Kirk Herbstreit reacts to Alabama vs. Georgia in 2024: 'The whole nation will be dialed in'

Alabama outlasted Georgia 27-24 in the SEC Championship game on Dec. 2. In 2024, the Bulldogs will have a chance to avenge that loss in the SEC opener on Sept. 28.

ESPN College GameDay host Kirk Herbstreit expressed his excitement for the matchup — and believes the matchup could have seismic implications on the SEC race in its first season expanding to 16 teams.

“Anytime you get these two together, typically in the past, obviously it’s a conference championship game in Atlanta,” Herbstreit said during an appearance on ESPN’s SEC schedule reveal. “When we get these two teams for bragging rights — remember last year, everyone was talking about how there’s a new sheriff in town because Georgia has won back to back national championships.

“I think that was the whole reason coming into this year, you knew that Alabama regardless of who their quarterback was going to be that they had a chance to be a great team just because they were so furious that Georgia had taken over the conference, let alone the national landscape.”

It goes without saying how important Alabama’s SEC title win over the Bulldogs ended up being when it came to the College Football Playoffs. The loss pushed Georgia from No. 1 back to No. 6 and in an unprecedented move — the two-time reigning national champions will not have the opportunity to complete the elusive three-peat.

Of course, the Crimson Tide’s dethroning of Georgia will only be used for fuel and motivation for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs heading into the offseason. Both teams will look noticeably different thanks to the ever-changing landscape of college football — and so will the SEC, which means both teams will have to put the 2023 conference title game behind them for the time being.

“Now you start to fast forward with OU and Texas coming in, this new world, this new SEC. It’s fun to be able to talk about a couple of old school behemoths with Georgia and Alabama. It is one of the games that we’re already talking about and looking forward to. A lot will be on the line, not only for bragging rights within the SEC, but the whole nation will be dialed in to Georgia and Alabama.”

The official kickoff date and time has been slated for Sept. 28 inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. local time and will be broadcasted live on ABC.