Kalen DeBoer weighs whether Alabama vs. Georgia is a rivalry game
In his first game against an SEC team as the head coach at Alabama, Kalen DeBoer needs to take on Georgia. It’s a game between two of the country’s best teams that has rapidly become more and more of a rivalry game in recent years.
As DeBoer explained on The Triple Option, the game between Georgia and Alabama has become a rivalry over the years because of how important it is, even if it doesn’t have as long of a history as other SEC rivalries might have.
“I think there’s rivalries for different reasons, right,” Kalen DeBoer said. “I think you nailed it. You’ve got your in-state rivalry and then you have the rivalries because you know that you’re playing for something at a high level. You know that this game, last year and past years, has meant national championship, conference championship. It’s meant a lot in those areas.”
In their last three meetings, Alabama and Georgia have played for two SEC Championships and a national championship. Going back to when Kirby Smart first got to Athens, the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide have played six times and only in the regular season once. So, this game has clearly been incredibly important over the years.
“So, it’s a rivalry if you want to call it that way for those reasons because there’s something at stake,” DeBoer said.
Alabama and Georgia both point towards a few other schools as key rivals before one another. However, that doesn’t mean the two sides don’t have a long history in football. Alabama leads the all-time series 43-26-4, with the two sides playing their first game in 1895. The coaches in that game were Pop Warner and Eli Abbott, a far cry from Kirby Smart and Kalen DeBoer.
This weekend’s game is an AP Top-5 matchup between two teams who are expected to once again compete for an SEC Championship and a College Football Playoff berth.
Paul Finebaum on the pressure on Kalen DeBoer
There is always going to be pressure on the head coach at Alabama, but Paul Finebaum believes the Georgia game is elevating the pressure on Kalen DeBoer.
“It’s massive, and some of it is because of the perception. Going into the season, I thought Georgia would be a much bigger favorite, but they have played poorly, nearly losing to Kentucky. Alabama has looked great. DeBoer has had a seamless transition, which is almost inconceivable, considering he was replacing Nick Saban, but he’s done almost everything right, and the fans right now cannot accept the fact that things have changed. They are still in charge of college football,” Finebaum said.
“I don’t want to tell them they’re not, that Texas is actually No. 1, but the real problem is a loss here would be a shock to the system, and Mondays after an Alabama loss are like nothing else, because they have happened so infrequently under Nick Saban.”