens this upcoming season, Georgia knows they are looking to avoid complacency.

“We expect to be good at the University of Georgia,” Smart said. “We want sustained success. We have to do that by winning every day. And that’s not going to change whether we win [the championship] or not this year.”

From the outside, you would believe the standard of Alabama and Georgia is the same. They both expect to win the national championship every season, no questions asked. Anything else is unacceptable and will be considered a failure.

Not everyone would agree, with Latham leading the group. To him, Alabama is still a few ticks higher than Georgia. This upcoming season will be a big measuring stick for Latham, needing to back up his words in a big way.